SUB CATEGORY :

BEST USE OF AMBIENT: SMALL SCALE

COMPANY ENTERING :

R/GA TOKYO, TOKYO

TITLE :

MY CRAYON PROJECT

BRAND :

SHISEIDO

ADVERTISER :

SHISEIDO

AGENCY :

R/GA TOKYO, TOKYO/ SHISEIDO CO., LTD., TOKYO

CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER :

BOB MACKINTOSH

EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR :

MASATO KOSUKEGAWA/NIKLAS LILJA/SO GEORGE SUGITOMO

COPYWRITER :

HOKUTO ISHIKAWA

ART DIRECTOR :

AYUMI NISHIMOTO

DIGITAL CREATIVE :

NODOKA KAGAYA

DESIGNER :

TORU NAGAHAMA

STRATEGIC PLANNING DIRECTOR :

YOSUKE SUZUKI

AGENCY PRODUCER :

NARU KUDO

MEDIA AGENCY :

R/GA TOKYO, TOKYO/SHISEIDO CO., LTD., TOKYO

DIGITAL PLANNER :

NODOKA KAGAYA/NARU KUDO

FILM PRODUCTION COMPANY :

TAIYO KIKAKU CO., LTD., TOKYO

DIRECTOR :

RYUICHI HASEGAWA

CAMERAMAN :

TETSURO HIRANO/TADASHI SATO

FILM PRODUCER :

YAS OSAWA

PRODUCTION MANAGER :

MAI TAKACHIYO/MIKI TAKUSAGAWA/ANJU YOSHIDA

LIGHTING :

TOMOHIRO TAKAHASHI

COLORIST :

BEN CONKEY

SPECIAL EFFECTS COMPANY :

TOICHI BUNGU, NAGOYA/TSP, TOKYO

CRAYON ARTIST :

MASAYUKI MIZUTANI/KAZUYUKI MIZUTANI

SOUND PRODUCTION COMPANY :

AUDIOFORCE, TOKYO

SOUND DESIGNER :

DANIEL MULLER/ERIK REIFF

SOUND :

NAO YOSHIDA/WATARU KATSUMI

PRINT PRODUCTION COMPANY :

TOPPAN PRINTING CO., LTD., TOKYO

PRINT PRODUCER :

TERUYOSHI IRIE

THE BRIEF :

TEACHING KIDS TO RESPECT AND UNDERSTAND OTHERS… WITH A CRAYON. JAPAN IS ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST HOMOGENOUS NATIONS, WITH ONLY 3,4% OF THE POPULATION BORN OVERSEAS. SO IN SCHOOLS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, SMALL DIFFERENCES IN SKIN-TONE ARE NOTICED, WITH KIDS OF MIXED-RACE OFTEN BULLIED. IN 2018, SHISEIDO SET OUT TO EDUCATE CHILDREN WITH A PROGRAM DESIGNED TO CELEBRATE THEIR DIFFERENCES, NO MATTER HOW SMALL–WITH HELP FROM AN UNLIKELY CHAMPION: A BOX OF CRAYON.

THE STRATEGY :

IN SCHOOLS ACROSS JAPAN–WHERE HOMOGENEITY IS VALUED–‘HAFUS’, KIDS OF MIXED RACE, ARE OFTEN SEEN AS OUTSIDERS, DESPITE BEING JAPANESE. THE PROBLEM IS AGGRAVATED BY THE FACT THAT’S THERE’S EVEN A WORD FOR SKIN COLOR: ‘HADA-IRO’, WHICH 79% OF THE POPULATION ASSOCIATE WITH JUST ONE COLOR: PALE PEACH.
AS AN EXPERT IN SKIN COLOR, SHISEIDO SET OUT TO EDUCATE KIDS WITH
A PROGRAM DESIGNED TO CELEBRATE THEIR DIFFERENCES, NO MATTER HOW SMALL. RATHER THAN EXPRESS THIS VIEW THROUGH TRADITIONAL COMMUNICATIONS, THEY PARTNERED WITH TEACHERS TO TAKE THEIR MESSAGE DIRECTLY TO CHILDREN THEMSELVES, WITH A UNIQUE
IN-CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE.

THE EXECUTION :

PARTNERING WITH SCHOOLS, A UNIQUE CLASS COMBINING ETHICS AND CIVICS ART WAS CREATED. IN THE SESSIONS, SHISEIDO SCIENTISTS SCANNED EACH CHILD’S SKIN TO CREATE A UNIQUE COLOR PROFILE.
THIS WAS THEN MATCHED WITH A CRAYON OF THE SAME COLOR – SO THAT EACH CHILD GOT THEIR OWN UNIQUE ‘HADA-IRO’. KIDS DREW THEMSELVES, THEN TO BETTER UNDERSTAND OTHERS, THEY SWAP CRAYONS WITH ANOTHER CHILD BEFORE DRAWING EACH OTHER.
THE CLASSES PROVIDED A HIGHLY SOCIAL, INTERACTIVE, AND FUN WAY TO LEARN ABOUT AND APPRECIATE OTHERS’ DIFFERENCES, CREATING
AN EXPERIENCE APPLAUDED BY KIDS AND TEACHERS ALIKE.

THE RESULT :

THE SCHOOLS THAT HAVE COLLABORATED SO FAR HAVE CHANGED THEIR CURRICULUM TO WELCOME THIS NEW TWO-HOUR ACTIVATION BY SHISEIDO. ALL CHILDREN THAT PARTICIPATED UNDERSTOOD THE IMPORTANCE OF DIVERSITY AND RESPECTING ONE ANOTHER. THESE WERE JUST SOME OF THE COMMENTS FROM THE KIDS THEMSELVES: “EVERYBODY HAS THEIR OWN HADA-IRO….THAT WAS A DISCOVERY.”
“I’M SURPRISED THERE ARE 70 BILLION SHADES!” “I NOW KNOW THAT
MY HADA-IRO IS SPECIAL AND THE ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD.” “THE DIFFERENCES MAKE US US AND THAT IS WHAT WE NEED TO RESPECT.”