2012 version of annual Tokyo Marathon will be held on February 26, with 36,000 runners who luckily win the lottery from 283,988 applicants.
At the marathon, one of the official supplier Dole Japan is going to provide 96,000 “lucky” bananas, named “Goku Sen”(Extremely Selected) [J], which will be chosen from its over 100 kind of bananas, harvested from its special farm in Philippine in early February.
After arrival at Japan, on its 7-days ripening process, Dole Japan will apply a special treatment for this special occasion, air the Japan’s most popular girls unit AKB48’s hit number “Heavy Rotation” to let banana listen.
The song was chosen because the research over the member of Toyo University Ekiden club, who won the annual Tokyo-Hakone collegiate ekiden road relay this January, showed that the song is the most favorite in the club members’ private and training time.
There was a myth that Japanese stock farmer let cow listen Mozart to make beef tender in English news before. But there is a company who sell Mozart-listening banana [J]. Their page says that another Mozart thing was tried for Tomato and Japanese sake.
Dole Japan opened the special site for this lucky banana, with banana-related quiz and games. The site is also connected with Twitter/Facebook.
On February 8 at Japan’s first banana vending machine in Shibuya, Dole will do this lucky banana give-away for people who check in on Facebook, Mixi or Foursquare.
via Ichigaya Keizai Shimbun [J]
See Also:
AKB48 Now On Google+ – Google’s Marketing Challenge
Popular Idol Group AKB48 Enters ISP Business
Asiajin » tagged “AKB48”
