Japan Marketing News

Great Japanese train advertising: IKEA Japan

Congrats to IKEA Japan for generating some powerful buzz through one of the best "train jacking" ad campaigns I've seen in a quite a long time.

In Japanese advertising parlance, a "jacking" occurs when an advertiser purchases a substantial portion of all of the ad space available in a particular medium or within a geographic area (the term "jacking" is derived from the English word "hijack"). Most commonly it's seen on trains, when advertisers buy out the entirety of ad slots inside the cars, and often have tailor-made graphics or billboard-like posters placed on the exteriors too.

In this case, however, IKEA has really outdone itself by thinking outside the box. Why not leverage its expertise in interior design to deliver a genuine brand experience, rather than a mere barrage of posters and such? The company recently train-jacked Kobe' Port Liner Loop Line to celebrate the opening of its latest mega store in the city.

Take a close look (here, here, and here) and you'll see that IKEA has not only filled some of the standard ad frames with its own messages, it has replaced the train's standard window shades with those from its own stores, converted the seats to sofas with IKEA brand upholstery, and has added wall coverings in some cases, as well.

Naturally this approach is generating plenty of interest amongst those who've ridden this train. But better yet is the fact that this approach is new, and thus newsworthy, making it fodder for a number of traditional Japanese news outlets and plenty of blogs, as well.

Many thanks to Sue Sato and John Cathcart for tipping us off to this campaign (via the IKEA blog and Pink Tentacle).

Great Japanese train advertising: National Doltz

Though the brand name for this battery operated toothbrush from National doesn't thrill me (Doltz?), this train advertisement—with its cute row of baby teeth—does.

The copy doesn't translate that smoothly into English, but the essential meaning is something like "C'mon! We're supporting you so you can grow up into strong permanent teeth!"

The posters were seen on train lines and were presumably targeted at commuting Japanese parents.

Great Japanese train advertising: Panasonic cell phones

Here's yet another example of compelling Japanese advertising. Several variations of this poster have been used in train stations and railway cars around Japan to draw attention to the stylish designs of the W52P series of Panasonic cell phones.

Great Japanese train advertising: Asahi Style Free

Various versions of this visually arresting ad for Asahi's "zero sugar," Style Free beer have been running in Japan's trains and subways for the past few months.

The layout is certainly eye-catching, and the copy isn't half bad either. Roughly translated, it says ""Removing all of the sugar from beer is easy. Keeping it tasting great after you've done so, is not. Style Free from Asahi."

Exceptional Japanese ads: Oh! Yasai

As anybody who's been to Japan knows, Japanese trains are loaded with advertisements. Amongst all the clutter, it's hard to make your brand stand out.

But Otsuka Foods recently did an exemplary job with the nakazuri* (中刷り）hanging ads used for their Oh! Yasai snack brand.

In Japanese, yasai means vegetables and Oh! Yasai is made from real veggies that have been cut and prepared like french fries.

With this ad, Otsuka's goal was to emphasize the ingredients, and they succeeded thanks to the use of french fry shaped cut-outs. The headline says "To think you're eating vegetables when you're actually having a snack! [Unbelievable!]"

* Nakazuri means "hanging from the center." These poster ads hang from the ceiling of trains, down the center of the car. They usually run for just a few days (there is high demand for these locations).

Note: I looked extensively for an original image of this ad, to no avail. The above photo of the poster was found on the blog of a Japanese advertising student, here.

** Need more information on this subject? Click here.