Entrant Company
Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo
Entry Type
Teams, Leagues, Governing Bodies, & Associations
Category
Real-Time Response
Shohei Ohtani made MLB history in 2024, becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in one season. With no time to prepare, a creative challenge emerged: how to celebrate an achievement with no precedent, in real time, in a way that deeply resonates with Japan?
Within 24 hours of the season's end, MLB launched the Shohei Ohtani 50-50 Gallery. Far from simple OOH ads, they were a museum to a national hero; a Gallery capturing each specific home run and stolen base. What started as a tribute to a national hero, soon became a viral scavenger hunt, with fans racing across Tokyo to find them and share them.
With over 150 media stories, 20+ prime-time TV segments including live nationwide broadcasts the campaign achieved +¥340,000,0000 in earned media value. Most importantly, it brought baseball fans of Japan closer to history, and strengthened MLB’s presence in Japan.