Onitsuka Tiger unveils Japanese crafts campaign

Onitsuka Tiger, the iconic sportswear brand, is unveiling its latest global campaign which includes a competition focussed on a giant piece of traditional Japanese furniture in the shape of a running shoe.

Onitsuka Tiger
Onitsuka Tiger campaign

The campaign has been developed by Amsterdam Worldwide and is a tribute to traditional Japanese Tansu furniture-making in the form of a cabinet.

Tansu masters, Ogura Tansu Ten, handcrafted the model, which contains secret compartments that form an intricate puzzle that must be unlocked in a specific sequence.

Onitsuka fans are invited to solve the puzzle and win exclusive prizes when the Tansu sculpture tours flagship Onitsuka Tiger stores, as well as design, fashion and specialist trade fairs around the world, later this year.

The sculpture can also be seen online at www.onitsukatiger.com where a fully interactive, stop motion animation ‘virtual sneaker’ re-imagines the Tansu shoe’s hand-made look and feel. The website also enables users to open doors and drawers to discover secrets and surprises about the brand, the new season’s collection, and the Tansu tradition.

Particular content will be locked and only made available to those lucky enough to find a key or a code.

Awareness for the Tansu promotion will be driven by print media, blogger-outreach, social media and PR campaigns across sports, fashion, design and lifestyle media.

In-store, the agency has created a collection of Tansu-themed materials, including scale-models of the sculpture, limited-edition wooden business card holders, shopping bags and ornate wrapping paper.

Brian Elliott, founder and chief executive of Amsterdam Worldwide, says: “This is the fourth year we’ve brought our ‘Made of Japan’ strategy to life and the challenge was to build on previous award-winning work with something jaw dropping and authentic.

Onitsuka Tiger is owned by Asics and the brand celebrated its 60th birthday last year. Asics Europe appointed a new executive vp sales and marketing last September.

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