New TV Commercial for National Children's Book Review Contest Featuring 'Mameshiba' to Air from June 6

Mainichi Shimbun Co., Ltd. (President and CEO: Nobuhiro Saito) will begin broadcasting a new TV commercial titled '72nd National Children's Book Review Contest: Mameshiba Edition' starting Saturday, June 6. Book review assignments, which encourage children to express their thoughts and feelings through reading, are a summer break staple. The commercial aims to convey the message that reading can change a child's life, delivered through the unique lens of Mameshiba.

In the commercial, Mameshiba, a character famous for surreal trivia, promotes the contest by highlighting common student behaviors. It touches on the tendency to pick 'thin books' and warns about the 'many typos' that occur when rushing at the last minute of summer vacation. The ad concludes with Mameshiba being moved to tears, stating that 'meeting a single book can change your life.' This year's catchphrase is 'The legendary review is born from you.'

[National Children's Book Review Contest] Hosted since 1955 by Mainichi Shimbun and the Japan School Library Association, the contest aims to foster reading habits and humanity in children. Last year, it received approximately 2.03 million entries nationwide.

[About Mameshiba] Debuted in March 2008 as an original character by Dentsu. Over 30 variations of TV commercials have been produced, featuring surreal trivia.

[About Mainichi Shimbun] Founded in 1872, it is Japan's oldest existing daily newspaper. It holds the record for the most Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association Awards (35). It organizes various sporting and cultural events and operates under its '2030 Vision' and 'DEI Declaration.'