FINGER MARATHON

TitleFINGER MARATHON
BrandAMERICAN EXPRESS INTERNATIONAL, INC.
Product / ServicePROPRIETARY CARD SERVICE
CategoryE02. Sponsorship & Brand Partnership
EntrantOGILVY JAPAN Tokyo, JAPAN
Idea Creation OGILVY JAPAN Tokyo, JAPAN

Credits

Name Company Position
Ajab Samrai Ogilvy Japan Chief Creative Officer
Ajab Samrai Ogilvy Japan Executive Creative Director
Ajab Samrai Ogilvy Japan Creative Director
Ricardo Adolfo Ogilvy Japan Creative Director
Shintaro Hashimoto Ogilvy Japan Associate Creative Director
Toshikazu Suzuki Ogilvy Japan Senior Copywriter
Yousuke Ozawa Ogilvy Japan Senior Art Director
Natsuki Tosa Ogilvy Japan Head Of Production
Takuya Murakami Ogilvy Japan Account Manager
Tetsuya Yamada Ogilvy Japan Assistant Account Executive
Hirosuke Sato Dragon Communication Design inc., Activation planning / operation
Shigeki Tsuda Dragon Communication Design inc., Activation planning / operation
Takayuki Nagai Birdman Digital Director
Junya Hoshikawa Birdman Art Director
Kenichiro Tanaka Birdman Designer
Sho Kakazu Birdman CG Designer
Robert Sundelin Birdman CG Designer
Yohei Kajiwara Birdman Technical Director/Programmer
Takumi Saito Birdman Programmer
Kei Sato Birdman Project Manager

The Campaign

The American Express Finger Marathon is a marathon that everyone can run with two fingers only. And the creative idea behind it was to create the most innovative and fun marathon experience for everyone who visited the Tokyo Marathon Expo 2018. First a precise detailed digitalized replica of the 2018 route street by street was built, then avatar runners were developed utilising the latest motion tracking technology. The Finger Marathon was presented on the weekend of the marathon and visitors were invited to sign up for an Amex to win fast track access to run the course in real time, virtually. From old to young, faster to a bit slower, hundreds of dreams came true in two days.

The Brief

Due to confidential contractual stipulations, we’re not able to share budget and media info to third parties.

Creative Execution

In order to create an authentic experience of the Tokyo Marathon, it was important we pursue realism in every detail, so everything was created from scratch. The game itself was made by 3D modeling of actual Tokyo landscapes and buildings with billboards and logos (slightly modified) exactly the way it looks. The avatars were also made to act like human runners, motion captured from a real marathon runner, simulating movement such as, running, sprinting and running through goal tape with both hands up so participants feel like they are competing in the actual Tokyo Marathon The American Express Finger Marathon was implemented during the weekend of the Tokyo Marathon from the 22nd to the 24th of February at the Tokyo Marathon Expo 2018. An event that attracts more than 115.000 visitors each year.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

The American Express Finger Marathon activation enabled the brand to increase its new card membership recruitment up by 143% on the previous year.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

The American Express Finger Marathon is an activation that allowed consumers to engage with the brand in an innovative way. As official sponsor of the Tokyo Marathon, American Express brought its mantra of – Realize the Potential – to life by giving everyone the chance to run the course of a marathon that only has capacity for 36K but has more than 320K applications. The activation was presented at the Tokyo Marathon Expo 2018 and visitors were invited to run through a digitalized replica of the route with their two fingers to experience the thrill of the race.

The strategy behind the American Express Finger Marathon was to inject a stronger sense of relevancy to the American Express sponsorship of the Tokyo Marathon 2018 and use the event with more than 100.000 visitors as a platform to reach directly to potential new American Express members. The core target audience was adults, 30 to 50 years old, urban, affluent male and female with annual income of more than $50,000, who participate in marathons or have interest in athletic fashion.