The archive · Advertising · Marketing decision · 2011–2012
Google Chrome puts Hatsune Miku in its Japan film — Ad Stars 2012 Grand Prix
A virtual singer built by fans stars in Chrome's Japan film; 1M views in a week and Ad Stars 2012 Grand Prix of the Year.
Google · Hakuhodo · Crypton Future Media
What it had to solve
Google's global Chrome campaign had starred celebrities such as Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber; the Japanese entry had to say what the web lets ordinary people make. Hakuhodo's answer was Hatsune Miku, the Vocaloid character whose fans write songs, draw and animate around her.
How it works
In 2011 Google's global Chrome campaign had featured celebrities such as Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber. For Japan, Hakuhodo proposed a very different spokesperson: Hatsune Miku, the virtual singer from Crypton Future's Vocaloid software, whose fans had spent four years writing songs, drawing illustrations, building CG and making videos with her.
The film, released on Google Chrome Japan's YouTube channel on 15 December 2011 and on Japanese TV from 16 December, packed the whole 'Nth creation' movement into one minute: music, illustration, CG, cosplay, live performance and dance, set to a new song, livetune feat. Hatsune Miku's 'Tell Your World.' It closed on the line 'Everyone, Creator. The Web Is What You Make of It,' and Crypton launched an official Miku channel that returned part of its YouTube advertising revenue to the participating creators.
The campaign reached 1 million views within a week of launch and about 3.5 million by June 2012. In August 2012 it shared the Ad Stars festival's overall Grand Prix of the Year with its US$10,000 prize, won three Ad Stars category Grand Prix, and picked up Silver awards at Cannes Lions and Spikes Asia.
Why it lands
- The spokesperson was the audience: fans had already built Hatsune Miku's culture, so the film celebrated creators instead of interrupting them.
- It proved the browser's benefit through the medium itself — a web-born character whose songs, art and videos live on the web.
- The revenue-sharing channel turned advertising into a lasting platform for the community rather than a one-off commercial.
- Measurable results — a million views in a week and a chart-topping song — came from letting the community's own work carry the message.
What it did
The film passed 1 million views in its first week and roughly 3.5 million by June 2012, and the CM song topped the iTunes chart. In August 2012 it shared Ad Stars' overall Grand Prix of the Year (US$10,000), won three Ad Stars category Grand Prix, and took Silver at Cannes Lions and Spikes Asia.
What you can take
Choose a spokesperson the audience already co-creates with: Miku's fans supplied the story, the artwork and the views, so the ad sold a browser by celebrating what people actually do with it.
Since then
The Chrome film became a landmark for both brands. Hatsune Miku went from a Japanese software niche toward a global phenomenon, and Crypton confirmed an English version of the software for 2012 in response to overseas creators, which the campaign helped inspire. The official Miku YouTube channel continued as a recurring platform that paid creators from ad revenue. The campaign's awards run included Cannes Lions Silvers, a Spikes Asia Silver, three Ad Stars Grand Prix and the festival's overall Grand Prix of the Year, and 'Tell Your World' remains one of the defining Miku songs.
Sources
- BBDO Guerrero and Hakuhodo Tokyo win overall Grand Prix at Ad Stars 2012
- Crypton Future: "Everyone, Creator. The Web Is What You Make of It." Google Chrome's New TVC Achieved 1 Million Views One Week after Its Launch
- Google Chrome: Hatsune Miku (初音ミク) — official movie for all creators
- Google Chrome Chrome meets Hatsune Miku — HAKUHODO Kettle works
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