Pitch Concepts:

1. Yutori – This uniquely Japanese term is generally used to connote a state of psychological well-being and positive perspective – and is, therefore, synonymous with the JAL experience, their unique amenities, and attention to detail. Bring yutori to life by showing how JAL’s commitment to service and robust amenities allows travelers to spend their flight exactly how they want to for a holistically positive and unmatchable flight experience.
   
   
2. Hotel vs Airplane – Business traveler is gushing to a coworker about his/her recent trip: restful sleep, wonderful service, healthy but delicious food. The co-worker thinks they’re talking about a luxury hotel, but the traveler was describing their JAL flight.  
   
   This concept has the opportunity to really stand out by putting the viewer in the traveler’s shoes in a fun and engaging way. It also allows us to flip how we typically talk about and view air travel and create contrast between JAL and the competition without going negative. Think about what situation these co-workers are in and how you can use visuals to bring JAL into the story before the reveal.
   
   
3. Wellness Information Video – People hate watching pre-flight safety information about seatbelts and air masks, but there’s no denying the format is incredibly recognizable. Do something unexpected with the format and create the world’s first-ever pre-flight wellness video that focuses on all of the amenities and aspects of service that make each JAL flight an unparalleled relaxing and fulfilling experience.  
   
   
4. Ukiyo – Ukiyo means “floating world” in Japanese, and that’s exactly what a JAL flight is: a floating world unto itself. Bring this to life with stunning visuals and a strong focus on textural, ASMR-like sounds, like how a passenger reacts to key in-flight moments: a gasp of appreciation as the flight attendant places their bento box in front of them; an exhalation of relief as they use the in-flight WiFi to finish a presentation; blowing hot steam off a fresh mug of tea; sighing as they settle back into their SkySuite seat to fall asleep. 

JAL Background:

Japan Airlines (JAL) was founded in 1951 and became Japan’s first international airline. A member of the oneworld® alliance, JAL connects more than 349 airports in 54 countries and regions together with its codeshare partners with a modern fleet of more than 230 aircraft. JAL Mileage Bank (JMB), a global loyalty program, has reached over 29 million members worldwide.  We’re proud of being named a SKYTRAX 5-Star airline for 2018 and 2019, including receiving the prestigious award for “Best Economy Class in the World.”  JAL is also recognized as the only five-time World No. 1 in on-time arrival performance among major international airlines.

An airline with a rich history and a reputation for defining the essence of traditional Japanese hospitality, JAL is committed to providing guests with the highest levels of flight safety and supreme quality in every aspect of its service.JAL aspires to provide an elevated travel experience that heightens the senses and aims to become the most preferred airline in the world.  

Through their Well-Being Values, they offer unparalleled, empathetic service to business class passengers on international flights, building a reputation for defining the essence of traditional Japanese hospitality for their travelers. The result is a travel experience that services comfort, health, and happiness – and taking the planet’s wellbeing into account, too, with over a decade of sustainable biofuel flights. No other airline can say all that.

JAL gateways in the USA and Canada are: New York-JFK, Boston, Chicago, Dallas Ft. Worth, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Honolulu, Kona, Guam and Vancouver.

Learn more about JAL and check out their business class amenities for yourself at: 

Americas page: https://www.ar.jal.co.jp/arl/en/

More information about the Asian network: https://www.ar.jal.co.jp/arl/en/asia/

The goal of this project is to produce a video campaign within a budget of up to $250,000 that shows how Japan Airlines takes a radical wellness-first approach to international travel, especially for their business class passengers. 

In a previous project, we sourced four concepts for how best to bring to life JAL’s philosophy that business travel should be as convenient, comfortable and empathetic as possible by catering to travelers’ physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Now we’re looking for filmmakers to pitch how they’d bring one of these four concepts to life in an emotionally-resonant, innovative, and memorable video campaign.

Regardless of which concept you base your pitch on, your treatment should speak to how you’d show JAL’s commitment to traveler wellness and create an emotional connection with viewers. You can do this with humor, striking visuals and audio, a bold narrative, or some combination of all three – but you must show how you intend to create something unique that stands out from the norm of airline spots.

More background on JAL’s wellness philosophy can be found in the Background/Additional Details section along with a brief history of the airline. 

You must base your pitch on one of the four concepts in the Background/Additional Details section. More background on JAL's wellness philosophy can also be found there, along with a brief history of the airline.

Depending on timing, location and final production budget, JAL can provide a trained flight attendant actress/model and coach, as well as some still photographic images that the greenlit filmmaker may choose to incorporate in their video. A SkySuite 1 seat may be available for the greenlit filmmaker to use as well, if desired. Please note that these costs may factor into your production budget, so take that into account in your pitch. Tongal and JAL will work out these potential costs with the greenlit filmmaker at the beginning of pre-production. 

Five filmmakers will receive $500 to revise their pitches and create a pitch video to help the Sponsor make their final greenlight decision.

TIMELINE: Please see the full project timeline in the Assets tab.

DELIVERABLES:

• :60 hero video
• :30 hero video 
• :15 video  

EXPOSURE: Digital, social, .com, and OOH (out of home).

TARGET AUDIENCE: 

• Millennials – especially those with an interest in wellness/well-being 
• US-based travelers and audiences
• Adventurous, high-performing, curious business travelers
• Males and females 30+, individual income of $85K+
• Sees work trips as an opportunity to explore; makes the most of their time while traveling
• Interests in art, dining out, technology, sports/wellness, and the outdoors
• Aware of their place in the world, including in their community and the environment, and the impact they make, as humans and travelers, on the planet and society

TONE: Fresh, resonant, empathetic

EXECUTIONAL MANDATORIES:

• You must base your pitch on one of the four concepts in the Background/Additional Details section. 
• Increase JAL’s share of the Business Class Market
• Increase relevance of Japan Airlines to Americans
• Position Japan Airlines as the airline of choice for business travelers flying from the Americas to Japan and Southeast Asia
• Position Japan Airlines as a leader in caring for their customers’ wellness and well-being
• Position Japan Airlines as the “gateway to Asia” carrier
• Additionally, speak to some or all of Japan Airlines’ Well-Being Values:
  • Environmental Well-being: Biofuel flights since 2009, including sustainable aviation fuel made from recycled clothes. Atmospheric (pollution) monitoring for 26 years.
  • Physical Well-being: Award-winning seats; earplugs for quieter cabin environments; healthy in-flight meals that reflect tenants of Japanese culture
  • Mental Well-being: Renowned on-time performance means peace of mind; Anytime You Wish on-demand meal services; in-flight hospitality built on the Japanese beliefs in Holism and Zen
  • Social Well-being: Harmony in design for humans and nature; Japanese hospitality; Braille and child education programs

OPEN BID:

• This is an open bid project, so you will get to set your own budget proposal up to $250,000. The Sponsor is interested in seeing tiered pricing options, so please feel free to submit various versions of your pitch at budget, target, and reach price points within that price range.
• By participating in this open bid project, creators acknowledge that the Sponsor is under no obligation to greenlight a bid. Though most open bid projects on our platform do move forward with a greenlit bid, we will notify you in the event the Sponsor decides not to fund any bids via the project forum. Regardless of the result, all open bid submissions will be reviewed and evaluated by the Sponsor and the project team.

In order to be considered for this project, you must include the below materials in your pitch submission. For examples of effective pitches, check out this gallery.

 

• TEXT (REQUIRED): 500 characters or less synopsizing how you plan to approach and execute this video.
  
  
• LINKS (REQUIRED): To your previous video work. Please specify your role (producer, director, cinematography, etc.) and DO NOT INCLUDE LINKS TO YOUR SHOWREEL. Please link to individual videos.
  
  
• TREATMENT (REQUIRED): A detailed narrative description of what's going to happen in the video. If it's helpful to you, we've provided a treatment template, which you can find here.
  
  
• BUDGET (REQUIRED): This is an open bid project, so you’ll get to set your overall budget proposal. You can download the budget template here. The Sponsor would like each producer to create the video suite within a budget of up to $250,000.
  
  
• SCRIPT (REQUIRED): This should include dialogue from the video you intend to create.
  
  
• STORYBOARDS (Optional): Additional concept art, storyboards, shot list, anything that helps get your point across. You can download the Tongal storyboard template here.
  
  
• HEADSHOTS/CASTING BOARDS (Optional): Casting notes or concepts, headshots of actors, etc.
  
  
• PITCH VIDEO (Optional): This is your opportunity to be face-to-face with the Sponsor and show them what you're capable of. Consider submitting a pitch video in which you tell the Sponsor what they can expect should they choose your pitch. Also, test videos, animatics, etc. are welcome. For some examples of effective Pitch videos, check out this gallery. All Pitches will remain private until after the Sponsor gives creator(s) the green light to move forward.

1. Preferred format for upload to the Tongal website is HD 720p 16x9. Acceptable file formats are .mov, .avi, .mp4, .wmv. Acceptable codecs are H.264 (MP4), MPEG-4, H.263, MPGV, WMV, DivX. Should your submission be greenlit, you will also be required to provide a 1080p .mov master file, using a ProRes, Animation, or Uncompressed Codec.
   
   
2. Unless provided otherwise, all work must be your own original creation and free of any copyrighted material. You shall provide detailed information of your work regarding the source, the creator and background information as requested by Tongal.
   
   
3. In the event you utilize any third-party materials, such as music provided by a third-party music provider not provided by Tongal, you must obtain full written license and consent from the owner of such third-party materials and provide such license and consent forms to Tongal.
   
   
4. BY SUBMITTING A VIDEO ENTRY, YOUR SUBMISSION IMMEDIATELY BECOMES THE SOLE PROPERTY OF TONGAL OR ITS ASSIGNEES – SEE OFFICIAL RULES FOR MORE DETAILS ABOUT OWNERSHIP OF ENTRIES. YOU MAY NOT PUBLICLY SHARE OR PUBLISH YOUR SUBMISSION IN ANY MANNER AND YOU MAY NOT POST OR UPLOAD YOUR SUBMISSION TO ANY WEBSITE OR VIDEO HOSTING SITE (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE OR VIMEO), WITHOUT THE PRIOR EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT OF TONGAL. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS REQUIREMENT MAY RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION OF YOUR ENTRY IN THE PROJECT.
   
   
5. Submissions cannot contain any profanity, offensive language, nudity or otherwise objectionable material, the determination of which is solely at the discretion of Sponsor.
   
   
6. Submissions must not portray Sponsor in a negative way, the determination of which will solely reside with Sponsor.
    
7. By submitting to this project, you acknowledge that your work may become subject to public voting on the Tongal site. Public voting may be used to help the project sponsor determine the final rank order.
    
8. Videos must be in the English language or subtitled.
    
9. Limit 5 submissions per member, per Phase.
    
10. You must be at least eighteen (18) years or older to enter.
    
    
11. The Sponsor reserves the right to repost the contest.
    
    
12. In addition to the judging criteria stated in the OFFICIAL RULES, Pitches will also be evaluated on that member's ability to execute the final Video based on their prior work and experience as a filmmaker.
    
    
13. The Sponsor will be entitled to reasonable revisions on the finished Videos without providing additional compensation. Remember it's easier to re-edit than re-shoot so try to get as much coverage as possible.
    
    
14. In addition to the standard Tongal W-9, Winner Affidavit, and IP Assignment, greenlit Video creators MUST also provide Talent, Location, Music (or other) Releases for all assets appearing in their Videos, as well as a photograph/headshot OR copy of a photo ID for all On-camera Talent releases. You must also provide all project files, editing sequences and a 1080p .mov master file, using a ProRes, Animation, or Uncompressed Codec to claim your earnings.
    
    
15. See OFFICIAL RULES for additional contest information, terms and conditions. If there is any conflict or inconsistency between these requirements and the Official Rules, the terms and conditions of these requirements shall prevail.