Special benefits for au users Every month, days with a "3" in the date are "Santaro Days"

KDDI held a new commercial launch event on June 26 at The Garden Hall in Ebisu, Tokyo.

The company will launch a campaign targeting au users, designating the 3rd, 13th, and 23rd of every month starting in July as "Santaro Days." The accompanying TV commercial, titled "Gratitude to Fans," features the story of Santaro (Kintaro, Urashima Taro, and Momotaro) creating "Santaro Days" as a gesture of thanks to their fans. However, the "Santarō Days" Kintarō confidently proposed are actually a blank slate with no concrete details decided. Learning this is a complete shot in the dark, Urashima Tarō teases him by mimicking a train conductor, saying "All aboard~!" in a comical twist.

At the beginning, Takaaki Yamada, Head of Communications, stated: "This summer, we launched commercials themed 'A Summer Only for Heroes'. We wanted to express our gratitude to our customers and offer various services. As one such initiative, we are launching 'Santaro Day' in July, offering special benefits every month." July benefits include getting a Double Cheeseburger at McDonald's and free downloads of the commercial's theme song.

Actor Kenta Kiritani, who plays Urashima Taro, appeared on stage. "We now have special days on the 3rd, 13th, and 23rd. Amazing developments await. We're putting our all into 'Santaro Days,' so please look forward to it with high expectations," he expressed his enthusiasm for the campaign.

 

When Kiriyama revealed after watching the making-of footage that his conductor impersonation was unscripted ad-libbing, gasps of surprise filled the venue.

"I've been good at train conductor impressions since middle school. When I saw the 'Departure' text in the commercial storyboard, I thought 'I can pull this off.' So strictly speaking, it wasn't totally ad-libbed, but I'm thrilled it was used," he said with a smug look. However, he seemed disappointed that the gesture of placing the announcement microphone was cut from the final edit. He also shared that the scene singing "Santaro Ondo" at the Bon dance was recorded in just 15 minutes between other shoots. Getting the OK without any mistakes made him laugh, saying, "The gods must have descended."

Kiritani passionately sang the full version of "Santaro Ondo." "It was my first time performing it. This summer is all about Santaro Ondo!" he declared with a bright smile.

Official Website: https://www.au.com/pr/3taroday/