Regional Advertising

Released in Japan for the DS on February 22nd, the Sim City DS advertising campaign is well underway. Tokyo's Yamanote line of Japan Railways, a popular advertising ground for Nintendo, had some cars carrying advertisements entirely devoted to the new game. While this is not an uncommon marketing tactic, what stood out was that the ads seem to hold a specific "Tokyo" feel to them.

Tokyo, overrun by and often remembered for its salarymen and private school girls, constantly struggles to maintain its image as the culturally urbane capital of Japan. The look of the people in these ads exploits those aspects of Tokyo. The salaryman is represented as a progressive thinker in both looks and philosophy. Yet, he seems stuffy and introverted. The schoolgirl appears intelligent, but with an innocent naivety that could build a bright tomorrow. Her facial expression however, makes her seem distant and cold. Their looks alone are enough to assume that these ads would not work in more down-to-earth Osaka.

Osakans are known for their warm-hearted openness that sometimes makes them honest to a fault. They take pride in their collective sense of humor. While salarymen are present in Osaka, they do not make up the heart of it and they are most certainly not portrayed or focused on in the same way as the one featured here.

The private schoolgirl image may appeal more to a cosmopolitan Kobe dweller than to a typical Osakan. The overall tone of the ads just doesn't seem to fit. Of course, this is nothing but speculation and conjecture but having lived in both areas, these thoughts immediately flooded my brain. Hikari got in touch with its contacts in Osaka to see if the ads were being run there as well. The results were negative. A thorough Internet search revealed little conclusive evidence but did turn up something interesting.

The DS van travelled throughout Japan, starting its run in Fukuoka on January 27th and retiring on the 25th of February in Shibuya. This van made use of basic advertising that had no real regional flavor. Much like in the US, ads are geared for certain audiences. Japan is no different and we think the Sim City DS ads help exemplify this.