ZOO JEANS

TitleZOO JEANS
BrandKAMINE ZOOLOGICAL SUPPORT ASSOCIATION MINEKO-CLUB
Product / ServiceZOO JEANS
CategoryB05. Fundraising, charities, appeals, non-profit organisations, public health & safety, public awareness
EntrantI&S BBDO Tokyo, JAPAN
Entrant Company I&S BBDO Tokyo, JAPAN
Advertising Agency I&S BBDO Tokyo, JAPAN
Production Company TCJ Tokyo, JAPAN

Credits

Name Company Position
Yoshihisa Ogata I/S BBDO Exective Creative Director
Shinichi Ikeda I/S BBDO Senior Creative Director
Takuya Miyamoto I/S BBDO Creative Director/Art Director
Takahiro Sakai I/S BBDO Planner
Campbell Hanley I/S BBDO Copywriter
Hironobu Taniguchi I/S BBDO Agency Producer
Tomoaki Watanabe TCJ Chief Producer
Kazuhide Kumada TCJ Producer
Tatsuo Murai CAVIAR Director
Yousuke Ohmori Freelance Cameraman
Katsuya Yamada Aiin Music
Yusuke Matsumoto RAMPUYA Production Designer
Reiko Matsumoto Kadokawa Daiei Studio Production Designer
Yuki Kawakami Amana Photographer
Noriaki Hosaka Amana Web Director
Takanari Yamashita Bluecurrent Japan Pr Account Manager
Tetsutato Shimo Bluecurrent Japan Pr Media Solution Manager
Tatsuya Hirosawa Bluecurrent Japan Pr Account Executive
Aya Miyashita I/S BBDO Agency Pr Director

Results and Effectiveness

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.

Creative Execution

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. So the media team’s task was to first 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 animals, 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. Three pairs of Zoo Jeans were sold at Japan’s most popular online auction.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

The zoo is a place for men and women of all ages, and people on their own. Zoos across Japan have seen a gradual decline in attendance since their heyday, especially smaller facilities located outside of the major metropolitan areas that lack the financial resources to procure rare animals and create flashy attractions. Our communications objective was to reframe “the zoo” as an amusement destination that is relevant to young people today – not an old-fashioned relic of yesteryear – so it was necessary to take an original and unexpected approach, and to do so on a shoestring budget. The execution was as simple as it was unique, and resonated with the entire spectrum of zoo visitors – and, more importantly, with 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.