Japanese fashion brand Issey Miyake marked its 20th anniversary in 2012 with “Happy Anniversary”, a collection of posters inspired by delicious foods. Pleated Please includes polyester dresses, tank tops, pants and scarves. Japanese designer Taku Satoh created monthly advertising campaigns likening the fabric to whipped cream on pancakes, red wine, nutella on toast, Matcha green tea ice cream in a cone, salmon and sushi.
Hill’s-Colgate (Japan) worked with G2 Japan recently to launch “Yummy Face Maker”, an interactive app for Hill’s Science Diet. Pet owners were encouraged to take pictures of their pet after eating Hill’s Science Diet canned food and add a lip-smacking tasty tongue image to their pet’s photo. The campaign ran over a period of four months from September to December 2012. The website garnered over 2,500 postings in 60 days and a total of more than 4,000 photos over a four-month period.
The Yoshida Hideo Memorial Foundation, founded by Dentsu in 1965, aims to fulfil the vision of Yoshida Hideo, fourth president of the company, who passed away in 1963. The Foundation’s advertising museum announced and displayed the Adfest 2011 Exhibition with a design concept looking at why Asian advertising is strong and mystic. Four posters, Palm, Sole, Upper Body and Lower Body, explore the Asian idea of the Body as a Universe. A giant palm led visitors into the exhibition hall where a giant Asian, who looks dynamic from a distance, but delicate at close range, welcomed them.
East Japan Railway’s Tohoku Shinkansen brand, formed to attract visitors to the Tohoku Region in Japan, won Gold for Design at the 2012 Clio Awards and a Gold Design Lion at Cannes International Festival of Creativity. The Tōhoku region, in the north of Honshu, was deeply affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Travel to Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata was connected with rebuilding in an integrated branding exercise. The bodies of Shinkansen train cars were painted with dynamic designs that served to connect the regions of Eastern Japan. Posters and billboards encouraged visitors to get back to Tohoku. Train tickets were sold as a Tohoku support pass package.
Honda Internavi is a navigation system that recommends routes based on real-time traffic data collected via the 3G network from other Internavi-equipped Honda vehicles. By color-coding roads based on accessibility, Honda has converted a complex set of data into an easy to read real-time map. The Internavi network became a vital tool for recovery following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that rocked Northeastern Japan. Within 20 hours of the quake Honda’s Internavi system identified the roads that remained intact based on 3G network traffic analysis, making it possible to find ways to get rescue workers, heavy equipment and supplies such as water, food, clothing and blankets to the places that needed help. The project was awarded a Yellow Pencil for Digital Design at the D&AD Awards.
