Cuddly bear Kumamon becomes a marketing superstar in Japan
Cute bear designed to put remote farming region on map achieves superstar status across Japan
A clumsy bear mascot for a remote Japanese farming region has rocketed to superstar fame and notched up an unlikely marketing triumph in a nation obsessed with all things cute.
The life-sized Kumamon and his now nationally ubiquitous image - red cheeks and doughy physique - are found on everything from pastries and keychains to aircraft and purses.
Rivalling the success of Hello Kitty or Mickey Mouse in Japan, the black bear has rung up a commercial fortune for his rural birthplace, and become a marketing phenomenon.
The craze has delighted officials from his home in Kumamoto, a prefecture in the far south which barely registers with many Japanese.
" Kumamoto's prominence has definitely increased in the eyes of the public," said Masataka Naruo, brand officer for the local government. The rise of Kumamon - who has more than 300,000 followers on Twitter - is all the more striking given the ferocious competition among mascots, known as yuru-kyara (laid-back characters).
In just two years, Kumamon has generated US$1.2 billion in economic benefits for his region, including tourism and product sales, as well as US$90 million worth of publicity, according to a recent Bank of Japan study.