Title | ILLEGIBLE SIGNBOARDS |
Brand | JOHNSON & JOHNSON |
Product / Service | ACUVUE |
Category | B06. Use of Ambient Media: Large Scale |
Entrant | ENJIN Tokyo, JAPAN |
Idea Creation | ENJIN Tokyo, JAPAN |
Media | KESION Tokyo, JAPAN |
PR | PRAP JAPAN Tokyo, JAPAN |
Production | TAKI CORPORATION Tokyo, JAPAN |
Production 2 | HINATA Tokyo, JAPAN |
Production 3 | ELLROY Tokyo, JAPAN |
Name | Company | Position |
---|---|---|
Takeshi Yazaki | ENJIN Inc. | Creative Director |
Yuriko Ban | ENJIN Inc. | Account Director |
Koshiro Mochitomi | PRAP JAPAN Inc. | Senior Account Executive |
Maiko Mihara | PRAP JAPAN Inc. | Account Executive |
Hiroshi Imamura | TAKI CORPORTATION | Art Director |
Kazuhiro Miwa | TAKI CORPORTATION | Copywriter |
Yuri Yoshida | TAKI CORPORTATION | Designer |
Saiki Takahashi | TAKI CORPORTATION | Designer |
Shunpei Mikami | TAKI CORPORTATION | Chief Producer |
Asami Igarashi | TAKI CORPORTATION | Producer |
Takashi Maruyama | KESION | Manager |
Sachi Okamoto | KESION | Assistant Manager |
Maruki Matsuyama | KESION | Assistant Manager |
A Japanese eye chart was chosen as the motif. As the letters grew smaller, the message became harder to read until the “illegible signboard” became unreadable from a distance. This inability to read was exactly the condition we aimed to create in order to raise viewers’ curiosity. The messages told the importance of maintaining good eyesight in a sports context, a topic that most targeted viewers were involved in, with the approach that target can easily relate to and have fun. With the cooperation of local residents, shop owners and schools in the community, 35 different eye charts were posted around the neighborhood, such as on the walls of private residences, shops and schools. Each signboard carried an original message related to the location where it was placed.
A district in Sapporo, Hokkaido was filled overnight with mysterious signboards designed like “eye charts” with letters that gradually shrink. A total of 35 signboards filled the neighborhood for two weeks during the interscholastic athletic meet period. They were displayed on the walls and doors of residences and shops around high schools, as well as on street corners, in restaurants and on campuses. All were displayed where ads are not usually allowed, with the permission and collaboration of local high schools, residents and shop owners. The messages on signboards told high schoolers about the importance of eyesight in sports and in their after-school physical activities. Each signboard had a unique message relevant to where it was displayed to boost conversation among neighboring community and among students. All were made photogenic, with humorous tone & manner, but alas, hard-to-read. To acquire further news coverage, media caravan was also carried out.
This unique outdoor ambient advertising attracted much attention and was widely covered by the press and media. In 2 weeks period after the launch, “Illegible signboards” was featured in 122 media, gaining over 10,610,000 impressions online and via social media, totaled up to US$887 thousand worth of media value; and received a strong response from people across the nation. Client sales team is eager to find out about its next destination.
We created medium totally original to our plan by simulating how and where to build conversation with our target, the high schoolers. Posting 35 different and relevant messages on the streets leading to their campus was something they can hardly miss, and most possibly talk and share on SNS while walking. Furthermore, negotiating with residents, restaurants, shops and school masters and explaining our intention for using their private walls and doors to post our messages not only won us their support but also their voices to bridge the message to others, which multiplied the power of communication.
Our strategy was set twofold: to drive realization among target to their eye sight, and to generate buzz around our unique effort to enter public awareness through social or traditional media. For the purpose, we chose Hokkaido, where eyesight of those between 15 to 17 years old is at the lowest level in Japan, to implement and to attract attention of local media. The message was focused to the topic of “sports” as it is the major trigger for wearing contact lenses for high schoolers in Japan (source: J&J Survey with 400 high school students); and because the topic is highly engaging since many high schoolers are involved in extracurricular sports activities. Plus, this is year of the Olympic Games. To win maximum exposure directly to our target, a district known to have many schools with strong sport teams was chosen in Hokkaido to carry out ambient ad around schools.