SUB CATEGORY :

DIRECTING

COMPANY ENTERING :

AOI PRO., TOKYO

TITLE :

IMPERFECT YOU

BRAND :

NIKE

ADVERTISER :

NIKE JAPAN

AGENCY :

WIEDEN+KENNEDY TOKYO, TOKYO

CHAIRMAN :

YOSUKE SUZUKI

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER :

RYU KAIDA

CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER :

IAN TOOMBS/VIVIAN YONG

CREATIVE DIRECTOR :

MAX PILWAT/ERWIN FEDERIZO

ART DIRECTOR :

KAZUHI YOSHIKAWA/JOSH KING

COPYWRITER :

MARINA DANJO/ANDREW MILLER/KIRAN STRICKLAND

CREATIVE OPERATIONS :

AIWEI ICHIKAWA

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER :

KOSUKE SASAKI

AGENCY PRODUCER :

EISUKE ARAI/YOKO ONODERA/MATTHEW KATO

DESIGNER :

KONATSU MATSUMOTO/AKANE YASUDA

HEAD OF PRODUCTION :

MICHELLE BROUGH

EDITOR :

VINOD VIJAYASANKARAN/JACOB KIM

BRAND DIRECTOR :

JORDAN CAPPADOCIA/PAANII ANNAN

BRAND SUPERVISOR :

CHELSEA HAYASHI

ASSISTANT BRAND EXECUTIVE :

KAI LAUGHLIN

MARKETING COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR :

PATRICK FAHEY

MARKETING COMMUNICATION MANAGER :

TAIKI SATOH

STRATEGIC PLANNING DIRECTOR :

THIJS VAN DE WOUW

STRATEGIC PLANNING MANAGER :

TAI KOGA/RUDY JEAN-FRANCOIS

TRANSLATOR :

MAKO TOMITA/TAKURO KOBAYASH

PR AGENCY :

WIEDEN+KENNEDY TOKYO, TOKYO

PR DIRECTOR :

KAZUKI KYOGOKU

FILM PRODUCTION COMPANY :

PARK PICTURES, LONDON/AOI PRO. INC., TOKYO

DIRECTOR :

GEORGIA HUDSON

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY :

STEVE ANNIS

DIT :

SHINYA NAGAO

GIMBAL OPERATOR :

MYRON MANCE

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR :

NAGISA KODAMA

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER :

FRAN THOMPSON

FILM PRODUCER :

ANNABEL RIDLEY/KATIE LAMBERT/DAISUKE MISU/
SAKII GOTSU/WATARU ODE/KOICHIRO NARITA/YUTO BRIAN OTA

ASSISTANT PRODUCER :

KANTA YAMAGUCHI

PRODUCTION MANAGER :

FRED DEEDES/ANDREA HARVEY/YURIKA YAMADA/
HARUKA ONO/SENA ROSS

PRODUCTION DESIGNER :

MASAMI TANAKA

LIGHTING :

TETSU MORITERA

CASTING :

MAI IKEDA/AZUMI MATSUMOTO/YURIKA KAGAMI/
KENSAKU WATANABE

SPORTS CHOREOGRAPHER :

EDDIE MCCLEMENTS

CHOREOGRAPHER :

MASAKI OKAWA

STYLIST :

TATSUYA SHIMADA

HAIR & MAKE-UP :

KUNIO KOHZAKI/YOKO MINAMI

HISTORY PROFESSOR :

MAHOKO KYORAKU

POST-PRODUCTION COMPANY :

AOI PRO. INC., TOKYO

EDITOR :

PAUL O’REILLY (TRIM)

ONLINE EDITOR :

AKIO SAKAMAKI (JITTO)

ASSISTANT EDITOR :

NANAKO KAWASAKI/JACQUES SIMON (TRIM)

COLORIST :

DANIEL DE VUE (TRAFIK)

SOUND DESIGNER :

MICHAEL ANASTASI

MIXER :

DANIEL LOVELL

COMPOSER :

BLACK CAT WHITE CAT

EDIT PRODUCER :

POLLY KEMP (TRIM)

SPECIAL EFFECTS COMPANY :

JITTO INC., TOKYO

ENGLISH SYNOPSIS :

The film follows Aika, a Japanese Gen Z protagonist, contending with cultural pressures such as academic success, career expectations, and social media comparisons. Aika witnesses the historical burdens faced by Japanese women, realizing she is not alone in these struggles as she travels through time.
The narrative positions sport as a transformative tool, allowing individuals to break free from daily pressures, and embrace their authentic selves.  The film gains momentum as Nike athletes, including skaters Yurin Fujii & Ginwoo Onodera and breaker Ami Yuasa, symbolize contemporary expressions of sport, adding inspiration to our main protagonist and the voice of Gen Z Aika's journey. It culminates with Aika receiving the support of generations of Japanese women before her, empowering her to live life unapologetically, embracing her individuality with confidence and authenticity. 

ENGLISH CONTEXT EXPLANATION :

Research with Japanese women has showed us that Nike has a unique voice in this conversation, to challenge the pressures to be perfect, because of sport’s role as a release for these pressures. In Japan, perfectionism is deeply ingrained in all aspects of life. From early on, school and sports culture teaches children to conform. This is seen as the only valid path in order to achieve a successful lifestyle. A weighty expectation with a hefty price tag: constant pressure to be perfect.
Today’s youth seek to break away from this “perfect” path, given their infinite options compared to past generations. Japan has just entered a new era, called “Reiwa”, which has injected fresh energy into culture, however, the pressure of perfectionism still echoes from previous eras, creating barriers in life and sport, leaving youth hesitant to try sports due to overly competitive and rigid structures.