ILLEGIBLE SIGNBOARDS

TitleILLEGIBLE SIGNBOARDS
BrandJOHNSON & JOHNSON
Product / ServiceACUVUE
CategoryB06. Use of Ambient Media: Large Scale
EntrantENJIN 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

Credits

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

The Campaign

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.

Creative Execution

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.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

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.