Protoleaf: The Soil Restaurant

Credits & Description:

Protoleaf is a Japanese gardening soil brand. Concerns about nuclear radiation from Fukushima had caused consumers to question soil safety -- even in store-bought products. We wanted to let our stakeholders, including consumers and trade, recognize the surprising quality and safety of the product.
What if the soil was so safe, you could actually eat it? To showcase our soil quality and safety, TBWA\HAKUHOD opened "The Soil Restaurant" with a Michelin 3-star chef who created a full course meal using Protoleaf Soil as the main ingredient. The restaurant was open to the public and charged $110 per person.
Customers and Media ate it up: The Soil Restaurant was widely reported on in Japan, and the news spread to over 20 countries globally, including features on CNN and the Discovery Channel. With zero media investment, we clearly demonstrated the product safety to the world. Total free media exposure amounted to approximately US$8,900,000. As a result, consumers felt safe to buy soil again, and sales surged 130% versus the previous year. People could return to gardening and producing their own food.
Agency: TBWAHakuhodo (Tokyo)
Advertiser: PROTOLEAF
Product/Service: 100% ORGANIC SOIL
Executive Creative Director: Kazoo Sato
Creative Director: Tomoki Harada
Copywriter: Tomoki Harada, Chino Yamaguchi
Art Director: Keisuke Shimizu,Nozomi Imaoka
PR: Takahiro Miura, Miho Majima (vector)