What it had to solve
AIG Japan wanted to declare its stance against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender, physical and mental abilities, race and nationality — combining AIG, the All Blacks/Black Ferns and diversity 'in a relevant and impactful way'.
How it works
A special dyeing technique prints rainbow colour on both sides of a ribbed, stretchy fabric, then black dye only on the outer rib tops — black at rest, full spectrum when pulled. A film starring All Blacks and Black Ferns players carried the message, and 200 limited edition t-shirts went to #DiversityIsStrength retweeters.
What it did
The 'United Black Fabric' was billed as a world first and became the symbol of AIG Japan's ongoing 'Diversity is Strength' programme and its charity work, following #TackleTheRisk, which had been viewed over 170 million times worldwide.
Background
In April 2018, TBWA\HAKUHODO revealed 'United Black Fabric', an entirely new kind of fabric custom-designed, developed and created for AIG Japan's 'Diversity is Strength' campaign — black on the surface, but revealing the colours of the rainbow when stretched. The organising idea: mixing all the colours of the rainbow creates black.
The making: a unique ribbed structure gives the fabric great stretch and elasticity; the colours of the rainbow are printed on both sides, then black dye is printed on both sides too — but only on the top/outer part of every rib surface. At rest the fabric maintains its black appearance; when stretched, it reveals the deeper grooved portions of each rib and the colours underneath. A film starring players from New Zealand's All Blacks and Black Ferns carried the diversity-and-inclusion message.
The campaign declared AIG Japan's stance against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender, physical and mental abilities, race and nationality. Regional CMO Matthew Walker set the challenge after 2017's #TackleTheRisk film with the All Blacks (170M+ views): combine AIG, the teams and diversity 'in a relevant and impactful way'. Two hundred limited edition United Black T-Shirts went to @AIG_Sonpo followers who retweeted #DiversityIsStrength, and the fabric anchors AIG Japan's charity programmes.
Why it lands
The invention carries the argument: black is all colours combined — the metaphor lives in the material, not the copy.
A genuine technical first, a special dyeing technique developed for the campaign, not a stock prop.
The symbol outlives the film: limited t-shirts and charity programmes keep the fabric working.
What you can take
Encode the argument in the material itself: a fabric that only shows its colours when pulled is the case for diversity, no copy needed.
Since then
AIG Japan continued 'Diversity is Strength' with the United Black T-Shirt as its symbol, fostering charity programs; the source reports no later results.
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