CASE STUDY: Diesel invites Japanese punters to 'kick ass'

Aim

The aim of the initiative was to strengthen the profile of the sneaker collection by offering an engaging brand experience and generating conversation in the social media space, in keeping with the brand’s ‘Stupid’ positioning.

Execution

On behalf of Diesel, G2 set up the ‘Kick ass hall’ at the festival — an arena where members of the public had the opportunity to do just that. Although the action held negative connotations in Japanese society, it was staged as a game in which participants stepped up to kick a person on a slider (known as the ‘asser’) and to win limited edition items depending on where the ‘asser’ stopped on the marked slider.

The ‘assers’ were recruited as workers to a part-time job, which served as pre-event PR. The high payment (US$600 per day) generated significant interest, and the recruitment drive was ranked first in daily access for three categories on Mixi, Japan’s largest social networking site.

Results

Close to 5,000 people applied for the role of ‘asser’ — 4,188 men and 772 women. The initiative generated around $350,000 worth of PR coverage online and in print.

Credits

Agency: G2 Japan
Client: Diesel Japan
Campaign: Kick Ass Hall
Executive producer/ ECD: Ichiro Ota
Creative director: Yasushi Arikawa
Senior producer/account director: Hideki Ida
Event producer: Shintaro Kurushima (Sun Design)