Programming with Pocky!? 16 Winners Announced for Code Award 2017

The winning entries for the digital marketing advertising award "Code Award 2017" were announced on July 12. This year again saw a large number of digital marketing communication initiatives from both Japan and overseas gather together. Looking at the lineup of winning entries, many featured cutting-edge technologies hot in today's world—such as IoT, VR, AI, data utilization, and smartphone payments—incorporated into sophisticated marketing communications. The results truly reflect the "now" of digital marketing.
Here we introduce the major award-winning entries.

Grand Prix: " GLICODE ®" – Programming Learning with Sweets

Ezaki Glico developed "GLICODE," a programming learning tool using "snacks" that children are familiar with, as a branding initiative. With GLICODE, arranging snacks and photographing them with a smartphone camera uses image recognition technology to convert each snack into programming code. By using this code to guide game characters to the goal, children can learn programming while playing.

Innovation: Programming Educational Materials Born from a Snack Maker

During the judging session, we demonstrated the system by arranging Pocky and Bisco snacks. The joy when the original character moved exactly as instructed was indescribable. Beyond the craftsmanship, the fact that a programming learning app—one that even adults find addictive—was born from a snack manufacturer was truly innovative. It unanimously won the Grand Prix.

Introducing the Best Works in Each Category!

In addition to the "Grand Prix" awarded to the most outstanding entry overall, the Code Awards recognize top entries in five categories—including "Innovation" and "Craft"—as "Best" (essentially Gold, one winner per category) and "Good" (essentially Silver, one or two winners per category). Here, we showcase the top-rated Best entries in each category!

Best Innovation: "The Dictionary That Prevents Mishearing"

Panasonic, which has supported the hearing impaired with hearing aids, developed a mobile dictionary accessible to everyone to raise awareness about hearing issues and encourage listeners to adopt more considerate speaking habits. It contains approximately 1.5 million words prone to mishearing, detected by proprietary artificial intelligence from the roughly 31.2 billion possible combinations of words in Sanseido's "Super Daijirin 3.0" dictionary, along with suggested ways to avoid these mishearings.

The mobile dictionary that battled for the Grand Prix until the very end

This work competed with "GLICODE" for the Grand Prix until the very end. It garnered high praise from the judges for its use of AI and its implementation of highly designed visual communication as a solution to a social issue.

Best Craft: "NIKE UNLIMITED STADIUM"

Runners wear the "LUNAREPIC" sneakers equipped with RFID chips to run a 200-meter course, measuring their lap times. Starting from the second lap, their registered avatar appears on an LED screen, running alongside them at the first lap's recorded time. If the runner beats their avatar, they run the next lap at their newly updated best time, challenging themselves to surpass their personal best.

A Symbol of Japanese Creativity Shining Overseas

Although implemented in the Philippines, a Japanese company was involved in its production. While the craftsmanship is outstanding, this project also gave me hope that Japanese creators will have more opportunities to shine overseas in the future.

Best Effective: "Valentine Post"

Valentine Post is a completely new Valentine's service that lets you easily exchange chocolates without meeting in person. You create your own personal "chocolate-waiting" post on the campaign site and share it on social media. When other users "drop" chocolate into your post, you instantly receive virtual chocolate. You can choose chocolates from KitKat products like "KitKat Chocolatory" or original virtual "Rare Chocolates," and send them with a 20-character message expressing confessions, everyday gratitude, or lighthearted jokes.

A Campaign That Brought a Fresh Breeze to Japan's Valentine's Day

The Effective Awards featured a fierce lineup of powerful campaigns that were also hugely popular in our own communities. This Valentine's Post was recognized for bringing a fresh new twist to Valentine's Day culture.

Best Campaign: "TOKYO CULTURE STORY"

A work condensing Tokyo's culture from BEAMS' founding in 1976 to 2016 into a single 5-minute shot. Fashion: Faithfully recreated 82 popular styles using over 200 brands and more than 350 authentic items from the era. Music: The timeless hit "Tonight's the Night (Smooth Rap)" was remixed across 15 genres, with 27 musicians representing each era singing their versions. Another distinctive feature is the use of hashtags to display brand names, encouraging viewers to look them up, reminisce, and watch the video repeatedly.

A work that made the judges exclaim, "They really went all out!"

The judges unanimously praised this work, saying, "It's amazing they went this far." Personally, I loved seeing musicians I admire appear and nostalgic fashion from my youth resurface; it's a piece I never tire of watching. I believe it resonated because it condenses 40 years of Tokyo culture, allowing each viewer to enjoy it from their own unique perspective.

Best Use of Media: "Changing the Way You Exit Taxis | JapanTaxi Wallet"

A payment system that allows passengers to complete payment before arrival by scanning a QR code displayed on the taxi's tablet using the "Zenkoku Taxi" app. This service changes how passengers exit taxis, especially when "in a hurry" or "carrying a lot of luggage."

Innovation is an experience that, once you've tried it, you can't go back.

Juror Kinya Tagawa of Takram stated, "Innovation is an experience that, once you've tried it, you can't go back to the old way because it's just too convenient." This app is precisely that kind of work—once you experience it, it's so convenient you can't go back.

See other award-winning works here

At the awards ceremony, the "Public Best" award—the work receiving the most public votes—will be announced.

These works will be honored at the award ceremony on August 2nd. The ceremony will also announce the "Public Best" award, given to the work that received the most public votes. The ceremony will be live-streamed on the Code Award official website, so be sure to tune in. Surprise guests might even show up?!