ANA Pitch
Client: ANA
Role: Concept, Copywriter
ACD: Emlyn Portillo
Art Director: Namita Devadas, Katie Troy
Japanese airline All Nippon Airways needed a rebrand. They sought to position themselves as a premium experience representative of authentic Japan to affluent millennials and business-leisure travelers.
Our pitch contained three creative directions (video spots, OOH ads, and activations) that answered the brief’s request to convey “Japan, Elevated”.
A video that set the tone for our concepts.
CONCEPT 1: A PASSAGE TO JAPAN
This concept speaks to ANA’s uniquely authentic in-flight experience, translating the voyage into the adventure in and of itself.
SPOT STORYBOARD
INT. PLANE
A curtain pulls back to reveal a plane cabin morphed into a blue-lit sake bar. A woman pours drinks before shelves of glimmering bottles. The reflection of neon street signs throw colors onto the walls as the camera slowly dollies through. A young man sits on a high stool, sipping a glass of sake. He looks into the camera with a lingering gaze.
We dolly forward, passing through the next curtain into a warm, gold-hued cabin transformed into a traditional sushi restaurant. Robed chefs deftly slice slabs of raw fish behind the bright counter. They pass a fresh dish to a seated middle-aged man before them and he digs in with gusto. Chewing, he glances up at the camera, then quickly returns to his meal, shaking his head in appreciation.
We dolly forward, pushing through the next curtain into a Japanese garden. Lush foliage line the walls and ceiling and at the end of the passage is a circular entry way. Its sliding doors are parted, and through it, a light and hazy beyond—cherry blossom petals floating across and birds quietly chirping. A koi fish floats through the ground. Kneeling to the side, a woman in traditional Japanese dress speaks to another woman in muted tones, seated. From her seat, she looks up at the camera, smiling softly. The camera continues forward, nearing the doorway. The light brightens, a breeze rushes through, and just as it seems we’re about to pass through, the camera swivels around.
The plane is transformed back to reality. Passengers nestle in their seats, some slumbering, others watching movies or reading. The same young man savors his glass of sake, gazing out the window. The older one bends over his dish of food, sighing in satisfaction. The woman in traditional dress, now in a stewardess’s garb, chats in low tones with the same seated woman. They laugh, quietly.
CUT TO WHITE
Where journey is adventure.
(beat)
Japan, elevated.
End card (LOGO)
OOH
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CONCEPT 2: A SPACE BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH
This concept speaks to the fantastical nature of the ANA experience—how dreams not only inspire the journey but how the journey brings your dreams to life.
SPOT STORYBOARD
V.O.:
There’s a space between heaven and earth. Where impossibility replaces natural law.
V.O.:
Where you dine with the moon, sleep on the wind’s back, speak to the clouds.
V.O.:
It’s fantasy in reality, a world on no land, a rise without fall. And just as you think, you have to wake up—
The camera dollies back to reveal the back of a WOMAN’s head looking out of a plane window. The fasten seatbelt sign goes on.
PILOT: Ladies and gentleman, 30 minutes to Tokyo.
(the WOMAN looks back down through the window and we see the shape of Tokyo get clearer through the clouds. She smiles.)
V.O.: The dream goes on.
Where dreams take off.
ANA - The Inspiration of Japan.
(LOGO)
OOH
CONCEPT 3: AN ELEVATED SELF
This concept speaks to the relationship between the ANA travel experience and the journey to your highest self.
SPOT STORYBOARD
A young AMERICAN MAN sits at a Japanese dinner amongst Japanese business men and women. The table buzzes with conversation. The first course arrives and the diners all bow their heads and press their hands together.
ALL: Ita daki mas.
AMERICAN (overlapping): Ita daki mas.
A few glance over with eyebrows raised as the American slowly raises his head back up and lowers his pressed palms.
CUT TO: Next course
The American lifts a piece of sushi with his chopsticks, deftly rotating the little bundle to face rice up and fish down. A WOMAN to his side peeks over as he elegantly taps the fish into soysauce, delivering it to his mouth in one seamless bite.
CUT TO: Next Course
The Japanese man watches as the American, slurping down his udon as loudly as the local diners around him, then balances his chopsticks neatly across the empty bowl.
JAPANESE MAN: This isn’t your first time in Japan I would guess?
CUT TO: INT. ANA PLANE — MONTAGE
- Flight attendant teaching the American how to use eat sashimi, slurp noodles and drink soup from the bowl, gently demonstrating the right movements.
- Flight attendant writing out Japanese phrases on a piece of paper, him reciting them.
- Flight attendant teaching him about sake as he sips on his glass, eyes wide in fascination.
- Them bowing to each other at the end of the flight, her with a warm smile, his expression full of gratitude.
CUT BACK TO RESTAURANT:
AMERICAN (with a twinkle in his eye): Actually, it is.
CUT TO WHITE:
VO: Rise to new heights.
Inspiration of Japan.
(LOGO)
OOH
Writer. Editor. Creative Consultant.