In 1992, Kentaro Kimura first joined Hakuhodo as strategic planner, moving on to creative, then media development. Kimura literally navigated his way through advertising. Fourteen years later, he founded Hakuhodo Kettle, and as the name suggests, the creative agency brings to a boil innovative new campaigns and serving the brew to clients.
Kimura’s accolades are impressive: Yellow Pencils at D&AD 2008 in Mobile Marketing for “World’s Worse War!” for a web-game for Tohato Inc.’s Habanero snack brand; and in Online Advertising for “Color Tokyo!” for Sony Marketing brand BRAVIA. The Yellow Pencil for Habanero is a grand win with Mobile Marketing.
Perhaps one of Kimura’s most innovative as Hakuhodo Kettle’s creative director is the Cannes Lions Direct Silver award winner, Shiseido Skincare’s “Peace Mirror”. Called on to address women’s skincare problems caused by stress, the agency created an ingenious way wherein the woman’s image in 3D appeared on their monitors like a mirror’s reflection when downloading tips from the Shiseido website or by dialing a hotline. [The women’s images were captured while they registered.] The interactive play resulted in the women opening up to themselves. In effect, achieving peace within themselves.
