The archive · Content & Film · Marketing decision · 2017–2018
Double A proves jam-free paper with 567 printers in an OK Go music video
In a sluggish paper market, Double A and OK Go made the world's first paper-projection-mapping film: two walls of 567 printers firing paper in rhythm, jam-free.
Double A
What it had to solve
Double A's point of difference is paper smoothness, but the paper market was sluggish and the Thai maker needed to convey quality and price to a world audience that had stopped thinking about paper at all.
How it works
Double A competes on a functional promise — its paper is smooth enough to run through printers without jamming — but a paper brand in a shrinking market cannot win a global audience by saying so. The client called for pitches on conveying the paper's quality, and SIX and Spa Hakuhodo proposed proving it with entertainment.
The result, made with OK Go, media artist Daito Manabe, choreographer MIKIKO and a large production team, was billed as the world's first paper-projection-mapping project: the band performs against two giant walls made of 567 printers whose colored paper ejects in sync with the music. To film it, the band moved in slow motion against the falling paper and was sped up in the final edit; the paper's smoothness was essential, and according to the makers not one sheet jammed through years of development and shooting.
The campaign travelled as content rather than advertising: it took the Digital Craft Grand Prix at Spikes Asia 2018, won a Gold at Cannes Lions, and became one of the most awarded pieces of its period. Creative director Jin Saito said the wins strengthened Double A's global profile and supported its push into the US market.
Why it lands
- Paper is a commodity people never think about, so the film made it spectacular instead of trying to make it interesting with words.
- The execution was the proof: 567 live printers firing paper in rhythm could not fake a no-jam claim on camera.
- Partnering with OK Go, famous for elaborate one-take videos, guaranteed an audience that would watch the trick repeatedly.
- Recycling the paper and donating the return turned a promotional stunt into a story the brand could tell without embarrassment.
What it did
The video took the Digital Craft Grand Prix at Spikes Asia 2018, won a Gold at Cannes Lions, and became the most awarded Hakuhodo Group work of the era; according to creative director Jin Saito, the wins helped Double A's global profile and its plans to enter the US market.
What you can take
When your claim is about reliability under load, demonstrate it at a scale where failure would be visible: watching 567 printers run flawlessly sells no-jam smoothness harder than any slogan.
Since then
The film ran through award seasons into 2018, capped by the Spikes Asia Digital Craft Grand Prix and a Cannes Lions Gold, and the case study remained a reference point for physical craft in advertising. Campaign Asia noted the work showed that any brand, however unglamorous its product, can make something genuinely interesting by giving talented people creative freedom — and Double A credited the wins with helping its international expansion, including entry into the US.
Sources
- Jin Saito on 'Obsession for Smoothness' and Lyric Speaker
- Double A and OK Go make paper the star in a feat of technical wizardry
- Spikes Asia 2018 winners announced
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