Manga is a culture loved by all generations in Japan. Based on the appealing visual technique of manga, the project asks viewers to read lines from speech balloons in their minds while the colors, features, and voices are stripped down to the bare minimum. Was that voice a man or a woman? It makes the viewers aware of gender bias that they may not have realized.

In 2023, Japan's gender gap index ranked 125th out of 146 countries. This is the lowest ever. In Japan, the gender gap is apparent, and some examples are: the percentage of women in management positions in Japanese companies is 14.8%, the percentage of women in the Japanese Diet is 9.9%, and the average difference in time spent on housework and childcare between women and men, is 5 hours and 20 minutes per day. Behind these data lies unconscious bias that men should be a certain way and women should be a certain way.

The campaign sparked a great deal of controversy: more than 100,000 comments on social networking sites. It was also featured in a program on NHK, Japan's national broadcaster. Furthermore, AC Japan received inquiries from schools, local governments, and companies throughout Japan who wanted to use this commercial as educational material and at seminars on gender bias. The number of such inquiries exceeded 100 in six months.

Stereotypes of what men should be like and what women should be like is still deeply rooted in Japan. “Men should take on leadership roles and support the family." “Women should act and dress in feminine ways, and men should have masculine hobbies and sports."

In Japan, the problem is so deep-rooted that people have this "gender bias" not only toward the opposite sex but also toward themselves.

In addition, many people in Japan are unaware of their own "gender bias. In order to make people aware of this unconscious bias, we devised an idea that would not throw a direct message, but rather have those who see the ad spontaneously notice the bias they actually have.

“Daddy, you’re a man. Why do use a red cup?" This is a statement made by my own daughter, who is four years old. Since we have not taught her this at home, she must have become aware somewhere, that "red is a woman's color.” In Japan, gender bias is prevalent in everyday life, regardless of generation. For this reason, the culture of "manga," something all generations in Japan are familiar with, was used as a hook, or method to shed light on this issue.