Draft:UltraSuperNew
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| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Advertising, creative agency |
| Founded | 2007 in Harajuku, Tokyo, Japan |
| Founder | Marc Wesseling, Tomokazu Murakami |
| Headquarters | Shibuya, Tokyo , Japan |
Area served | Asia-Pacific, Europe |
Key people | Marc Wesseling (co-founder, director) Tomokazu Murakami (co-founder, representative director) |
| Products | Advertising, branding, digital and social media campaigns, brand activation |
UltraSuperNew (also abbreviated USN) is an independent creative agency headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 2007 in the Harajuku district of Tokyo, the agency offers advertising, branding, strategy, digital and social media, content production and brand activation, with a stated focus on millennial and Generation Z audiences.[1][2][3] Alongside its Tokyo headquarters it operates offices in Singapore, Amsterdam and Colombo, Sri Lanka.[4][5]
The agency has repeatedly been named Independent Agency of the Year (Japan/Korea) at the Campaign Asia-Pacific Agency of the Year awards, including gold in 2021 and 2022 and further wins in 2023 and 2024, and its client work has been recognised at award shows including the Cannes Lions, Spikes Asia, The One Show and the New York Festivals.[6][7][8][9]
History
[edit]UltraSuperNew was established in 2007 by the Dutch creative Marc Wesseling, who had previously worked in Hong Kong and California and moved to Tokyo while at the agency KesselsKramer. Wesseling set out to build a full-service creative agency in a Japanese market that he described as then dominated by traditional media and lacking boutique agencies able to take clients from strategy through to creative and production.[1][2] The agency identifies Wesseling and Tomokazu Murakami (村上智一), a former BBH account director, as its co-founders, with Murakami serving as representative director.[2] An earlier 2016 trade report had instead named Michael Sheetal as a co-founder alongside Wesseling, with Murakami joining in 2008.[10]
The agency launched with a digital focus. An early campaign for the Philips Arcitec electric shaver, known as "Salaryman Sato", attracted extensive Japanese press and television coverage and helped establish the agency's reputation.[1] In its second year, UltraSuperNew won the Red Bull Japan account after pitching against larger agencies, which prompted its expansion into a full-service offering.[1][2]
The agency opened an office in Singapore in 2016 to serve the Southeast Asian market.[10] It subsequently expanded to Taiwan in 2019, since closed, and to Colombo, Sri Lanka (around 2020–2021), and later opened an office in Amsterdam, its first outside Asia.[5] In 2025 the agency relocated its Tokyo base from Harajuku to Shibuya and adopted a repositioning as an integrated network spanning Tokyo, Singapore and Amsterdam, aimed at connecting Japanese brands with global markets and global brands with Japan.[4][2]
Operations
[edit]UltraSuperNew describes itself as a full-service independent creative agency offering strategy, creative, digital, social media, activation, search engine optimisation, content production and gaming-related services.[3] Under its 2025 positioning, Tokyo functions as the creative and production centre, Singapore as a launchpad for Japanese brands entering Southeast Asia, and Amsterdam as a gateway for Japanese brands entering Europe.[4] Its Colombo office houses development and technical work.[5]
UltraSuperNew KURA
[edit]The agency has long paired its creative business with an art gallery, operating exhibition spaces in Tokyo and Singapore that showed work by emerging Asian artists.[1][6] Its 2022 campaign for Duolingo was staged at the UltraSuperNew Gallery in Harajuku.[11]
When the agency moved to Shibuya in 2025, it opened an invitation-only creative space called UltraSuperNew KURA.[4] The agency describes KURA as a hub for its creative community rather than a conventional gallery, hosting regular programming such as exhibitions, workshops and talks for artists, creatives and other practitioners.[3][4]
Awards and recognition
[edit]UltraSuperNew has been named Independent Agency of the Year for the Japan/Korea region at the Campaign Asia-Pacific Agency of the Year awards in several consecutive years, taking silver in 2020 and gold in 2021 and 2022, and winning again in 2023 and 2024.[6][7][8][5] Judges cited the agency's millennial- and Gen Z–oriented positioning and its cultural relevance.[6] At the 2023 awards the agency and the condom brand Skyn also won Marketer–Agency Partnership of the Year for the region.[7]
Individual campaigns have been recognised internationally. The 2022 "Museum of Wonky English" campaign for Duolingo received a Merit at the 2023 One Show and a Bronze in the Events & Stunts category at the 2023 New York Festivals.[11] The "Make it Unbelievable" campaign for Canva was shortlisted in the Film category at the 2024 Cannes Lions and won in the Film (Use of Humour) category at the 2025 Spikes Asia awards.[12][9]
Notable campaigns
[edit]In November 2022 the agency created the "Museum of Wonky English" (MOWE) for Duolingo, a pop-up exhibition in Harajuku presenting examples of mistranslated English found in Japan as a way of encouraging language learning.[11][13] The campaign was reported by numerous international media outlets.[11]
In 2024 and 2025 the agency created the "Make it Unbelievable" campaign for Canva in Japan, a series of films starring the filmmaker Takeshi Kitano and the comedian Gekidan Hitori that played on the idea that Canva designs can look too professional to be believed.[14][12] Other reported clients have included Red Bull, Heineken, Asics, Nike, Porsche, Mitsubishi Fuso, Beats by Dre, Greenpeace, Mozilla Firefox and Uber Eats.[6][10][4]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Bennett, Adam (2020-11-11). "5 Minutes With… Marc Wesseling". LBBOnline. Retrieved 2026-07-02.
- ^ a b c d e "UltraSuperNew: Bringing an indie agency mindset to Japan". Creative Review. 2025-08-13. Retrieved 2026-07-02.
- ^ a b c "Services". UltraSuperNew. Retrieved 2026-07-02.
- ^ a b c d e f "Meet the New UltraSuperNew: Delivering Japanese Creativity for Global Brands". LBBOnline. 2025-06-05. Retrieved 2026-07-02.
- ^ a b c d "UltraSuperNew – Independent Creative Agency". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2026-07-02.
- ^ a b c d e "AOY Insights: UltraSuperNew crowned 'Independent Agency of the Year' in Japan and Korea for second consecutive year". Campaign Asia. 2022-12-12. Retrieved 2026-07-02.
- ^ a b c "Agency of the Year 2023 winners: Japan/Korea". Campaign Asia. 2023-11-29. Retrieved 2026-07-02.
- ^ a b "Agency of the Year 2024 winners: Japan/Korea". Campaign Asia. 2024-11-28. Retrieved 2026-07-02.
- ^ a b "In conversation with Francois Claverie, Nobuaki Nogamoto and Ozy Kaganoguzbeyoglu". Spikes Asia. 2026-01-29. Retrieved 2026-07-02.
- ^ a b c "UltraSuperNew plans global expansion from Tokyo". Campaign Asia. 2016-05-13. Retrieved 2026-07-02.
- ^ a b c d "Duolingo – Museum of Wonky English". The One Club for Creativity (The One Show). Retrieved 2026-07-02.
- ^ a b "Takeshi Kitano and Gekidan Hitori Return as Warring Feudal Lords in New Canva Ad Film". Branding in Asia. 2025-10-31. Retrieved 2026-07-02.
- ^ "Duolingo Opens Museum of 'Wonky English' to Display the Art of Japanese Mistranslations". Branding in Asia. 2023-01-17. Retrieved 2026-07-02.
- ^ "How a little cultural wit helped Canva land in Japan". Campaign Asia. 2026-01-30. Retrieved 2026-07-02.
External links
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