UNIQLO’s new global campaign, “Because of Life, We Made LifeWear”, by Droga5 London, focuses on the company’s quest to create clothes that make life better.
The campaign, which is the first work by Droga5 London for UNIQLO, features three ads: “Wireless Bra”, “AIRism”, and “Distressed Denim”. The films answer the question posed by the “Why do we Get Dressed?” work from Droga5 New York last year by showcasing the thought that goes into UNIQLO’s deceptively simple clothes.
“The new UNIQLO campaign is a great example of how exceptional storytelling dimensionalises the technology-led benefits of our LifeWear apparel,” said John C Jay, President, Global Creative, Fast Retailing, in a statement. “The Droga5 London team’s creativity lifts the rational reason to an emotional answer.”
The ads are voiced by English actress and War and Peace star Tuppence Middleton. The campaign will run in the US, Europe, Asia and Australia. The first ads in the series break this week and the campaign will roll out globally throughout February. The ads, which will also run online, will run in 60, 30 and 15 second cut-downs and will be supported by a print campaign.
David Kolbusz, Chief Creative Officer tells DIVERGE more:
Where did the idea for this campaign come from?
UNIQLO’s products are incredibly thoughtfully designed to meet real human needs – a bra designed without wires to be more comfortable, a shirt that keeps you cool… Each of the films takes the rational benefits of UNIQLO’s products and brings it to life in an abstract way.
Where will it air?
The films will run globally on TV and online in key markets including Japan, UK, USA, Korea and Australia
Can you explain “Move like you are not supposed to?” How does this help with gender equality?
Men have long been the architects of how women look and dress. They set the standard, prioritising aesthetics over comfort. This notion is frequently evidenced bra commercials. Here we tried to challenge the traditional idea of beauty by questioning whether a bra’s most important quality is how it looks. The films celebrates a bra that gives women the freedom to move and feel comfortable.
How do the soundtracks play a role in sending the message you want to send?
We wanted to make sure that each piece of music not only complemented the visuals, but enhanced them. Autumn’s Bra spot was actually soundtracked by her daughter’s band Starcrawler. The track felt like the right level of ferocious for the intended message. Nick’s Denim spot needsed to be dreamy, romantic, hallucinatory. Then the Airism spot needed to be ethereal without being too expected. We got very lucky on music.
Why did you choose black and white films?
For the Airism film, we went with black and white because Nick felt it would not only help with comprehension but it would look stunning. The absence of color really draws your eye to laborious attention to detail paid to each shot’s composition.
Additional thoughts?
Only that we’re excited to have made three very different films for three really great products. Campaigns are usually a little same-y.
