The start of May saw IOC partner P&G’s global skincare brand SK-II launched the latest wave of Tokyo 2020/21 work in the form of a multi-channel campaign called ‘VS’ based around an athlete-led animated anthology video series which sets out to inspire all woman through the message that they each have the power to #CHANGEDESTINY.
The ‘VS’ Series, by SK-II STUDIO, is a collection of six animated films based around the real-life experiences of six Olympic athletes: Simone Biles (gymnastics), Liu Xiang (swimming), Ishikawa Kasumi (table tennis), Ayaka Takahashi and Misaki Matsutomo (badminton), Mahina Maeda (surfing) and Hinotori Nippon (the Japan national volleyball team).
Each film merges animation, live action and story-telling to explore what it means ‘to take destiny in your own hands’ and ‘to overcoming societal pressures which dictates how women should look, act and feel to be perfect’ .
The covers topics such as trolling, pressure, image, obsession, limitations and machine-like mind sets and each of these is brought to life in the form of a ‘strange beast’ (or ‘kaiju’ in Japanese) and each kaiju represents the inner demon each athlete ambassador must defeat to pursue their destiny.
The online video series kicked off with an introductory trailer on 1 May, before the main series was posted across the brand’s social channels in the form of pairs of spots (a 30-second TVC and the full length five minute short film).
A further supporting social spot focusing on the campaign’s music by John Legend.
The series was released worldwide on 1 May 2021 after a global premiere in Hainan (China) linked to the opening of an immersive social retail pop-up store in Sanya’s Haitang Bay Duty Free Shopping Centre Haikou in partnership with China Duty Free Group.
In parallel with the Tokyo 2020/21 work, SK-II has also set up a #CHANGEDESTINY fund: contributing $1 for every view generated by each SK-II STUDIO film in support of women in pursuing their destiny to create positive change as part of its brand purpose this year.
The total contribution to the #CHANGEDESTINY fund will be capped at $500,000 USD.
The activation was created by a joint team of WPP agencies led by Grey and Mediacom: the same team which created SK-II Studio’s launch film for its Tokyo 2020/21 work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNMpmEMptMM
“All of us face pressures that hold us back, and stop us from feeling in charge of our own destiny. By focusing on the stories of these incredible athletes, we’re showing how even the best of us have to face challenges when chasing dreams,” said SK-II Executive Creative Business Director Siddika Dehlvi. “We wanted to celebrate these journeys in a way that has never been done before, bringing together elements from Japanese culture through anime, live action, different film genres and unique soundtracks.”
WPP Team Lead Nihar Das added: “It is rare when a brand’s purpose aligns perfectly with the need of the hour. Not only to highlight the pressures surrounding women in our society, but also to share the incredible human stories of how 6 women overcame these pressures. It has been a rewarding experience to create and be part of this work.”
The activation was briefed by the SK-II client marketing team led by Executive Creative Director Leo Savage, Executive Creative Strategy Director Danni Mohammed, Executive Creative Business Director Siddika Dehlvi and Executive Creative Producer San Takashima.
The campaign was created by a joint WPP Agencies team led by Grey and Mediacom, with HUGE, VaynerMedia, Mano and Hogarth Worldwide plus event partner Yucolab.
This group was led by WPP Team Lead Nihar Das, Integration Lead Nathan Wilson, Creative Strategist & Copywriter Katie Mulligan, Executive Account Director Yukiko Ochiai, Executive Creative Director Graham Drew, Creative Consultant Stuart Harkness, Creative Directors: Ashley Chen, Ken Mitani and Sudhir Pasumarty, Creative Consultant Shane Lester, Strategy Director Hiroko Matsuo, Senior Copywriter Yukika Anan, Senior Art Director Yoichai Inamura, Designer Amanda Ang, Project Director Lorysa Rossnagel, Account Manager Eulisa Tan, Senior Producer Miwako Yasukouchi, Senior Producer Shoko Akutagawa, Producer Hayato Chaki, Senior Account Executive Iris Gu, Business Director William Godwin, Senior Project Director Angelique Malabanan, Account Director Sue-Ann De Cruz, Account Executive Sneha Basu and ChiewLing Loke, Art Director Jerry Li, Assistant Account Executive Sho Ikegami, Executive Media Director Prajat Khare and Media Strategy Directors Archana Ram,Siddharth Singh,Varsha Sethia and Rohit Khanna.
The Songwriters/Singers were John Legend (‘VS’ Trolls) and Lexie Liu (‘VS’ Obsession) and the music studio was run by Simon Elms at Eclectic Sounds. The photographer was Matt Holyoak, while casting was handled by Gambit. The production studios were Imaginary Forces, Platige Image, Passion Pictures and C3 and the directors were Alan Williams, Bartek Kik, Damian Nenow, Jon Saunders and TAKCOM.
Comment:
This campaign showcases, once again, how athlete-centric, purpose-led storytelling can be done in an unexpected, engaging and memorable way.
This isn’t the first time SK-II is has entered this kind of marketing territory as it follows on from the brand’s debut brand docu-drama ‘The Center Lane’ by award-winning director Hirokazu Koreeda featuring ‘This Is Me’ – the inspiring story of swimmer Ikee Rikako’s return to competitive swimming.
It is as if the global skincare brand has transformed itself into a form of film production studio to Activative its Olympic rights.
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