Sunday, May 3, 2009

"Uniqlock" as non-verbal language

This is an online clock called "Uniqlock," developed by UNIQLO, a Japanese apparel company. (I also added it to the lower left part of this blog.) UNIQLO offers a great variety of cheap but quality clothes and is therefore very popular in Japan. This company already has launched several shops overseas, including the United States, France, China, and so on, but is still in the middle of global expansion.

This is not the latest news, but a couple of days ago I got to know that last year Uniqlock won three international advertising awards, including Cannes International Advertising Festival. Here's the link to the related article in the website of Fast Retailing Co., Ltd., the parent company of UNIQLO.

As I read some other articles on Uniclock, I thought that it is one form of so-called "non-verbal language." According to those articles, Uniclock has been developed and devised without using words so that it can be understood and used by people around the world, regardless of their countries. Judging from those international advertising awards, I can say that this attempt has been successful.

Language doesn't only mean English, Japanese, French, or Chinese. We have body language and gesture, which are generally referred to as "non-verbal language." Uniqlock just shows the digital clock and dancing girls (of course wearing UNIQLO products!) in turn, but I suppose any kinds of people could enjoy seeing it. So I believe this is an excellent example of advertisement and even entertainment beyond the linguistic barrier! It encourages me with an idea that verbal language, which is often the obstacle to communication, is not the one and only means to communicate.