After the wildly original anime series “‘Chiaki’s Journey”’ reconnected Acura fans with the brand’s Type S legacy, season two needed to support the performance of the new Integra Type S with equally forward-thinking design language. Pushing beyond traditional anime/manga artwork, the team created iconic character silhouettes, a custom “speed” katakana typeface, and a high-contrast, vivid color palette to explore new territory, not just in car advertising but in anime itself.

“Chiaki’s Journey,” the first anime series created by a car brand, was born out of an ambition to keep Acura’s challenger spirit relevant to the next generation of drivers.

Following its initial success, for season two, the brand sought to extend the show’s energy onto the streets and drive eyeballs to its streaming channels. Rather than relying on an isolated stunt, the media strategy fully leveraged the power of design and art direction to captivate audiences across major U.S. cities and pique their curiosity. Over 100 unique executions were created for OOH alone. Billboards across the country featured a unique, high-contrast, impactful interpretation of classic anime, associating a timeless car brand with the cutting edge of cool.

Since 2019, our brand target has been Next-Gen Premium Buyers, a new generation of car buyers who are mostly 25-54 Millennials and Gen Xers who make $100K+ and are interested in premium vehicles but not traditional luxury. They are youthful, authentic, and have an independent spirit, something they share with the Acura brand. We knew that to really connect with our opinionated audience we would need to focus on the social subculture audience we call Gearheads, who are active in the car community, keep up with industry news and releases, watch car-related content, and share their opinions online.

“Chiaki’s Journey” episodes are rife with scenes, imagery, and stories surrounding motorsports and tuner culture, and our design campaign brought a sleek, youthful edge to Chiaki and Uncle Noboru, our gearheads turned heroes. Connecting Acura’s legacy to the next-gen gearhead gave our dedicated fan base its proper due.

“Chiaki’s Journey” season two came together in less than a year. Billboards spanned major markets across the U.S., from Times Square to Hollywood to Miami. Over 100 unique executions were created for OOH alone. Pushing beyond traditional anime/manga artwork, the team created iconic character silhouettes, a custom “speed” katakana typeface, and a high-contrast, vivid color palette to explore new territory, not just in car advertising, but in anime itself.

The campaign reached audiences both online and IRL simultaneously, leading to more than 239 million+ views and a highly successful launch of the Integra Type -S.

It was one of the largest direct marketing campaigns in Acura history, all from a piece of original IP developed in-house.

The Integra Type S campaign part of “Chiaki’s Journey” delivered on the emotion and excitement our audience craves both behind the wheel and on-screen. Audiences responded in kind.

Market Share: +18pp

Lead Generation: +112%

Awareness of the Type S Badge: +2.5pp

Awareness of “Chiaki’s Journey”: +15pp

Familiarity with ”Chiaki’s Journey”: +21pp

Organic Social Following: 216% over target

Video Views: 73% over target

And, an impressive 239 million-plus views have been registered, making Chiaki’s universe—the brand’s most cutting-edge work—its most successful campaign.