In Tokyo, over 2 million bikes are disposed on the streets every year, but the problem has remained widely unnoticed. With COGOO, an organization aiming to create cleaner cities, we set out to raise people’s awareness by making this “invisible” problem, more “visible.”

We transformed bicycle-parking lots with abandoned bikes into art galleries displaying SADDLE BLOSSOMS: A Beautiful Solution to an Ugly Problem. We recycled saddles into an unforeseen medium, making passers-by stop to “watch” and “feel” the hitherto-invisible problem.

In just 1 month, the exhibition helped reduce 40% of abandoned bikes. It even caught the attention of the local government and got them to take action.

The abandoned bikes turned into art objects allowed people to realize how long the problem had been ignored, and how long these bikes had been left abandoned. It transformed the way they perceive abandoned bikes. It not only got the attention of passers-by, but it also caught the attention of the press and we received numerous interview requests that quickly made this project into nation-wide news.

As a result, we succeeded in generating great PR value using abandoned bikes which otherwise had no value but required recycling costs.

We transformed bicycle-parking lots with abandoned bikes into an art gallery displaying SADDLE BLOSSOMS: A Beautiful Solution to an Ugly Problem. First, we collected dozens of abandoned bikes and recycled the saddles into planters to be used as an unforeseen new medium. We then got support from botanical experts to plant special seeds that grow fast. The plants left outdoors grew under the different weather, and in just a few weeks, abandoned bikes became art objects that created a unique plant gallery that caught the attention of many passers-by who stopped to ‘watch’ and ‘feel’ the invisible problem in a way like never before. Furthermore, we promoted the art objects through posters and online. This news spread quickly, and the problem of abandoned bikes became something people could no longer ignore.

During the 1 month campaign, the art galleries created in bicycle parking lots in major train stations, college campuses and other locations around the city had over 100,000 visitors. Also, in just 1 month, the exhibition helped reduce 40% of abandoned bikes in the area, which in actual numbers meant about 12,000 bikes.

This unique campaign was featured in various news programs and the media value (non-paid publicity) reached more than $1,000,000. This meant a very high ROI given that the campaign budget was as little as $30,000.