JAPAN AIRLINES / RECONNECTED WORLD

Turning an airline wellness campaign into a way for travelers to stay connected to Japan when no one could fly.

Six meditative films for Japan Airlines, built on its "Travel Well, Be Well" platform, adapted for COVID and closing on one promise: Travel Endures.

Reconnected World started as Connected World, a wellness platform for Japan Airlines built around the idea "Travel Well, Be Well." Travelers were taking more than 830 million wellness trips a year, and JAL's care, comfort and punctuality gave it a real claim on that space. Then COVID stopped international travel, and a campaign about how well you fly had nothing to say to people who could not fly at all.

Our team saw that the idea could still work if it shifted from the flight to the person. Instead of selling the trip, we could offer a moment of calm at home, rooted in the Japanese ideas of care and attention behind JAL's service. I led the creative, working with Japan Airlines and integrated agency teams across North America and Asia Pacific to adapt the messaging.

The result was six meditative films, each built around a sense or a practice: Savoring, Visualizing, Breathing, Understanding, Listening and Experiencing. They drew on Japanese principles and traditions, from the simple beauty of wabi and sabi to the repair craft of kintsugi and the Kodo incense ceremony. Each film was paced to slow the viewer down, carried by on-screen text or the voice of an artisan or host rather than a sales message. Every film ended on the same line: Travel Endures.

The films ran as :60 spots and split-screen edits on a JAL.com content hub, Instagram and Facebook, alongside illustrated stories and wellness tips for long-haul travel. They kept Japan Airlines present with travelers through the months when flying was not possible.

The project came out of Ketchum, where I led creative teams across North America and Asia Pacific.

Client: Japan Airlines
Employer: Ketchum
Position: EVP, Executive Group Creative Director
Project role: Creative direction, creative strategy, messaging
Platform: Travel Well, Be Well
Films: Savoring, Visualizing, Breathing, Understanding, Listening, Experiencing
End line: Travel Endures
Disciplines: Creative direction, brand messaging, film, content strategy