Panasonic: Life is electric, 7

Credits & Description:

Brand: Panasonic
Corporate Name of Client: Panasonic Corporation
Head of Client Services: Hiroyuki Takasu
Agency Account Executives: Kyosuke Fujita/Nahoko Yokoyama
Agency Planner: Hajime Yakushiji
Media Company: Dentsu Inc., Tokyo
Agency: Dentsu Inc., Tokyo
Group Creative Director: Yoshihiro Yagi
Creative Director: Yoshihiro Yagi
Copywriters: Haruko Tsutsui/Scott Lehman/Marina Danjo
Art Directors: Yoshihiro Yagi/Taiji Kimura/Daisuke Hatakeyama
Executive Agency Producer: Koji Wada
Production Manager: Maiko Fujiwara
Art Buyer: Natsuko Kida
Production Companies: PEN.Inc./Creative Power Unit/TYO drive, Tokyo
Director: Takuya Demura
Executive Producer: Shunichi Takano
Producer: Yuta Harasawa
Design Companies: PEN.Inc./Creative Power Unit, Tokyo
Design Directors: Taiji Kimura/Daisuke Hatakeyama
Designers: Chihiro Kato/Masashi Fujita
Graphic Designers: Taiji Kimura/Daisuke Hatakeyama/Chihiro Kato/Masashi Fujita
Photography Studio: Fumihito Katamura Photograph Office, Tokyo
Photographer: Fumihito Katamura
Illustration Company: Bureau Kida SARL, Paris
Illustrator: BLEX BOLEX
Animation Company: Caviar, Tokyo
Print Company: Dentsu On Demand Graphic Inc., Tokyo
Printing Director: Shinya Tamura
Technical Company: ARTISAN Inc., Tokyo
Technical Director: Yusuke Sakurai
Technical Designer: Tatsuya Utsushikawa/Hiroyuki Seino/Yoshihisa Hagi/Eiji Kamomiya
Gaffer: Hiroki Nishigaya
Description of the Project:
In Japan, electricity is so much a part of life that it is often taken for granted. In April 2016, however, the Japanese retail electricity market was deregulated, enabling consumers to choose their electricity provider for the first time. With public interest in electricity running high, Panasonic wanted to use its position as a leading manufacturer of electronics, housing, communication, and energy products to begin a conversation with consumers about the real value of electricity.
We conducted an experiment in which we charged 21 eneloop batteries with energy created in daily life. We captured Cuddly Hamster Power from hamsters running on exercise wheels, and Cheerful Pom-Pom Power from energetic cheerleaders shaking their pom-poms, 21 different kinds in all.
As an electronics manufacturer, Panasonic wanted to reach out and encourage consumers to think about the real value of electricity. To achieve this goal, we employed a strategy that combined exposure via TV commercials and a dedicated website with exhibitions and online sales (via Amazon) of products created during the project. By offering consumers cute, beautiful, and cool products they can hold in their hands, we created a direct pathway to a new way of thinking about electricity.
We created 21 custom-designed, illustrated packages for the batteries, as well as movies and a booklet showing how they were charged. The project was also featured in TV commercials and a special website. In addition, exhibitions and online sales (via Amazon) enabled consumers to actually touch and own the products created during the project.
We changed the way people think about electricity by transforming it from an invisible force that is taken for granted into something that people relate to as cute, beautiful, or cool.