Honda | UNI-CUB | 2016
This level of quality, right when everyone else was just jumping on the trend / Honda × OK Go "I Won't Let You Down"
Right around the time everyone started making drone-shot music videos, this one came in and knocked everyone flat with how polished it was. Five and a half minutes, and I watched the whole thing without skipping once.
The problem
To spread the word about Honda's personal mobility device UNI-CUB to the world, a collaboration with OK Go was planned. Creative director Morihiro Harano got moving off a single email from OK Go's Damian Kulash, with almost zero budget. Honda didn't interfere at all, but made one promise: they'd make it go viral.
The insight
The choreography took its cue from mass games in Japan and North Korea. Aiming for a "dot matrix" effect where letters and faces appear when viewed from above, the movements were programmed by computer. They also brought in Perfume, making sure there was something for Japanese viewers to latch onto.
The idea
They shot it in an empty storefront in Chiba. They flew the drone up to an altitude of 700 meters and captured it all in one single shot. The trick: 2,328 people opening and closing colorful umbrellas, so that from above, the faces of OK Go's members, lyrics, and Japanese text would appear. They danced to the song played at half speed, then sped the footage up afterward to match—the sheer scale and precision of it is something else.
What happened
It got 1 million views in 10 hours and 10 million views in six days, the fastest ever for OK Go. It also charted on the Billboard Hot 100, won Best Choreography at the MTV VMAs, and took home a Silver Pencil at The One Show.
Afterthought
Starting from zero budget, just the decision not to interfere took this all the way here. It's a moment that only works if 2,328 people, umbrellas, a drone, and gravity all come together perfectly—captured in a single shot. Seeing something like this makes me want to go make something too.
