Pronto Frozen Espresso‏

Proto, the coffee shop chain, has added a frozen espresso to its summer menu.

http://www.pronto.co.jp/menu/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Haagen-Dazs Apricot Tart‏

A new flavor for Haagen-Dazs Japan is apricot tart.

http://www.haagen-dazs.co.jp/apricot_tart/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

McDonald's Olympic Glass Giveaway‏

McDonald's is giving away a commutative Coke-Olympic glass with the purchase of a large value set meal. Three colors for 10 days, and a different three colors for another 10 days.

http://www.mcdonalds.co.jp/campaign/coke_glass/index.html

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Sapporo Yebisu Giveaway‏

Sapporo is giving away seasonal gift sets of its premium brand, Yebisu, exclusively to members of its online club.

http://www.sapporobeer.jp/sapporo_enq/0051/index.html

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Tully's Qi Wireless Recharging Service

Tully's is offering the use of Qi wireless recharging pads in selected stores. Qi is an international standard for wirelessly recharging electronics, but for the present it is only integrated into a limited number of smart phones (all Japanese brands from what I can tell). To use this with an iPhone, for example, special cover would have to be purchased.

(PDF file)
http://www.tullys.co.jp/u/pdfs/0525a.pdf

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Glico Dairy BifiX Campaign‏

Glico Dairy is holding a giveaway to promote its new BifiX brand bifidobacteria probiotic yogurt line. Proof of purchase is required and JTB travel vouchers are among the prizes.

http://www.glico-dairy.co.jp/cp/probiotics/index.html

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Coca Cola Venting Machine Energy Savings‏

The energy used by vending machines became a news item last year when Japan was experiencing blackouts. Coca Cola depends on vending machines as much as or more than any other company in Japan. They responded with energy saving measures such as turning off lights and using lower power bulbs as well as periodic shutdown of the cooling units.

For this summer during the peak energy usage period, they have a new plan and claim that it will result in an energy savings of 15% on 800,000 vending machines nationwide. As can be seen from the chart, during the peak energy usage hours of 13:00 to 16:00, the cooling units on all machines will be shut off. For non-peak hours, the machines will be separated into 6 groups and at all times from 9 am to 10 pm, one of the 6 groups will have its cooling units shut off. (The 15% cut is calculated in comparison with running the cooling units constantly.)

http://www.cocacola.co.jp/info/savingenergy_statement.html

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

MegMilk Snow Brand 6P Cheese Giveaway‏

Snow Brand is giving away cheese sets to promote new flavors of its 6P (6 piece) cheese product series. These new flavors will only be sold in Hokkaido, so this contest is the only way for people in other areas to try them. The three flavors are scallop (ホタテ), curry soup (スープカレー), and corn (とうきび).

"Tokibi" (とうきび) is an alternate way of saying "tomorokoshi" (とうもろこし) or "corn".

http://www.snow6p.jp/campaign1206/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Suntory (Rolling) Stones Bar

I just came across this in a convenience store last night, even though it is supposed to go on sale today. Very interesting, and great marketing. The packaging, copy and web graphics are very nice. I would love to know what kind of collaboration was behind the planning for this line. Japanese companies typically only target the Japanese market and therefore the copy is difficult comprehend without a knowledge of Japanese and Japanese culture, and when they use English it is often butchered. This campaign could be taken directly to the US without any significant change. I would think the Rolling Stones people had a hand in quality control, but the people at Suntory are also increasingly adept at more international markets.

What I saw and bought was the Rolling Gold drink which is a chuhai like drink, tasting like fruit juice. I see they also have a hoppushu beer, and a highball variety also.

http://www.suntory.co.jp/stonesbar/index.html




Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Starbucks Macha Frappuccino with Chocolate Chip‏s

Starbucks is also adding chocolate chips to its Macha Cream Frappuccino for a limited time.

http://store.starbucks.co.jp/beverage/frappuccino/cream/4524785198647/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.