How NOT to drive in Japan 

TOKYO, Today: AIG has launched a campaign aimed at educating foreign travellers ‘How NOT to drive in Japan’, as the country readies itself for an unprecedented influx of overseas visitors for the upcoming 2019 Rugby World Cup and Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics.

There are an estimated 40 million travellers expected in 2020, which is roughly a third of the entire Japanese population. 

The campaign is centred around an online film starring the All Blacks. A total of eight Japanese traffic rules are explained, from driving on the left side of the road, to identifying triangular stop signs. 

“Our non-confrontational culture often results in difficulty effectively communicating and enforcing rules and regulations to overseas visitors,” said Shuhei Tsuji, senior creative director at TBWA\Hakuhodo.

“That’s why it was important for us to take a tongue-in-cheek approach to help the nation educate tourists in a fun and appealing way.”

“The campaign is centred around an online film starring the All Blacks.”

As part of the project, AIG assembled representatives from the business world, local municipalities and influencers, to spread the message behind the campaign and get Japanese businesses excited and ready for the increased number of expected visitors.

Called Team Yokoso (‘Welcome’ in Japanese), the group includes NZ’s Deputy Ambassador in Japan Dominic Walton-France, and Yasuhiro Nagano, Mayor of Beppu City, which will be the All Blacks training ground during the cup.

With language and cultural barriers also posing a hotbed of potential risks, the team created How NOT To cards, distributed to more than 30,000 Japanese SMEs, such as F&B businesses, traditional inns and retailers.

The cards are designed to amuse users, but more importantly explain how rules apply to everyone, and encourage guests to understand and respect the local customs.

“Our history in Japan along with our unique global perspective and understanding of our Japanese customers has helped inform and develop the insight and opportunity for our individual, small business and corporate customers for 2019, 2020 and beyond,” said AIG Japan SVP/regional marketing officer Matthew Walker.

“I think this is a great project for both overseas visitors and local businesses alike,” said Mayor Nagano.

CREDITS

Agency: TBWA/Hakuhodo
Chief Creative Officer: Kazoo Sato
Senior Creative Director: Takahiro Hosoda
Creative Director: Shuhei Tsuji
Senior Art Director: Keisuke Shimizu
Art Director: Yosuke Sugioka Designer : Kana Takarada
Copywriter: Peter Souter (TBWA\London
Copywriter: Tomoko Kasugai
Activation Planner: Kei Tominaga
PR Planner: Hideyuki Kobayashi
Executive Planning Director: Masa Okazaki
Strategic Planning Director: Keita Kawakatsu Strategic Planning Supervisor : Chigusa Ogasawara
Strategic Planner: Yoku Ishida
Film Director (Making movie): Shinri Abe Senior
Account Director: Kei Kaneko
Account Director: Tatsuya Horikoshi
Account Supervisor: Kasumi Shimada
Account Supervisor: Keisuke Egami
Account Supervisor: Mami Konisho
Fabric: Saqulai Inc
Costume Designer and Producer: Toshihiko Sakurai
Costume Director: Chika Sai
Costume Technical Staff: Yuka Sato
Costume Technical Staff: Nozomi Koike
Costume Technical Staff: Toko Matsumoto
Costume Technical Staff: Ai Mitsunaga
Film Producer: Keisuke Mizusako（AOI Pro Inc）
Producer: Masahiro Kawaguchi（AOI Pro Inc）
Global Producer: Jun Yoshikawa（AOI Pro Inc）
Global Producer: Riki Sakai（AOI Pro Inc）
Global Coordinator: Sumire Matsumura（Freelance）
Production Manager: Taisuke Konaka（AOI Pro Inc）
Production Manager: Maki Komiya（AOI Pro Inc）
Production Manager: Koichiro Narita（AOI Pro Inc）
Global Production Manager: Wataru Ode（AOI Pro Inc）
Global Production Manager: Takehiro Yamada（AOI Pro Inc）
Director: Hisashi Eto（CluB_A）
DoP: Justin Brown（Lux Artists Ltd.）
2nd DoP: Gen Ito（AOI Pro Inc）
Gaffer: Keisuke Kamiyama（AOI Pro Inc）
Production Designer: Etsuko Akiba（ART LABO）
Stylist: Chika Yokote（Freelance）
Hair & Make up: Saori Hattori（Freelance）
Casting Director: Emiko Hyakutake（Freelance）
Location coordinator: Shogo Hirai（Freelance）
Location coordinator: Eriko Kawanabe（Freelance）
VFX Supervisor / Finishing: Yusaku Yasuda（Cutters Studios Tokyo）
Post Prodution Producer: Raichi Hara（Cutters Studios Tokyo）
Offline Editor: Aki Mizutani（Cutters Studios Tokyo）
Colourist: Pete Ritchie（Cutters Studios Tokyo）
Colourist: Toshiki Kamei（Cutters Studios Tokyo）
Sound Mixer / Sound Designer: Mike Regan（Cutters Studios）
Music Producer: Tommy Zee（Hologram Sound＋Magic）
CG Producer: Asami Konno（Tsumiki Inc.）
CG Producer: Taiyo Sato Cafegroup)
Graphic Producer: Wataru Ito (amana）
Producer: Yusuke Hino (amana）
Producer: Yohei Ando (amana）
Photographer: Dysk Photography
Photo retoucher: Kaoru Kobata（unICoRn digital retouching）
Designer: Kazuya Yamazaki（Nush）
Motion Graphic Designer: Shinnosuke Arima（EDP graphic works）