| Title | THE ACTRESS |
| Brand | UNILEVER JAPAN |
| Product / Service | LUX |
| Category | A06. Best Use of Digital Media in a Promotional Campaign |
| Entrant | JWT JAPAN Tokyo, JAPAN |
| Entrant Company: | JWT JAPAN Tokyo, JAPAN |
| Sales Promotion/Advertising Agency: | JWT JAPAN Tokyo, JAPAN |
| Name | Company | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Jun FUKAWA | JWT Japan | Executive Creative Director |
| Masayoshi BOKU | Bascule Inc. | Creative Director |
| Tomoaki SUEDA | JWT Japan | Executive Producer |
| Kenichito TANAKA | Bascule Inc. | Producer |
| Helen HEATLEY | JWT Japan | Director in Charge |
| Atsushi MURATA | Bascule Inc. | Director/Programmer |
| Pete HESKETT | JWT Japan | Global Strategic Planning Director |
| Hirokazu SAWAI | Bascule Inc. | Director/Project Manager |
| Sumie YAMAMOTO | JWT Japan | Strategic Planner |
| Mika UCHIUMI | Bascule Inc. | Director/Project Manager |
| Craig HOWIE | JWT Japan | Creative Director |
| Kaori SATOW | Bascule Inc. | Director/Art Director/Designer |
| Andy CHEN | JWT Japan | Creative Director |
| Hiwako HAMADA | Bascule Inc. | Designer |
| Daishi SUMI | JWT Japan | Art Director |
| Tomoko WADA | Bascule Inc. | Programmer |
| Ayako AYUZAWA | JWT Japan | Copywriter |
| Michiyasu WADA | Bascule Inc. | Programmer |
| Kaoru SATO | JWT Japan | Account Director |
| Yoshio KAKEHASHI | Bascule Inc. | Programmer |
Unilever wanted promote the renewal of the Lux shampoo in a way that could communicate the brand’s innovativeness and create more engagement with the girls in Japan. For the past 10 years, Lux has been running campaigns with famous women inviting the girls to admire the Lux glamour and modern feminine beauty. But we wanted to deepen the emotional connection between the brand and the girls by getting them to interact more closely with each other.
Lux Actress is based on a simple idea. Girls want to be famous. And they’ll do anything to make it happen. Combining with the Japanese version of Facebook – Mixi - we created a multi-level game that lets girls go from being just another normal girl to a Hollywood star. The lux brand is present throughout the game as it’s all about helping girls shine as they work through the game’s levels. They go from making a debut, a commercial, a TV role, starring in a musical - before finally playing the lead in a Hollywood blockbuster.
LUX Actress is the most successful online brand game in Japan’s history. So far the game has had a total of 1.1 billion hits with 900,000 users spending on average 8 hours with the game. Girls didn’t stop chatting to the friends about the game. They shared tips and outfits. Just like real life. The Actress is a huge success for Lux. By creating a deep, complex game that girls could immerse themselves and their friends in it became a true obsession amongst Japanese girls. Just like real Hollywood stars.
The game has many complex features that the girls become obsessed with. They could shop for accessories/dresses/shoes or have high profile romances. The Lux brand is present throughout the game. In order to progress the game the girls needed to increase their ‘shine level’ and to do that they needed Lux.