Toshiba’s Takumi Spirt Returns With “The Craftsman”

Toshiba is a company which was founded on the unique principles of Japanese craftsmanship and the highest attention to detail: The Takumi Spirit. A new slogan, Details Matter, is part of a new campaign launch embodying an ethos where a focus on detail is meticulously applied to everything they do and make.  

The centerpiece spot, “The Craftsman,”  is the first major global push for the brand for some time, and runs across all global markets.

“Our film ‘The Craftsman,’ celebrates the journey of the evolution of Toshiba. Think of it as a brand anthem that embraces the Japanese craftsmanship, Takumi Spirit and attention to detail, which has always been our guiding principle. The journey which began over 145 years ago, still lives on today and will long into the future,” says Toshiba’s Brando Brandstaeter.  

The film begins with a traditional view of a sliding Japanese partition onto a meticulous garden behind. Scene by scene we discover details after details. However, rather than remaining in the past, the film takes us on a journey to the present, the Japanese present, which has often become the engine for the world's future and ends with a glimpse of what to expect next, with a surprising futuristic take on the  world of technological innovations to come. Then the final flourish of an actual Japanese Haiku about the mindset of ‘the craftsman’ as a fitting end to the film. 

The juxtaposition of traditional and modern represented in the visuals is enhanced with the soundtrack by Syn Music, which combines the timbre of traditional instruments with experimental electronic music elements. The melody, played on koto, embodies the charm of Japanese music, symbolizing the Takumi Spirit of connecting tradition and technological innovation. The melody is then intertwined with a strong urban, hip-hop rhythm.

Toshiba is a brand that has created history with numerous global innovations. This heritage is closely intertwined with the spirit of its founders, two extraordinary craftsmen, in their own fields. On the one hand, Hisashige Tanaka, a meticulous craftsman who took over 2 years to hand cut every cog of an intricate clock (which in 2004 took over 100 Toshiba engineers over 1 year to create an exact replica) and on the other hand, Ichisuke Fujioka, a visionary inventor, also known as the Thomas Edison of Japan. 

A series of further short films will follow which highlight many of Toshiba’s product innovations, before a broader campaign rolls out, all carrying the #DetailsMatter message. 

Agency Creative Nils Andersson says “we are honored to be working with Toshiba on a journey such as this. It’s a very exciting time for the brand, as it charts its way back into the minds of the global consumer. Our intent was not to make a typical ‘white goods’ film, but instead investigate the essence of how Toshiba thinks and works. We wanted to shock people into a reappraisal of the brand.”