Sing the corporate Happy Tree song!
‘Hitachi tree’ bringing owner $4 million
Honolulu Advertiser: Friday, January 26, 2007
…Hitachi Ltd., the Japanese electronics giant, has agreed to pay the new owner of the Moanalua Gardens $400,000 a year for 10 years to use the garden’s famous monkeypod tree in its advertising…more…
As a former “Taro HITACHI” (that’s where my online name originates) I’ve made the pilgrimage to the Tree a couple of times. An interesting factoid is that the $4 million price for the tree rights is really high because Hitachi is only allowed to use the tree’s image in Japan. One of my weirder jobs was to remove the tree image from all of Hitachi’s overseas publications (even invisible watermarks).
Watch the latest version here on YouTube performed by the Japanese group, INSPi, has performed “image-advertising” song called “Hitachi No Ki” – Hitachi’s Tree. Or, better yet, listen/download my iPod-ready, MP3 remix of the old 1970s and the present day Happy Tree song of Hitachi Japan. Enjoy the dorkiness here (MP3, 3MB).
Hitachi’s official hitachinoki.net website provides a wealth of information about the tree.
Watch the first Hitachi no Ki TV commercial that aired in 1972 as a crappy animation.
Watch the most familiar version of song that has played since the 1980s until 2004.
Check out the map to The Tree
Or, practice your karaoke with the “Hitachi no Ki” lyrics/sheet music.
Idea and link thanks to my friend Mulboyne…
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January 29th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
If you notice, the song ends with a odd, vague slogan, “Inspire the next(c)”
The blogger Tokyo Tales quiped about this:
Actually, I was one of the judges who rejected that slogan, Inspire the next. It was all part of a fake contest for Hitachi employees to suggest a new engrish slogan. It turned out that the ad agency, Dentsu, had already created an “Inspire the next” campaign and the contest was held so employees would “buy into” to new slogan.
After I rejected the slogan and it was picked anyway, I had such hissy fit about the engrish that the only way they could shut me up was to tell me the truth. A grand-nephew of a former Hitachi president had to “win” the contest to pay for his soap jobs or something vital.
Still, I enjoy the Hitachi Happy Tree song even though it ends with insipid Inspire the next.
July 25th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
Wooahhtt? I was really offended by Hitachi’s stupidity when I read your inside scoop on the slogan, and even more offended when I realized that the slogan has become pretty big in comercials in Europe as well. Any Hitachi commercial here has the “Inspire the next” slogan at the end. I never thought about it before, but all I’m gonna see now in my inner “Hitachi vision” is a big “Soapland” and a dirty scene with a nasty middle aged looser company son being soaped up by some pretty Japanese ladies.
Hmm… I have been thinking about working for Toshiba Europe in the future, I think I will suggest “Golden balls of Toshiba” as their next slogan, just to give some back to Japan…
Ganbare!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 26th, 2007 at 10:14 am
Noooo! がんばらないGANBARANAI!*
I’ve worked as a freelance subcontractor at Toshiba (Kawaski Plant) for a couple a weeks.
Aside from the logo, Toshiba was the same as Hitachi…the same gray desks, gray walls, gray linoleum, gray uniforms, gray faces, and gray kaisha bento/company lunch.
Meh.
If you are considering working for Toshiba Europe in Europe all will be fine (boring but ok). However, if you are thinking of working for Toshiba Europe as a way to work in Japan in the future—-that will be a rip-off.
Why?
Because Western employees of Japanese companies who sadly accept a transfer to Japan, will work and live under crappy Japanese company conditions (unheated concrete dorms, long workdays, senile-seniority system, etc.). However, Western employees of international companies with Japanese operations who accept a transfer to Japan get to live as gods on “The Package” (free ‘Western’ housing worth $2-9,000/m, cost-of-living adjustments, club memberships, free private schools for family, etc., etc.). Sure, sure, you might think of working for Toshiba Europe as a transfer employee in Japan as an “adventure” but the novelty will wear off very quickly.
*がんばらない(don’t try hard)
Gambaranai! is the True Way.
April 15th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Not that I’m totally in aggrandizement, but this is more than I expected when I found a link on Linkedin saying that the info is quite indecent. Thanks.
May 3rd, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Really cool blog. I found it on yahoo. I am looking forward to read more posts. Can anybody tell me what fuck this kind of blog comment spamming is good for?