Panasonic Connect Releases “Making-of” Video for Popular Purpose-themed Commercial

Dance relay connecting the thoughts all the staff from Tokyo to Los Angeles

Tokyo, Japan - Panasonic Connect Co., Ltd. released a behind the scenes “making-of” video to share and explain the thoughts and ideas that went into the creation of a commercial to represent the company’s purpose to “Change Work, Advance Society, Connect to Tomorrow,” which was first launched on April 5, 2022.

• Panasonic Connect Purpose Commercial “Connect to Tomorrow” (Japanese)
  https://youtu.be/1YG7H4QUouc

The “Connect to Tomorrow” commercial was shot in Los Angeles, and in order to magically depict the future of the supply chain, the production team took on the challenge of filming it in one continuous take, by connecting pieces of a complex film set. Puzzle-like set pieces were moving along with the story, manually shifted and harmonized by the film crew, upon which a perfectly choreographed dance was performed seamlessly as a relay of dance groups. Aside from a few robots shown therein, use of computer graphics was kept to a minimum.

In order to reduce the risk of the spread of Covid-19, a fully remote system for shooting and production was implemented. The director, Hideyuki Tanaka, and other production staff based in Japan did not travel to the shoot site at all, and the preliminary field survey was also done remotely from Tokyo.

The challenge was sharing the detailed production plans and images among the 185 staff members spread out between Tokyo and Los Angeles, including the off-camera crew who moved the set during shooting and the dancers led by choreographer Joe Brown. Therefore, taking advantage of being able to share information online efficiently, simulations using pre-visualization and pre-test shooting were repeated many times, and the dance, set, and camera work were all carefully calculated and meticulously practiced and performed. By doing so, everyone involved was able to understand and achieve a shared vision.

On the day of the shoot, with a 16-hour time difference between Tokyo and Los Angeles, the production crew made it possible to communicate in a timely manner about issues that occurred, and all the staff immediately understood the instantaneous decisions and overcame problems together.

In the purpose-themed commercial, the story depicts various technologies supporting each stage of the supply chain. Panasonic Connect employees (called “CONNECTers”) from the company’s design, R&D, and business departments worked together to carefully select technologies to determine how to best express the capabilities of the company.

In addition, as diversity, equity & inclusion are extremely important values for Panasonic Connect, the company took a lot of care and worked with cultural experts to select a truly diverse cast which included people of different races, ages, body types, people with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQ community. 

As a B2B solutions company, Panasonic Connect focuses on bringing innovation to its customers’ core operations in the fields of supply chain, public service, infrastructure, and entertainment. In the purpose commercial the supply chain is the theme, and the wish of a child, who symbolizes the future, comes true thanks to many people connecting together and connecting to a better tomorrow. The video is non-verbal with a choreographed dance that unfolds over original music.

The Purpose commercial (Japanese) posted on YouTube has exceeded 17.6 million views in just five months*, and has received many comments such as, “I'm glad I watched it to the end. It was a happy commercial,” and, “I first noticed it playing on the train's digital signage, which stuck in my head, so I looked it up online and watched it again later.”

In addition to the purpose-themed commercial, the company released a series of videos that introduce specific customer case studies on how Panasonic Connect is working to realize its purpose (with more videos to come in the future).

Going forward, Panasonic Connect aims to realize a sustainable society where diverse people can live happily by bringing innovation to various fields with its purpose to “Change Work, Advance Society, Connect to Tomorrow.”

*Number of views from April 4, 2022 to September 3, 2022 (Japan time) on YouTube.

Panasonic Connect Co., Ltd. was established on April 1, 2022 as part of the Panasonic Group’s switch to an operating company system. With roughly 28,500 employees worldwide and annual sales of JPY924.9 billion the company plays a central role in the growth of the Panasonic Group’s B2B solutions business and provides new value to its customers by combining advanced hardware, intelligent software solutions, and a wealth of knowledge in industrial engineering accumulated in its over 100-year history. The company’s purpose is to “Change Work, Advance Society, Connect to Tomorrow.” By driving innovation in the supply chain, public services, infrastructure, and entertainment sectors, Panasonic Connect aims to contribute to the realization of a sustainable society and to ensure well-being for all.