Acura
Type S: Chiaki's Journey
The Opportunity
After losing sight of their spirit for years, 2022 was time for a comeback. A return to Acura's roots, and the return of their premium performance lineup: Type-S. Now nearly invisible in the market, we needed a vessel to tell the importance of that story that would stick, and we needed it to resonate with a Millennial and Gen Z audience who have likely never even heard of Acura, let alone considered them.
The Idea
In order to tell that story, we went back to the brand's japanese heritage, and created the first original anime series from a car brand.
Credits & Collaborators
Agency: MullenLowe L.A.
ECD: Laura Sampedro, Carlos Alija
CD: Ty Hayward, Sean Stell
Design Director: Fabiano de Queiroz Tatu
ACD: Alex Haase
Creatives: Jude Le Bayon & Elin Lindeberg
Designer: Fernando Pino
Animation Studio: The Line Animation
ECD: Laura Sampedro, Carlos Alija
CD: Ty Hayward, Sean Stell
Design Director: Fabiano de Queiroz Tatu
ACD: Alex Haase
Creatives: Jude Le Bayon & Elin Lindeberg
Designer: Fernando Pino
Animation Studio: The Line Animation
Season 1 Trailer
Embracing Acura's Japanese roots, we created an original anime series with characters that mirrored the brand's story. Our hero and underdog, Chiaki: a young racecar driver fighting her way on to the track, she represents Acura's place in the market now. Her nemesis, Erich: An arrogant and established driver with enough family wealth to buy his skill, he represents the monolithic European competition. And our wise mentor: Uncle Noboru, a racing legend who shows Chiaki the discipline it takes to win on the track and defeat the competition, representing Acura's esteemed racing past.
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Unlike any other car brand out there, we went all-in on illustration. Forget photography, we created our own visual language inspired by japanese manga books and the Type S signature red color. The assets were used across OOH, social and during Acura's Grand Prix of Long Beach.
The action packed 4 part series launched at Sundance Film Festival to rave reviews, and with some viral help from Reddit and Tiktok pushed Acura's story into the cultural space, amassing 277MM views and counting, with our hard to reach target demographic clamoring for a second season, branded merchandise, and even a fully realized Netflix series.
Chiaki's Journey Case Study
Previous:
The Next-Gen Integra
Next:
Your Turn