ART OF THE SAMURAI INSPIRES ONITSUKA TIGER 2010 BRAND CAMPAIGN

Hand-made Japanese ‘puzzle box’ sculpture is Amsterdam Worldwide’s most ambitious Onitsuka Tiger project yet

www.amsterdamworldwide.com

International creative agency, Amsterdam Worldwide, has once again fused the eclectic and ancient traditions of Japanese art and contemporary culture to ignite fashion brand Onitsuka Tiger in 2010.

Amsterdam Worldwide’s latest brand campaign, which launches globally in February, builds on the success of three previous award-winning ‘Made of Japan’ strategy-inspired sculptures. This year’s offering is no less impressive. The centrepiece of the campaign is a totem to traditional Japanese Tansu* furniture-making: a one and a half-metre long bespoke wooden cabinet – built in the shape of a sneaker.

Amsterdam Worldwide commissioned Niigata-based Tansu masters, Ogura Tansu Ten, to handcraft the model. This generations-old company of traditional Japanese artisans is known for its distinctive ‘puzzle box’ cabinets and chests, which are the epitome of traditional Japanese art and design, and lay claim to a rich and colourful history.

It took four months for Ogura-san and his team to build the tableau of individually crafted boxes in a sneaker shape, using 200-year old methods dating back to the time of the Samurai. The Onitsuka Tiger Tansu sneaker comprises many authentic and original features. In addition to ornate ironwork and a flawless lacquer finish, Ogura Tansu Ten skillfully customised the seamless piece with secret compartments. Like an intricate puzzle, these must be unlocked in a specific sequence, and those who crack the code can access their hidden treasures.

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

Those unable to see it live can explore the sneaker online at www.onitsukatiger.com. A fully interactive, stop motion animation ‘virtual sneaker’ re-imagines the Tansu shoe’s hand-made look and feel, perfectly replicating the craft that went into the sculpture’s construction. The website also enables users to open doors and drawers to discover a myriad of 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.

To publicise the campaign Amsterdam Worldwide has devised print media, blogger-outreach, social media and PR campaigns to showcase the Tansu brand campaign 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.

Andrew Watson, creative director at Amsterdam Worldwide led the team behind the Tansu sneaker and the entire creative campaign.

“When we discovered the history behind the art of Tansu, we knew that we had the basis for a campaign that would fit perfectly with Onitsuka Tiger’s brand identity,” he said. “Tansu has so many rich and intriguing elements: the involvement of the Samurai, the elaborate locks, hidden compartments and the secret messages in the ironwork, and the sculpture repurposes these with a modern twist.”

Brian Elliott, founder and chief executive of Amsterdam Worldwide, said: “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.

“With the Tansu brand campaign we’ve taken inspiration from Japanese art and culture and given it the Onitsuka Tiger treatment. This work again demonstrates our philosophy that what a brand actually does is more important than what it says, or even what it says it does."

Amsterdam Worldwide’s three previous Onitsuka Tiger campaigns – Baseman, Electric Tiger Land and the Cycle of Life – have won multiple awards, including a Cyber Lion at Cannes 2008 and The International Integration Award at the M&M Awards 2009.

To learn more about the campaign, Tansu and to discover what lies inside the Onitsuka Tiger Tansu sneaker, go to www.onitsukatiger.com

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For more information contact: Mark Terry-Lush or Naomi Attard on +44 (0)1452 760 147, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

*ABOUT TANSU

Carpentry traditions remain deep-rooted among authentic Tansu practitioners. Their distinctive boxes, cabinets and chests are considered the epitome of Japanese art and design. However, the popularity of Tansu reaches far beyond Japan’s shores. Portability has always been an important characteristic. An early style was worn on the back, while another had large wheels so that it could be easily moved in case of fire or natural disaster. Others were designed to be watertight, allowing them to travel on merchant ships. Rumour has it that if pirates attacked, chests could be tossed overboard and would float just below the surface of the water. They could later be retrieved by an attached silk cord.

The Kaidan or ‘step’ Tansu is another specialty. Living space has always been at a premium in Japan, but during the Edo period, a clever combination of cabinets was designed to form steps. The meant they could function as both storage space and as a ladder. Each section was designed to fit perfectly into another, so that when the tax collector came, it looked like an ordinary cabinet. Thus the owners could claim that their ‘inaccessible’ upstairs loft was not a functional part of the house, and therefore not taxable.

ABOUT AMSTERDAM WORLDWIDE

Amsterdam Worldwide was founded in 2008 by CEO Brian Elliott as a full-service, international communications agency. Amsterdam Worldwide has created highly original, award-winning work for some of the world's most respected brands, including ASICS Onitsuka Tiger, Chevrolet, Coca Cola, Heineken, IKEA, Mitsubishi, Opel, Sony Ericsson, Pernod Ricard and Panasonic. Amsterdam Worldwide's multi-cultural strategic, creative, digital, media and management teams work in collaboration with clients and agency partners to create highly effective, integrated pan-European and global campaigns. For more than nine years Elliott and his team has built passionate customer relationships, delivering results for clients who think big and are open to the innovative and unconventional.

ABOUT ONITSUKA TIGER

In 1949, Kihachiro Onitsuka established Onitsuka Tiger, the forerunner of ASICS. It began with a commitment to promoting youth health, and has gone on to play a part in most major Olympic games. The famous Tiger stripes are synonymous with sporting triumph. The legend lives on today in the fusion of Japanese heritage and contemporary design. The spirit of Onitsuka Tiger is reflected in each collection of unique sneakers, apparel and accessories.