Regular readers of the CR blog may recall our story this time last year of a 1-metre long model of a trainer-shaped mini-city which formed the basis of Japanese trainer brand Onitsuka Tiger's advertising campaign, conceived by Amsterdam-based agency, Strawberry Frog. Now the agency, rebranded as Amsterdam Worldwide, has created a new 1-metre long model of a trainer, this time covered in shrubbery, trees, a mountain and rivers. Why? Well, to continue the brand's Made Of Japan campaign but also to mark the occasion of Onitsuka Tiger's 60th birthday...

The hand built model of the sneaker (no rapid prototyping this time) represents Japan and features several of the country's landmarks including Mount Fuji, the Tottori sand dunes, ice sculptures from the Hokkaido region, the dry volcanic area of Kyushu as well as the pylons which power the bright lights of Tokyo. It also features a race circuit - which ties in to this year's campaign story, which reworks the ancient Zodiac legend that thirteen animals raced each other to secure a spot in the Zodiac calendar. An animated film, created in partnership with New York-based animation studio PandaPanther brings the trainer model and indeed the zodiac race to life:

A new website at onitsukatiger.com/ launched today that embodies the new campaign. Visitors to the sige can watch the above animation, use the Zodiac Calculator to work out what zodiac animal is (this CR writer was born in the year of the Rabbit), watch a film documenting the making of the oversized, beshrubbed sneaker, explore the history of the 60-year old brand and, of course, check out the current collection of footwear. Zodiac Race visuals will be adapted for in-store promotional use in the form of posters, shopping bags and window stickers while the 1-metre long Zodiac Race sneaker will tour Europe, Asia, Australasia and the USA appearing in selected stores, venues, events and trade shows.

This making of film shows the development of the model shoe from concept to model - and then how the model was used as the set for the animation: