Background

We designed a poster and outdoor advertisement such as and digital signage, etc. for the horse race “Oaks” sponsored by Japan Racing Association (JRA). We produced them in order to increase customer traffic on the race day and acquire new customers for horse racing.

Describe the creative idea (40% of vote)

Based on the purpose of intending to attract the young generation into horse racing, we set “Otaku culture” as the concept because it has a high affinity for the target zone. In light of the horse racing only by mares, we appointed two female talents in her 20s who appear on TV CM films for the client, and crystallized the concept into cute dresses that stand for cosplay in the context of “Japanese Kawaii Culture” and a horse. By doing so, an advertisement design from a totally different approach came to fruition, in comparison with normal horse racing advertisement that delivers a general image for horse racing (= for middle-aged and elderly men/a gamble with high specialty).

Describe the execution (40% of vote)

We designed visual guidance using a catchy image that doesn’t look like an advertisement for horse racing at a glance by adopting a pink-based background design element and boldly laying out a female talent popular with the young generation. We used only low-key information on horse racing itself, such as a horse ear shown on the cosplay dress, the background illustration and icon, and race information, and so on. Above all, we aimed for a design intended to be displayed as a pop icon that can lower the hurdle to make it easier for potential customers to go to horse racing.

List the results (20% of vote)

On the race day, the number of visitors exceeded 60,000, and the race achieved proceeds of more than 17 billion yen. Additionally, by placing the enlarged poster inside the racetrack as a photo spot, the poster became a factor for visitors to spread it through SNS and also had a positive impact for the enhancement of the brand image after the race.