We focused on the phenomena that when all the colors of the rainbow are mixed, it creates black. This is a deeply rich symbolism for how differing individualities can converge to create one strong whole. It is symbolic of the ALL BLACKS themselves, and how their diversity has continually maintained them as the strongest rugby team in the world. We developed a fabric that is black on the surface, but when stretched, reveals all the colors of the rainbow underneath. With this fabric, we created an brand new ALL BLACKS jersey.

The jersey is a mellifluous embodiment of the ALL BLACKS visual identity, together with the highly resonant message of diversity. Leveraging this jersey, we campaigned in Japan to build a team of diversity supporters from celebrities/notable persons/the public.

We printed the colors of the rainbow on a stretchable and highly elastic ribbed fabric. We printed the colors from both sides, effectively “dyeing” the material in rainbow hues. Black was then printed over, on both sides, on the top portions of each tiny ridge only. As a result, the material is solid black, but when stretched, reveals the colors of the rainbow below. This is a wholly new, and original product.

Just before the launch of this new jersey, anti-LGBTQ comment made by the rugby player, who plays for Australia, became a social issue in the APAC area.

The PRIDE JERSEY was a powerful response to this and won supports from many people.

The news instantly sparked all around the world. The jersey was featured in 272 media across 19 countries including UK, South Africa, Ireland and New Zealand, the home of the All Blacks.

The voice of supporting diversity and inclusion spread not only in Japan but also across the globe, winning over 53,764 supports in just 7 days.

This innovative jersey is planned to be worn by the All Blacks

during 2019 Rugby World Cup which will take place in Japan.

AIG is committed to creating a corporate culture that is welcoming and open to the LGBTQ community, while also offering insurance products and services to meet the needs of the community. However, cultural norms in Japan still make it difficult to “come out” in the workplace, with only 4% of LGBTQ people being “out” at work. With diversity still a far cry away, the brief given to us from AIG was to help promote diversity & inclusion both within the Japan office, but also within Japanese society as a whole. We partnered with the AIG sponsored ALL BLACKS to leverage their universal appeal and we developed a technically (and thematically) sophisticated jersey for them. 700 jerseys out of the first batch of this new product are already in circulation.