Why is this work relevant for PR?

Because we broke the indifference of local people that Tokyo 2020 was none of their business. We collaborated with local commercials featuring world class athletes and succeeded in bringing Tokyo 2020 to the attention of the entire Japan.

Background

Nissin Foods is the TOKYO2020 official Noodle Partner. We want to get not only the host city but also the whole country involved in making TOKYO2020 more exciting.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

In Japan, only one in five respondents said that TOKYO2020 had a positive impact on the local areas, and 30% were rather worried that the gap between the venue and the region would widen. There is a big barrier in feelings between Tokyo and local areas. Furthermore, the Olympic campaigns of the major corporations are all about boosting Tokyo, and in order for TOKYO2020 to become JAPAN2020, content was needed that would allow people in the local areas to become emotionally involved in the Olympics.

Describe the PR strategy (30% of vote)

Local Commercials × Global Athletes = Super-Local Olympic Commercials We had our eyes on local commercials tickling the local love. So, in collaboration with local businesses, we produced Olympic commercials by reproducing them by replacing their original characters with global athletes Naomi Osaka, Kei Nishikori and Rui Hachimura.

Describe the PR execution (20% of vote)

There are 32 Broadcast radio bands in Japan, and for each band, there are local commercials that are only broadcasted in that band. we picked up all of these and produced a total of 32 Super-Local Olympic Commercials. The commercials aired nationwide at the same time from New Year’s Day, when people were returning to their hometowns and watching TV. People who saw the commercial spread the word on social media beyond the region and it became the hot topic of conversation across Japan.

List the results (30% of vote)

The sudden change in familiar local content took people by surprise and created a buzz that took the whole country by storm. Local people, local businesses and local broadcasters had a huge response to the Festival. ・Within 5 days of broadcast, it had surpassed Over 3 million views (10,000 retweets / 20,000 likes/ 30,000 comments). ・It featured on 91 programs in all prefectures. ・Website traffic increased to 640%. ・Sales increased to 107%. We achieved success in creating a new form of sponsorship, that not only supports sports, but also supports local areas with the power of athletes.

Please tell us about the cultural insight that inspired the work

Many people in Japan who live outside of Tokyo feel that Tokyo 2020 is not about the local areas and is of interest only to Tokyo. And, Japanese people have a strong sense of belonging to the region they grew up in, and are especially tickled by the local commercials they have seen since they were children.