Kagawa Prefecture: Try!Noodle Cradle

Credits & Description:

Brand: Kagawa Prefecture
Advertiser: Kagawa Prefecture
Agency: Dentsu Inc., Tokyo
Agency: Dentsu Inc. Tokyo, Japan
Entrant: Dentsu Inc. Tokyo, Japan
Idea Creation: Dentsu Inc. Tokyo, Japan
Pr: Dentsu Public Relations Tokyo, Japan
Production: Niban-Kobo Productions Tokyo, Japan
Creative Director: Tsudou Honda (Dentsu)
Planner: Satoshi Yamamoto (Dentsu)
Art Director: Emi Kaminaga (Dentsu East)
Copywriter: Fumiko Ishida (Dentsu)
Producer: Hidejiro Kojima (Niban Kobo)
Producer: Yoshimune Takamatsu (Niban Kobo)
Director: Yu Kawakami (Freelance)
Dop Lighting Cameraman: Koji Kayano (Freelance)
Web Director: Miroki Mitsuyasu (tohoku Shinsha)
Pr Planner: Yohei Nemoto (Dentsu Pr)
Pr Directoer: Koki Horiguchi (Dentsu Pr)
The Brief: Increase The Population Of Kagawa Prefecture By Grabing Attention Of Families With Babies.
The Strategy: With Kagawas Largest Consumption Of Udon (The Japanese Noodles) In Japan, Kagawa Is Well Known By The Nation As “Udon Prefecture”. Even Though The Prefecture Has Successfully Attracted A Lot Of Tourists By Taking Advantage Of The “Udon”, It Has Been Unable To Increase Immigrants. However, We Found A Udons Miracle Power, That “Slurping Up Udon Makes Babies Stop Crying.” The Strategy Is becoming A No.1 Prefecture Loved By Babies, By Using Udon". Therefore, The Main Target Is Not A Parents, The Babies.
The Execution: With The Result Derived From Study Findings That The Sound Of Slurping Up Udon Is A White Noise Similar To Those To Be Heard In The Womb, And Those Are Very Effective For Babies To Stop Crying, We Have Created A Web Content Called “Noodle Cradle”. This Content Has Been Prepared For Babies In Collaboration With A Popular Udon Shop In Kagawa Prefecture, Which Is Available To Make A Sound Of Slurping Up Udon At Anytime And Anywhere. In Addition, A Online Video To Disseminate That “Udon Prefecture Is A Place Friendly To Babies, And Also Families With Babies.”
The Result: Then, Many Of The Web Media Posted Its News. Once It Became Viral On The Web, Number Of Tv Shows Took This Up, And The News Spread All Over Japan So Quickly. Despite It Was Non-Paid Advertisement, Within A Month, Its Exposure To The Public Was Worth Of 350 Million Yen Advertisement. Consequently, It Successfully Increased Their Intentions To Live In Kagawa Prefecture Among Families With Small Children Increased To 30.0% From 18.5% As Well. Of Course, It Goes Without Saying That Kagawa Became The No.1 Prefecture Loved By Babies.

In Japan, you are considered well-mannered if you make slurping sounds while eating udon noodles. Kagawa Prefecture, a.k.a. the Udon Prefecture, has a problem with “decreasing population”, and it was essential to attract the attention of child-raising generations. That was why the prefecture started the PR campaign "Noodle Cradle" last year claiming “udon can stop your baby crying,” using the research result that ‘the sound of slurping udon noodles resembles the in-womb sound’. While it generated huge publicity, it was considered as a “silly Kagawa joke”, failing to strongly connect the ‘Udon Prefecture’ with ‘a place to raise children’.