Aug 19, 2008

Kaba Car: Dispelling bad taste by distributing sweets!


Why is it that I get the feeling that I have seen this somewhere before? It was a long time ago that we actually saw a custom made car that was built to be a Hippo and there was enormous amount of effort that was put in to it. This one though is Kaba Car and it comes with a long heritage that is drenched in sweet goodness. The car has been the vehicle that distributed sweet after the sorrows of the Second World War in Japan. Not much for people hit by a nuclear weapon, but it is still something!

In the background, Hiroshima’s iconic “Atomic Dome” which marks Ground Zero of the first atomic bomb dropped in anger. Cruising along the dusty road in front is a Kabaya candy company Hippo truck. Kaba” means Hippo in Japanese and “Kabaya” translates to Hippo Store, which explains the company’s choice of mascot. They’re also famed for introducing a weird hippo-crow to push their wares in a long-running series of Japanese TV commercial ads.


While today’s truck that promotes Kabaya is more sleek and akin to a scorching Ferrari, the one that started it all was a big giant red Hippo that spread cheer when it was hard to find.

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