YEAR 1: Made of Japan
FEATURING: Giant shoe constructed of japanese ephemera, designed by japan-inspired graphic artist, Gary Baseman. Print and display campaign for product, juxtaposing misconceptions about Japan with authentic hand-cut paper dioramas. Retail branding. Web experience that searched the internet for images tagged ‘Japan’ and overplayed them onto the shoe model, in real time creating the most up to date impression of Japan at any given moment.
YEAR 2: ELECTRIC TIGERLAND
Taking cues from the impressions of a Japanese metropolis we used cutting-edge 3D printing to bring a huge city in a sneaker to life. Complete with myriad lights ambient sounds and hidden details, the shoe formed the basis of a digital, print and retail campaign that included a electric light product film, shoe fly-through video, digital experience, special edition led magazine covers, and even a limited run of glow-in-the-dark sneakers.
YEAR 3: ZODIAC RACE
To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Onitsuka Tiger, we created sneaker sculpture that brought the legend of the Japanese zodiac, to life. Telling the story of a race between the different animals of the zodiac our giant sneaker was a diorama portraying different regions of japan, with mechanical tracks putting the race in motion. An animated film, dramatized the race and its competitors and plays out using a mix of 3D, 2D and film of the diorama itself. The shoe toured the world, together with zodiac-themed retail assets. A print campaign and collection book introduced zodiac-themed sneakers and apparel while, online, a 3D world, built in Unity, enabled visitors to go onto the shoe island and explore as you would with Google Maps.
This fun campaign was also a very successful business case. In the UK alone onitsukatiger.com saw a 436% increase in visitors and the length of time spent on site doubled. By integrating zodiac-themed product into the collection and giving consumers a way to find the pieces that matched their inner animal, sales also rose and footfall at brick and mortar stores rose considerably.
From an island inspired by a sneaker to a sneaker inspired by an island.
Collection book, featuring laser-etched wooden cover and bespoke illustrations.
YEAR 4: TANSU
Tansu was the fourth incarnation of the Made of Japan series for Onitsuka Tiger. We found and collaborated with a team of 9th generation traditional Japanese cabinet (TANSU), makers to realize this vision. The craftsmanship and attention to detail, evident in the elaborate opening and locking mechanisms, hidden compartments and secret draws, made this piece truly unique and gave us a great story to tell.
The sneaker’s global tour was a resounding success. At stores and trade fairs, sneaker fans tried to unlock the secret compartments to claim the treasures within. Intrigued, people went on-line to discover more. Unique visits to onitsukatiger.com grew 125%, while total traffic saw a massive increase of 460%. Interest in the collection went up 20%, direct traffic (word of mouth) increased 40%, and referral traffic jumped 152%. The story of the shoe spread around the world, through blogs, tweets, magazines, showing that sometimes, to build something beautiful, even in a virtual world, you need the tools of a traditional craftsman.
