Japan is known for its taboo culture, and talking about sex in the media is a big taboo. So advertising SKYN was a challenge for media and production. We searched several locations to shoot, but were rejected because of the product. People assume sex is going to take place during the shoot. So we needed to find an idea that isn’t about sex, or sex jokes, but something that would elevate the brand, and be acceptable for media and the audience. In Japan, romantic relationships have been fantasized in TV dramas and movies. so we focused our communication on the strong connection between two people, but striking the balance in making it unique but not cliche. So we wanted to see if we can capture that connection between a couple in an experiment.

The creative idea was to find a way to get couples to relieve the moment when they first met each other. We decided to hypnotize both partners to temporarily forget each other and get them to meet for the first time. We wanted them to speak to each other, as if they’ve never met before. When they became strangers, what would they say to each other, and would they want to meet each other again? These were some of the questions that were up in the air. Nobody knew the answers to that question, but somehow knew they would be attracted to each other. Through this experiment we witness strangers gradually getting closer to one another, as if fate was manifesting itself which was exactly our intention.

As condom brands often focus on the “Action”, we made a strategic decision to focus on relationships. This territory has not been done with condom brands yet, and we thought it was the most important thing for couples and for the brand. We also made sure, we don’t encourage excessive sex with multiple partners, but rather they take care of the one special person they are with. As opposed to the generations before, being faithful among younger generation is valued with respect from others, especially for men and having lots of girlfriends is considered uncool.

The film ran on SKYN Social channels - Instagram, Facebook, YouTube as well as seven synchronized Digital OOH spots in Tokyo's world famous Shibuya Crossing. It ran for two weeks from July 25 - August 8th.

The campaign reached and audience of over 7,000,000 people and was picked up by more than 70 publications consisting of both consumer and industry press, locally and globally (worth over $200,000USD)