Seen+Noted: Clio award-winning ‘The Visa Loophole’ campaign via Ogilvy Singapore

Japan has lots of hairdressers, but finding someone who really understands Afro-textured hair is not so easy. Ogilvy Singapore and Shea Moisture investigated further and created ‘The Visa Loophole’ so hairdressers from Africa could go to Japan without the 2 year waiting time for a visa. The campaign, created early last year, just won Silver and Bronze at the Clio Awards.

Japan is home to 20,000 Japanese people with ethnic African roots. You would think that with 500,000 hairdressers in Japan, they could have the choice to select the best hairdresser for them. But for African Japanese people it’s almost impossible to find a hairdresser who knows how to take care of their African-textured hair. This happens for a simple reason: Japanese immigration policies make it even more difficult for a foreign hairdresser to get a visa to work in Japan. On average, it takes around 2 years to become a licensed hairdresser in Japan, including exams that take place strictly in Japanese.

Shea Moisture is a brand that has cared for Afro-textured hair since 1912, with roots originally coming from West Africa. Ogilvy Singapore found a way around these complicated immigration policies, finding a loophole to bring in specialised hairdressers that can take care of the hair of this Japanese minority. They flew them in using the Artist Visa which is easier to get – Because black hair is art.

Credits
Client: Shea Moisture
Title: ‘The Visa Loophole’
Agency: Ogilvy Singapore
Chief Creative Officer: Reed Collins
Chief Creative Officer: Marco Versolato
Chief Creative Officer: Nicolas Courant
Business Director: Pritika Gupta
Account Director: Vinx Zhang
Creative Director: Stephan Schwarz
Executive Strategy Director: Sumegha Rao
Associate Creative Director: Maggie Michella
Associate Creative Director: Nicolas Lampolsky
Associate Creative Director: Adrian Gambaretto
Strategy Director: Anam Hakeem