A USMEF advertising campaign that promotes the high quality of US pork in Japan won accolades from the Japanese advertising industry. The "Mitsuboshi American Pork" series, featuring three newspaper ads touting the juiciness and flavor of US pork, took first place honors in the Nikkei MJ Advertising Awards for 2018.

Advertisement No. 1: "We used Gochipo to introduce Mitsuboshi American Pork. Juiciness, deliciousness and tenderness are three important points used by Japanese people to evaluate pork quality. We showed multiple US pork dishes people can enjoy."
[Photo: USMEF]

Funding for the advertising series was provided by the USDA Market Access Program (MAP) and the National Pork Board.

In Japanese, "Mitsuboshi" means "Three Star". In the USMEF ad series, the three stars of US pork are "juiciness, deliciousness and tenderness".

Advertisement No. 2: "We showed mouth-watering US pork loin in a photo that was highly valued by the judging panel. The text of the ad read, ‘Once you have a bite, you can feel the mouthful juiciness and deliciousness of US pork. American pork is raised with nutrient-rich corn and soybeans. That’s why American pork is juicy, delicious and tender. Please enjoy the ideal pork!'"
[Photo: USMEF]

"USMEF’s Mitsuboshi American Pork ad series expresses high-quality US pork clearly with a combination of menus and wine," the judging panel made up of academic and marketing experts noted in its decision.

"We can sense the flow of deliciousness of US pork with sophisticated use of color. And readers can feel the friendliness of 'Gochipo', which is USMEF’s US pork mascot. With the eye-grabbing creative and accurate message to the retail industry, this ad series reached a high degree of perfection in trade advertising."

USMEF staff in Japan will be on hand to receive the award at a 4 December ceremony.

Advertisement No. 3: "We provided facts as to why US pork is high in quality. We explained the reasons for the 'juiciness', 'deliciousness' and 'tenderness' of US pork. We compared US and domestic pork. We showed the cost difference of raising hogs in the US and in Japan, because some Japanese consumers and even traders don’t know why the price of US pork is better than domestic pork."
[Photo: USMEF]

"USMEF recognizes that the competition for the Japanese market is growing more intense and this advertising campaign is an example of our commitment to defend US pork’s share," said Dan Halstrom, USMEF president and CEO.

"Although Japan is the largest value market for US pork, we realize that we need to keep working very hard to maintain our relationship with the Japanese consumer to keep exports moving in the right direction."

The three ads in the USMEF series appeared in late September in the Nikkei Marketing Journal, a Japanese publication specializing in marketing and retail businesses. The ad descriptions are provided by USMEF staff in Japan.