The Campaign

To directly connect Miyazaki Beef's image with being the best in Japan, we employed food art techniques to depict Mt. Fuji. The mountain has long been etched deeply into the minds of the Japanese as the greatest symbol of Japan. Its history is so venerable that there is a poem about Mt. Fuji in the "Manyoshu," Japan's oldest collection of poetry. The mountain is also known around the world, thanks in part to the woodblock prints of Katsushika Hokusai. The idea may seem ridiculous at first, but by spurring consumers to think, "Why did they make Mt. Fuji out of Miyazaki Beef?" we enhanced the visual impact to take the communication one step further.

Execution

We mostly showed the video in movie theaters, instead of as a TV commercial, to deliver audiences a deeper experience. When we played the video on large outdoor screens, we often chose places that are symbolic of Japan's two greatest cities: the Shibuya scramble in Tokyo and Ebisu Bridge in Osaka's Dotonbori district. For newspapers we produced an advertisement eight times the normal size. Instead of just catching newspaper readers' eyes, we focused on getting them to take action by unfolding the page. The aim was to use the ad in place of a poster to have a gigantic presence in Japan's small living rooms.

We succeeded in our goal of providing a powerful experience rather than just imprinting an image. Soon after the launch, four terrestrial TV stations covered the campaign, and it appeared in around 50 online media outlets. Finally, we prepared a YouTube video to collect feedback on the campaign. Two weeks after the launch, it had received over 1 million views. It was exactly the response anticipated in our media design.

The Situation

The mission of this advertisement is split into two stages. The first is to draw attention with visual impact. The second is to make the audience discover and realize why we used this expression. Repeatedly using the same media with the same expression is an inefficient way of doing this. As a PR technique, it can deliver information through various different channels, thus solidifying the consumer's understanding, deepening the sensation and entrenching the memory. The goal of this advertisement is to go one step ahead of the image by producing understanding.

The Strategy

Epicureans already know that Miyazaki Beef is the best-tasting Japanese beef. Hence, the target was regular people who are not that particular about food. Success would hinge on whether we could get them to notice. The first element is Mt. Fuji. It is often depicted on New Year's greeting cards and murals in public baths, so it has an entrenched image as a celebratory symbol. As the sunrise illuminates our Mt. Fuji, the audience notices it's food art made from beef. When they wonder why, the twist comes in and tells them Miyazaki Beef is the best in Japan. This multilevel structure goes beyond imprinting an image to very strongly penetrate the consumer's mind.