SKYN Japan sent a boyfriend on a Mission Impossible run for condoms

SKYN's summer campaign had to keep the long-running 'Softness brings us closer' theme but reach 20-to-35-year-olds emerging from the pandemic with more action and humor.

A hero digital film told from the male perspective, influencer collaborations and, for the first time, podcasts — comedian Kayoko Ohkubo's 'Love Love Love' with over 530,000 followers, on Amazon Prime, Apple and Spotify.

The film ran across digital channels through summer 2023 alongside influencer and podcast extensions; the source gives no performance figures.

For summer 2023, SKYN Japan and independent agency UltraSuperNew Tokyo launched 'No SKYN, No Love', a campaign that takes a Mission Impossible approach to an essential message for young couples: always be prepared by keeping a supply of SKYN condoms on hand. The hero film follows a young couple getting close before the man realizes he has no condoms — and sets off on an action-movie journey through hostile streets to reach a store, only to find it closed, an amusing twist on his resolve.

Creative director Yousuke Ozawa framed the shift: past campaigns 'focused our concept on capturing strong bonds between partners', but this story is 'captured from a male perspective, and the emotions he goes through' — the same 'Softness brings us closer' theme pushed toward 'more action and humor'. Annie Hou of MAM LifeStyles said the brand decided to 'experimentally' try something different for post-pandemic audiences, reminding people that being prepared 'is always the key' to a healthy relationship.

The campaign extended beyond film for the first time into podcasts: 'Love Love Love' with comedian Kayoko Ohkubo, a show with over 530,000 followers aimed at 20-to-35-year-olds in the Japanese market, available on Amazon Prime, Apple and Spotify. Influencer collaborations rounded out a summer push built for digital channels.

The male-panic storyline dramatizes the brand's preparedness message as entertainment instead of instruction.

The closed-store punchline lands the lesson — plan ahead — without a preachy line of copy.

First-time podcasts put the brand inside 20-to-35-year-olds' existing listening habits, led by a comedian they follow.

Post-pandemic youth audiences wanted fun; the action-comedy genre reads as an invitation rather than an ad.

Same brand promise, new genre: moving a contraception message from tenderness to action comedy reaches a younger audience without changing the strategy.

The campaign ran through summer 2023 across digital channels with influencer collaborations and the 'Love Love Love' podcast series; UltraSuperNew and SKYN continued working together on later campaigns.