Creative Japanese Funeral Home Ad

Mari Nishimura, creative director at the Tokyo-based ad agency I&S BBDO, went way "outside the box" for this beautifully designed ad. Nishinihon Tenrei Funeral Home "asked (I&S BBDO) to come up with an idea to express their beliefs and to stand out from their competitors at a funeral trade show. Funerals in Japan are traditionally black and white affairs. Breaking these codes are often considered taboo." 

Then how do they bend the tradition without being seen as disrespectful? This is how...

"The March 11th earthquake and tsunami had a traumatic effect on Japan. Issues of life and death, hope and despair, beauty and tragedy became an all too real part of people's everyday lives. Our funeral service client, Nishonihon Tenrei, felt that in this new environment, funeral service needed to play a new role - reflecting not just sorrow and tradition, but a way to remember and celebrate the beauty of a lost person.

We used design to visualize our client's beliefs. To express the memoir of the beauty of life, we created a real size human skeleton made of pressed flowers, and then printed that image onto a poster. The image was striking. Now everyone could easily see that this funeral home offers something more than just a black and white ceremony. This image was appreciated by both the client and visitors, and now being used on various corporate materials to speak of and for the company." - Representative of I&S BBDO