Facebook launches first campaign for Japan

Client: Facebook

Agency: Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo

Market: Japan

Campaign scope: Online, out-of-home, transit

Details: Central to the campaign is a short film entitled ‘You are someone’s friend’, directed by Zachary Heinzerling, who was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at this year’s Oscars. The company created the campaign specifically for Japan. The voiceover is by the actor Ryo Katsuji.

Press release quote: Adam Koppel, creative director, Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo: “We all have friends, but we don’t stop and think about what it really means to be a friend. It’s a big deal, it really is. We wanted to create a campaign that surprised people with its intimacy, but also broke the fourth wall and made people really think about their friends. If someone sees this campaign and tells their friend, ‘I saw this ad and it made me think of you’, then we’ve done something really great.”

Comments: The film and its message are indeed touching. Friendships can certainly exist quite happily without the aid of Facebook, but the platform has a special significance in Japan as it served as an important point of contact for anxious friends and family members after the 2011 Tokohu earthquake. The work follows Facebook’s release of a Japan-inspired Safety Check tool specifically for that purpose.

CREDITS

ECDs: Mike Farr, Tota Hasegawa
CD: Adam Koppel
Copywriters: Takeshi Amata, Kounosuke Kamitani (Nakahata)
Art director: Daisuke Maki, Kazuhi Yoshikawa
Studio designer: Choro Koumae
Strategic planner: Kenichiro Muraguchi
Line producer: Kenji Tanaka
Print traffic: Yoko Onodera
Digital strategist: Greg White
Digital producer: Reiko Kawaguchi
Account director: Kensuke Suemasa
Account supervisor: Yoshiko Amano
Account executive: Shinya Kamata
Translator: Fumie Itake
Director & director of photography: Zachary Heinzerling
Producer: Terri Shafirov
Production company: Twenty First City
Editorial company: Cutters Tokyo
Music: Singing Serpent
Print production: Amana Studio
Web production: Megane-To