Image Campaign

Get Back, Tohoku.

In 2011, Japan’s Tohoku region was devastated by one of the most destructive earthquakes in recorded history. The “Get Back, Tohoku.” campaign was launched a little later that same year and has continued for nine years since. The goal in creating the campaign was to revitalise the local tourism industry and help local residents “get back” the life they once knew. Focusing on the region’s railways and artistically depicting trains and local scenery in a single moment of time, the campaign aims to evoke the sense of wonder of travel. The communication design of this nine-year campaign in the once devastated region took an analogue approach to graphic design and created posters featuring strictly graphic photos of trains, tracks, bridges, tunnels and natural scenery that capture the joy of travelling with a documentary touch. Each photo shoot was carefully choreographed to capture the perfect composition and moment, transforming ordinary commuter trains into heroic art.

Statement by the Jury

The campaign to revitalise tourism in the Tohoku region after the 2011 earthquake is particularly striking as it adopts the viewing angle of potential customers and piques their interest through a series of pointedly composed shots of trains as well as architecturally enticing bridges and pillars. The overall design goal has been excellently realised in precisely composed photographs that turn each of the shots into a work of art.

Red Dot: Best of the Best

Credits

Client:

East Japan Railway Company, Tokyo, Japan
Design:

Dentsu Inc., Tokyo, Japan
Project Team:

Takuma Takasaki (Creative Direction) Yoshihiro Yagi (Art Direction) Hiroshi Ichikura (Copywriting) Waca Sakamoto (Copywriting) Daisuke Hatakeyama (Graphic Design) Masashi Fujita (Graphic Design) Fumihito Katamura (Photography)