ユニクロ | Because of Life, We Made LifeWear | 2017
A Movie Scene, or Just UNIQLO? / UNIQLO "Because of Life, We Made LifeWear"
Two strangers meet by chance at a desolate gas station. The overused phrase "it's like a scene from a movie" really does fit this footage perfectly.
The problem
In 2016, UNIQLO teamed up with Droga5 to launch its first global campaign, "The Science of LifeWear." "Distressed Denim" came out of that effort in 2017, as the first piece of work from Droga5 London.
The insight
The aim was simple: to use abstract imagery to express the design philosophy behind the denim, which brings together two seemingly opposite qualities—comfort and imperfection. Droga5's CCO David Kolbusz said they wanted to express the rational reason to buy the clothes in an abstract way.
The idea
The footage is simple: a man and a woman meet at a run-down gas station. It was directed by Nick Gordon, with narration by Tuppence Middleton. The music is "Baby" by Donnie and Joe Emerson—a little-known record made by two farm-raised brothers in their father's home studio, which was rediscovered in 2012. The song choice is irresistible.
What happened
The film was cut into 60-second, 30-second, and 15-second versions, dubbed with voice actors in each market, and rolled out globally online, on TV, and in print.
Afterthought
It's a sharp observation that UNIQLO occupies a different position in Japan than it does overseas, so it's hard to say whether this would actually make Japanese consumers want to buy the product. Still, I love the beauty of this film, the music choice, and the boldness of describing product design in such an abstract way. It felt almost too stylish—which, in its own way, felt refreshing.
