Creating New Business Models from the Advertising Domain UT Picks

Among recent digital advertising campaigns, UNIQLO's T-shirt brand "UT" stands out with its new " UT Picks " campaign.
With the catchphrase "The UT chosen by that person, for you," a unique hybrid team of Dentsu Inc. and PARTY built a business model where celebrities and cultural figures become "Pickers," curating T-shirts for sale via a monthly subscription. We immediately spoke with the production team.

The moment we got the brief, we already had a hypothesis.

—Right off the bat, how did you come up with and propose this "UT Picks" idea?

Tanaka (Jun): It started as a standard challenge: "How can we boost UT sales?" Currently, people choose T-shirts based on their designs, but we want UT to become a brand where people buy "because it's UT." In reality, UT's quality has significantly improved over the last few years.

Nakamura: UT is a brand distinct from other UNIQLO products. A key factor is that "sense of culture" is more important than that signature UNIQLO "sleek feel." It's not plain tees; it's graphic tees. "Wearing a graphic tee" means carrying some kind of message or culture.

Takamiya: Since this wasn't a campaign built around a TV commercial but rather digital-first, I thought while listening to the brief that I wanted to propose something that stood out from the typical special-site-style campaigns.

Nakamura: At the time, "subscription models" (flat-rate models) were my personal obsession. Services like Spotify, Apple Music, and Hulu—where you just grant a license and the content doesn't physically diminish—naturally lend themselves to subscriptions. But I wondered: wouldn't it be interesting to apply a monthly fee to something that actually depletes? Like beef bowls. "What about a subscription beef bowl?"

Takamiya: We were already excited about it during the briefing. "Isn't there a T-shirt subscription service?" The core idea of "letting someone else choose for you" actually came later. Pioneers like " airCloset " existed, so it felt like a worthwhile challenge.

UT actually has 1,200 different designs. Too many to choose from. That's how the idea evolved: having people with an eye for style or taste send you selections each month. It's a concept that only works because UT guarantees both quality and quantity.

How did this idea actually get approved?

—— Did the presentation go smoothly? Proposing a new business model in the advertising field seems incredibly challenging...

Tanaka (Jun): Actually, we presented three initial proposals, all of which were new business model ideas.

Tanaka (Nao): That's what's amazing, right? When Mr. Aoki and I were brought onto the team, the core concept was already fairly solid, and the ideas we came up with afterward naturally formed the business model.

Nakamura: Previously, on the radio show "Sawamoto & Gonpachi's It'll Be Over Soon," guest Takafumi Horie mentioned that "you can run a time machine business in the music industry." For example, new attempts like monthly subscriptions (Spotify), secondary creations (Hatsune Miku), or selling CDs as voting tickets (AKB48) mostly started in the music industry. Tracing successful models from there to other industries is one way of thinking.

Takamiya: The presentation went smoothly. I think it aligned well with the current trends. The fact that the president and everyone at UNIQLO made a quick decision was huge.

Nakamura: It might not be so much about us, but rather the times. Back in the era when we were making special sites with Flash, it probably wouldn't have gone through. Everyone is gradually realizing, "Ah, this might be the smarter way to use digital."

Tanaka (Jun): The nitty-gritty parts afterward, like implementing the monthly subscription system within the existing framework, were incredibly tough though (laughs).

So, how did it go?

— So, what was the response after launching "UT Picks"?

Takamiya: In terms of publicity, it's probably the best result we've had in years. We built our idea on top of the newsworthy topic of "Uniqlo announcing a new service," constantly mindful of how the media would cover it while creating the content. The fact it got coverage across multiple categories—business, entertainment, fashion—was huge.

Tanaka (Jun): The press conference had TV stations and everyone else lined up!

—— What about the actual sales figures?

Nakamura: You're getting right to the point (laughs). It's selling well.

Takamiya: For example, some Pickers (UT selectors) sold out within the first two weeks. Two months in, the number of sold-out items keeps increasing. Also, the "new customer rate" is high—60% were users who hadn't used UNIQLO before.

Nakamura: We set this up to be incredibly affordable from the start. UTs that normally cost ¥990 to ¥1,500 are all ¥990, and shipping is free. Takamiya and I did our own rough cost calculations for UNIQLO T-shirts, figuring "At this price, we can handle this volume!" and then we negotiated with the client. The client took our rough estimates and turned them into real figures.

Tanaka (Nao): Speaking of reactions, if you look at the buzz on social media, it's incredibly lively. Users are already shouting, "Make this person a Picker too!" (laughs). On Instagram, there's a whole row of photos of the "letter" and T-shirt that Aoki-san proposed.

Aoki: It's a small thing, but every month when UTs arrive from the Picker, they come in special UT Picks packaging along with a signed "letter."

Tanaka (Nao): This really works, doesn't it? It makes you so happy to receive it.

Aoki: I wanted people to think of it as a kind of surprise, or event—like, "The T-shirt the Picker chose for me arrives every month." I wanted to create that sense of anticipation. I didn't want them to be disappointed when it arrived. Those who've purchased might have noticed, but we actually change the design on the back of the card every month...! Please try to complete the set.

Nakamura: Another thing we realized after launching is the high demand for "gift purposes." Pickers have tags like "BOYS / GIRLS," and based on those tags, there are quite a few cases where people buy them for kids or as gifts for others. I also use Shishido Kafuka's GIRLS for my own child. Every single month, gifts keep coming in like "here's another one!" – it's great (laughs).

Takamiya: I truly feel we've created a new user experience, "from selecting the picker to actually receiving the UT." However, the biggest challenge is whether we can sustain this strong start and grow the service steadily. This really depends on whether we can achieve this together with UNIQLO, not just us alone. In interviews, we tend to focus on the positives, but this might be our next challenge.

Choosing clothes is fun.

—Were there any particular focuses regarding the worldview or filming methods for the "UT Picks" movie?

Click the image to watch the video ( https://www.youtube.com/embed/yf5yLo3N2k8 ).

Tanaka (Nao): We prioritized authenticity. We created a room filled with T-shirts and filmed them selecting items spontaneously in long takes, which we then edited. Often in advertising shoots, they pre-select items and then film it "as if they were choosing them," but we didn't do that. We wanted it to feel genuine and capture the passion behind their choices.

Takamiya: Filming everyone was incredibly tough, right? We were on the other side of the camera, acting as conversation partners or interviewers, drawing out their stories while filming.

Nakamura: We started by having free-flowing conversations to draw out each person's unique concept.

Tanaka (Jun): Everyone was genuinely choosing and genuinely commenting. Since we were filming while talking, during editing I'd think, "My voice is so distracting" (laughs).

Tanaka (Nao): We deliberately avoided that typical "UNIQLO-esque" look—you know, the neat, simple, sharp vibe. We wanted something real, so we created this situation. We also tailored the editing for each picker to really bring out their individuality.

An unexpected discovery during filming was seeing everyone genuinely enjoying picking out UTs. It made me realize the pure joy of shopping for clothes. "Ah, choosing clothes is fun!" And of course, every T-shirt featured is UT. Seeing the pickers choose them made UT look appealing, which was great. Even if people don't order UT Picks, if this video inspires them to visit a store or check it out online, it ultimately contributes to UT's overall sales.

—After filming, which picker left a particularly strong impression?

Tanaka (Nao): Hajime Shacho was great—he was totally himself.

Nakamura: The editing on each page, supervised by Junpei Watanabe and with Saki Kawai putting in an incredible amount of effort, makes it just really interesting to read. It's a luxury.

Aoki: Plus, within the real-world setting, you've mixed in the characters of Itsuki and Hibi from "Space Brothers," right?

Tanaka (Jun): Space Brothers was tough. We had to get the 2D version of Roku-ta-san to pick out T-shirts. On the website, we have a design where everyone moves in sync, and we got him to do that movement too. We got help from many people to make it happen.

Takamiya: By the way, quite a few people view this site on their smartphones, but when they see it on a computer, many are amazed, saying , "The stop-motion animation is incredible!" We're gradually releasing it on UNIQLO's SNS so it can be viewed on smartphones too.

Tanaka (Jun): This project wouldn't have been possible without the trust we built with UNIQLO and all the staff members—too many to list here.

Nakamura: It's designed to reveal "Oh, this was this month's T-shirt!" each month, so please check back monthly. You can even buy them from there at a great price!