The Campaign

Branded entertainment is still quite rare in Japan. Sponsorship of existing events and content is the norm. It is highly unusual for brands to create content from scratch. As such, there is little to no regulation of branded entertainment — either by government or industry.

Results

The Kamine Zoo in Hitachi, Japan, was looking for ways to boost visitor numbers. People perceived the zoo as old-fashioned, and not as an entertainment option. The zoo needed to give people a fresh surprise – something to talk about. We wondered whether some new form of entertainment couldn’t be found in the everyday lives of the animals. So we took the animals’ regular playthings – old tires and giants balls – and wrapped them in fabric, to make the world’s first animal-made distressed denim jeans. We worked closely with the zoo officials to make sure the experience would in no way harm or distress the animals, and actually succeeded in making their playtime more fun than ever. We felt that the basic idea – designer jeans ripped by real lions, tigers and bears – was strong enough to garner considerable media coverage and generate buzz. Our first task was to get this message out, then make the details available to people who would inevitably want to learn more. A press release was dispatched inviting the media to a press conference and launch event held at the zoo. The journalists and event attendees were treated to an impressive demonstration by lions and tigers, gnawing and clawing at their denim-wrapped playthings. A high quality “making of” video was released on YouTube, and embedded in the Zoo Jeans website, which also went live on the day of the launch event. A Facebook page was created and filled with more behind-the-scenes images, captioned in Japanese and English. We created three versions of the jeans – the Tiger edition, the Lion edition and the Bear edition. We then sold the jeans in a public auction, and returned the proceeds to the animals in the form of donations to the zoo and to WWF Japan.

The core content idea – designer jeans ripped by real lions, tigers and bears – was as simple as it was unique, and resonated with the entire spectrum of zoo visitors. More importantly, it appealed to young people who were not zoo-goers. Leveraging the natural instincts of the animals captured people’s imagination and gave them a taste of what the zoo has to offer.

In the first two weeks of the campaign, Zoo Jeans was featured in major news channels both in Japan and around the world – a total of 737 media. In the same period, social media users mentioned the jeans made by animals in 28,346 posts, reaching a total 34,572,889 people. Furthermore, many people participated in the charity auction, with one pair alone selling for some USD$1,500.00. And the zoo saw a 132% increase in visitors compared with the same period last year. People saw the zoo in a new light – as a place that offers new form of entertainment.