JR東日本 | Apple PayのSuica | 2017

No More Lines at the Ticket Counter This Spring / JR East "Apple Pay Suica Commuter Pass"

Spring, new beginnings. That whole business of standing in line at the ticket counter to buy a commuter pass disappears, with just an iPhone. That's really all there is to it, but something about Ryuhei Matsuda's presence, the visuals, and the sound makes it strangely pleasant.

The insight

If you ask how dramatically convenient it actually is to be able to buy a commuter pass with your iPhone, honestly, maybe it's not that big a deal. But there's something to learn here about how to create a "spring-like" feeling and set a mood.

The idea

The ad calmly introduces the feature that lets you buy a commuter pass through Suica on Apple Pay, set against scenes of spring and new beginnings. It's built around an original song made for the commercial and Ryuhei Matsuda's natural, understated acting.

Afterthought

The copy "TICKET TO TOMORROW" that appears at the end caught my attention. When I looked into it, it turned out to be the slogan for a startup program that JR East launched that same year. "A ticket to the future, for everyone." I think it's nice that you can see a forward-looking attitude even in something as small as a commuter pass.

Three more the bear picked for you

Thirty-three years later, waving on the same platform again / JR Central "Meeting Someone Turned Out to Be Special."

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JR東海 | 会うって、特別だったんだ。 | 2022

Thirty-three years later, waving on the same platform again / JR Central "Meeting Someone Turned Out to Be Special."

In 1988, Eri Fukatsu waited on a station platform for her boyfriend. In 2022, she had become a businesswoman taking the bullet train to Osaka on a work trip. JR Central quietly captured these 33 years of change in just 60 seconds.

Taking Off the Roles to Reveal Just One Person / NTT Docomo "ForONEs 2017"

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NTTドコモ | ForONEs 2017 | 2017

Taking Off the Roles to Reveal Just One Person / NTT Docomo "ForONEs 2017"

This commercial, released by Docomo in 2017 under the name "ForONEs," shows people taking off colorful T-shirts to portray the diversity within each individual. Take off the actor, and there's a dancer. Take off the professional boxer, and there's a single mother. Take off the doctor, and there's a patient. Everyone has multiple faces, but behind them all is just one "self." At a time when everyone and their mother was talking about diversity, this 60-second spot boldly stripped away any sense of "Docomo-ness," and that choice itself feels like a kind of resolve.

The power of saying nothing / LINE Mobile "Ai to Kakushin. Debut"

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LINEモバイル | 愛と革新。 | 2017

The power of saying nothing / LINE Mobile "Ai to Kakushin. Debut"

45 seconds of Non staring silently at the camera. Kirinji's "Aliens" plays, and at the end only the words "Love and Innovation." appear. It never says the service is cheap. There's nothing else it needs to say, and that's exactly the point.