The archive · Advertising · Marketing decision · 2007–2018
SoftBank's White Family ads make Dad a talking dog — Japan's serialized telecom hit
SoftBank explained phone plans through a surreal family whose father is a white dog — 130+ spots over six years, one of Japan's most-loved campaigns.
SoftBank Mobile
What it had to solve
In 2007 SoftBank Mobile was a challenger launching 'White Plan' family pricing, and president Masayoshi Son wanted TV ads on air almost immediately — too fast to assemble a normal celebrity cast. The team had to explain a complex discount in seconds, under tight time and budget.
How it works
In 2007 SoftBank Mobile, a challenger in Japan's telecom market, launched the 'White Plan' family pricing: unlimited domestic calls between family members for a flat base fee. President Masayoshi Son wanted commercials on air almost immediately, leaving the production team no time to line up the usual celebrity cast — so the plan, literally named after the color white, suggested a white dog.
The result was the 'White Family' (白戸家): a daughter and shop clerk (Aya Ueto), a mother (Kanako Higuchi), a Black son (Dante Carver), and a father who is a white Labrador, voiced by veteran actor Kin'ya Kitaoji. From June 2007 each spot delivered the discount's benefit inside a joke, and the running question — why is this dog the father? — unfolded over years of episodes.
The absurdity became the strategy: viewers watched to see what the family would do next, so product messages rode along for free. Over 130 ads aired across six years, the series topped Japan's ad-liking rankings, and SoftBank itself reported a cost-to-value ratio of roughly 1:20–1:30 for the campaign, crediting it with turning the brand into a household name.
Why it lands
- The premise was memorable precisely because it was absurd: a telecom discount explained by a family whose father is a dog.
- Serialized storytelling made viewers return: instead of one-off spots, each ad added to a mystery that resolved slowly over years.
- The constraint produced the idea: no time and no budget for celebrities forced the team to invent a character, and the white Lab matched the 'White' plan name.
- The cast mixed unexpected stars and running gags (Tommy Lee Jones as the family maid), so every new episode became an event worth talking about.
- SoftBank's reported 1:20–1:30 cost-to-value ratio showed the entertainment-first approach paid for itself.
What it did
The series ran over 130 ads across six years, repeatedly topped Japan's ad-liking polls, and SoftBank cited a cost-to-value ratio around 1:20–1:30; it helped lift SoftBank Mobile from a relative newcomer to an established industry leader.
What you can take
When a product story is hard to explain, make the explanation entertaining: one absurd, serialized premise can carry a brand for years, letting the mystery itself do the selling.
Since then
The campaign became a Japanese institution. Kai-kun, the original Labrador 'father', later retired and his son Kaito-kun took over the role; Kai-kun's death in June 2018 at the age of 16 drew tributes in the Japanese and trade press. In February 2018 SoftBank marked the series' tenth anniversary with official events and LINE stamps, and new White Family commercials were still airing into the 2020s — a serialized idea that long outlived the original White Plan offer it was built to sell.
Sources
- 「ホワイト家族24」の新テレビCMを6月1日（金）より放映開始
- Advertising in Japan: What's so funny?
- A tribute to SoftBank's original Otosan
- Tarantino's cheerily crazy Japanese cell phone ad
- いくつわかる？白戸家 CMの名シーンがLINEスタンプに！
- 【人気CM】白戸家だけじゃない！多様化するソフトバンクCMとその影響
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