Japanese skincare brand BULK HOMME turns armor into art via Grey, VML & Ogilvy Japan

Japanese men’s skincare brand BULK HOMME has teamed up with VML & Ogilvy Japan, Grey Tokyo, to create a campaign that draws on Japanese cultural tradition while giving it a modern, artful twist.

Since many Japanese men associate skincare with the beauty category – a perception that can be a turn-off – the brand aimed to highlight its products’ effectiveness in skin protection and repair while also inspiring a sense of masculine aspiration.

The campaign leans on the nation’s rich heritage, replacing the armor of a samurai warrior with BULK HOMME products to create a striking analogy for skin protection, summed up in the line: “Your Skin is Your Armor.”

Once the concept was developed, the teams at VML & Ogilvy Japan and Grey Tokyo wondered if they would need to become experts in samurai armor construction to bring the idea to life. Fortunately, they connected with a third-generation samurai armor maker through Shibuya-based WOIL Studio, who helped craft the BULK HOMME suit of armor.

Four executions, photographed by Michinori Aoki, have so far been produced, each capturing the benefits of a different product within the BULK HOMME line while depicting the challenges of dryness, cold, the sun and wind—the most potent threats to healthy skin for men.

“The team has elevated our brand messaging to the level of art,” says BULK HOMME CEO, Takuya Noguchi. “I’m confident these images will stay with those who view them, as they’re both surprising and beautiful,” he added.

Influenced by the imagery of iconic Japanese Filmmakers Akira Kurosawa and Kenji Mizoguchi, these posters are running at locations within Shibuya, the heart of Tokyo’s fashion and youth culture.

Credits
Brand: BULK HOMME
Chief Executive Officer: Takuya Noguchi
Agency: VML & Ogilvy Japan
Agency: Grey Tokyo
Photographer: Michinori Aoki
Agency: WOIL studio