My Crayon Project

One of my agency counterparts in Tokyo shared with me an activation by Japanese skincare company Shiseido that teaches a lesson and makes the brand relatable at the same time. 

The activation is called “My Crayon Project” and the best way to understand it is to follow the storyline in a short explainer film produced by Shiseido’s agency RGA. 

The film opens with children from an elementary school class being asked what color their skin is. 

All of them answer “hada iro” (in Japanese 肌色) which means “skin color”. 

The implication is that all skin color is the same. 

Then the children are then invited to get a skin test by a Shiseido technician. 

The test is somewhat mysterious, delivered by a scientist wearing a lab coat using a futuristic device that emits a light when it touches their faces. 

Fast forward to another day, perhaps several days later, when a box of crayons appears at school. 

The box has an open top, with the crayons arrayed across a range of color values/hues. Each one has a child's name written on it in hiragana or katakana. 

As each child finds “their” crayon and holds it up to their face, it becomes clear that the crayons are an exact, color-matched version of that particular student's skin pigmentation.

Then the children use they crayons to draw their own self portraits (some, pictured above) and then pictures of each another.

As the children come to understand their differences in familiar terms (crayons, coloring), they also pick up something new through the behavior of observing and making pictures (everyone has their own “hada iro”, and it makes them special). 

Having worked in Japan, I know this is a brave statement to make because skin color difference can be a tricky topic anywhere but especially in a place known for racial homogeneity. 

Bottom line, Shiseido is presented in positive light at multiple levels - valuing individuality, understanding the dynamics that are changing the face of Japan, valuing harmony … and being a leader in skin science.

I have a reservation about using schoolchildren in marketing, but a larger purpose is served here and taken as a whole I would say this use provided a net-net positive.

Kudos to Shiseido and RGA for My Crayon Project!

You can watch the video here … 

https://www.rga.com/work/case-studies/shiseido-my-crayon-project