Panasonic: Life Is Electric

Credits & Description:

Agency: Dentsu Inc
Brand: Panasonic
Country: Japan
Advertising Agency: Dentsu Inc, Tokyo
Entrant Company: Dentsu Inc, Tokyo
Media Agency: Dentsu Inc, Tokyo
Pr Agency: Dentsu Inc, Tokyo
Production Company: Tyo, Tokyo
Technical Designer: Eiji Kamomiya (None)
Account Executive: Nahoko Yokoyama (Dentsu Inc.)
Copywriter: Scott Lehman (Lehman Ad)
Executive Producer: Shunichi Takano (Tyo Drive)
Producer: Yuta Harasawa (Tyo Drive)
Copywriter: Haruko Tsutsui (Dentsu Inc.)
Production Manager: Maiko Fujiwara (Tyo Drive)
Copywriter: Marina Danjo (Dentsu Inc.)
Technical Designer: Tatsuya Utsushikawa (Aquirax)
Creative Director / Art Director: Yoshihiro Yagi (Dentsu Inc.)
Art Director: Daisuke Hatakeyama (Creative Power Unit)
Photographer: Fumihito Katamura (Fumihito Katamura Photograph Office)
Sound Producer: Toru Sasaki (Handsome Tracks Inc.)
Web Director: Keigo Nakanishi (Maskman Inc.)
Designer: Chihiro Kato (Dentsu Inc.)
Strategic Planner: Hajime Yakushiji (Dentsu Inc.)
Artist Agent: Natsuko Kida (Bureau Kida Sarl)
Director: Takuya Demura (Caviar)
Illustrator: Blexbolex (Blexbolex)
Web Designer: Daisuke Shimokawa (Highlights Inc.)
Technical Designer: Hiroyuki Seino (Shimaele)
Agency Producer: Koji Wada (Dentsu Inc.)
Account Executive: Kyosuke Fujita (Dentsu Inc.)
Technical Designer: Hagi Yoshihisa (None)
Gaffer: Hiroki Nishigaya (None)
Web Programmer: Kenjiro Otsuka (Maskman Inc.)
Designer: Masashi Fujita (Creative Power Unit)
Art Director: Taiji Kimura (Pen.Inc.)
Technical Designer: Yusuke Sakurai (Artisan Inc.)
Website URL: http://panasonic.jp/battery/ch...
Strategy:
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.
Outcome:
The Life Is Electric project is changing the way people think by transforming electricity from something that is taken for granted into something cute, beautiful, and cool that individuals can relate to on a personal level. The project will be featured at the RiSuPia Panasonic Digital Network Museum and events at Panasonic showrooms throughout Japan to foster the growth of scientists of the future, and is being incorporated into programs on information design theory and design science at Kyoto Seika University and the Kyoto University of Art and Design. The one-of-a-kind batteries produced by the project are also being offered for sale on Amazon Japan at the same price as regular eneloop batteries, enabling the project's message to reach consumers throughout Japan.
Campaign Description:
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.
Execution:
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.
Synopsis:
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.