Toyo Tires: TIRE KIMONO, 1

Credits & Description:

CLIENT TOYO TIRE & RUBBER
PRODUCT TOYO TIRE & RUBBER
ENTRANT MCCANN ERICKSON JAPAN TOKYO, JAPAN
TYPE OF ENTRY COMMUNICATION DESIGN
CATEGORY PROMOTIONAL ITEMS
TITLE TIRE KIMONO
PRODUCT/SERVICE TOYO TIRE & RUBBER
ENTRANT COMPANY : MCCANN ERICKSON JAPAN TOKYO, JAPAN
ADVERTISING AGENCY : MCCANN ERICKSON JAPAN TOKYO, JAPAN
PRODUCTION COMPANY : TYO TOKYO, JAPAN
ISAMU NAKAMURA MCCANN ERICKSON JAPAN INC. EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR/COPYWRITER
MASAYA ABE MCCANN ERICKSON JAPAN INC. ART DIRECTOR
KANTA KUMAZAWA MCCANN ERICKSON JAPAN INC. ART DIRECTOR
AYA SHIMOE MCCANN ERICKSON JAPAN INC. BUSINESS DIRECTOR
CHIHARU OZAKI MCCANN ERICKSON JAPAN INC. COORDINATOR
KAORI MOCHIZUKI MCCANN ERICKSON JAPAN INC. ENGLISH COPYWRITER
HIROMICHI TAKAGI TYO INC. PRODUCER
ERIKA KONNO TYO INC. DIRECTOR
HIROAKI MURANAKA FREELANCE DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
TAKASHI WATANABE FREELANCE MUSIC ARTIST
KEITARO IIJIMA KOBE INSTITUTE OF COMPUTING COMPUTING COLLEGE OF COMPUTING SOUND CREATOR
TAKASHI SATO TYO INC. PRODUCTION MANAGER
NAHO MATSUSHIMA TYO INC. PRODUCTION MANAGER
SHINYA HASEGAWA TYO INC. PRODUCTION MANAGER
EIICHI TAKAHASHI ANCIENT OSHARE KIMONO EDO CHUMON DYING HOUSE KIMONO DYER
HIROYUKI AOKI AOKI PATTERN MAKER PATTERN MAKER
SHIGERU YOSHIDA YOSHIDA KIMONO MAKER KIMONO MAKER
TOMOKO TAKAMA MCCANN ERICKSON JAPAN INC. KIMONO STYLING
Brief Explanation
People don’t usually take notice of tires. Our challenge was to come up with a tool that would present tires in a way that would draw people’s attention while also functioning as a branding device for Toyo Tires.
Describe the brief from the client:
To develop and propose a communication tool that would build excitement at a non-car-related event.
Description of how you arrived at the final design:
The tread patterns of Toyo’s tires are a result of not just their high-level technology, but also well-honed craftsmanship that shares its aesthetics with traditional Japanese craft, such as kimono design. Thus we saw it fitting to draw a parallel between the tread patterns and traditional kimono design to highlight the artistic craftsmanship that goes into the creation of a Toyo tire. The analogy is a doubly fitting one as Toyo Tires traces its roots to a textile company.
Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market:
The campaign generated 4,000 tweets in just one day of exposure, with 43% percent of the tweets coming from women between the ages of 20 and 30. It was also picked up by a number of online media, many of which were fashion or culture news websites and blogs. As a result, the campaign succeeded in getting a wide range of people to talk about tires, including those that are usually not target consumers for tires.