Japan Para Table Tennis Association "The Most Challenging Pingpong Table" by Tbwa\Hakuhodo

Advertising Agency: Tbwa\Hakuhodo, Tokyo, Japan

Chief Creative Officer: Kazoo Sato
Group Creative Director: Masaya Asai
Senior Art Director: Yo Kimura
Art Director: Takeshi Matsuda
Designer: Takeshi Matsuda
Copywriter: Shohei Ooishi
Executive Producer: Masato Midorikawa
Producer: Ryutaro Saito
Pr Planner: Kyosuke Hashimoto
Product Designer: Shintaro Monden
Director: Shinri Abe
Editor: Shinri Abe
Motiongraphic Designer: Kiyotaka Sumiyoshi
Director Of Photography: Yosuke Koino
Sound Designer: Takaomi Tomura
Photographer: Takakazu Aoyama, Ryohei Takanashi
Senior Graphic Producer: Wataru Ito
Graphic Producer: Yusuke Hino
Retoucher: Takuya Tsugane
Music Producer: Seiya Matsumiya
Web Producer: Jun Arai
Online Editor: Yoshinobu Okino
Manufacturing Manager:Shinya Igawa

Client: Japan Para Table Tennis Association

JAPAN PARA TABLE TENNIS ASSOCIATION PROMOTES DIVERSITY WITH WORLD’S FIRST PARA PINGPONG TABLE
17 December 2018
In Japan, only 1% of the population watch Para sports. One reason these sports struggle to reach mainstream audiences is because people don’t understand the challenges faced by individual athletes and therefore don’t fully appreciate the immense skill involved to compete.

With the aim of helping people visualize and comprehend the challenges of paralympians, TBWA\HAKUHODO has produced special ping pong tables for the Japan Para Table Tennis Association (JPTTA), exhibiting how some of their national athletes experience the sport.

There is a wide variation in the disabilities of individual athletes and therefore the physical obstacles faced by each player is different. Even while playing on the same rectangular table, the shape they feel as they move around the table is personally unique.

The ‘PARA PINGPONG TABLE’ replicates the world seen through the athletes’ eyes and were designed based on interviews and sketches from members of the Japanese national team.

Created by TBWA\HAKUHODO, the tables are part of a holistic rebrand for JPTTA ­­– from developing a new name and logo, to designing and producing a dynamic new website concept.

The campaign also serves as a new intuitive communication tool that helps graphically profile players based on their perspective of the table. This better informs viewers about each athlete’s unique challenges, adding greater depth for new spectators.

“We aimed to create an icon that would make these athletes’ differences, immediately appreciated with one look. I hope this profound twist on the traditional ping pong table will serve to embody the belief that ‘abilities may be limited, but possibilities are unlimited’ and enable para athletes to get the respect they deserve.” said Masaya Asai, Senior Creative Director at TBWA\HAKUHODO.

The PARA PINGPONG TABLES promote diversity and allow for better appreciation of the physical obstacles paralympians face every day in their pursuit of excellence in the sport. They are available to be rented by commercial facilities, event spaces, and schools that want to experience it.

PARA PINGPONG TABLE website (ENG):
https://jptta.or.jp/para-pingpong-table/en/

PARA PINGPONG TABLE YouTube：
https://youtu.be/NwLZTlnCeho

Japan Para Table Tennis Association website:
https://jptta.or.jp/