Mitsubishi launches US$1000 rice cooker for affluent Taiwan customers

Mitsubishi Electric re-entered Taiwan in 2010 and set up a Taiwan branch office. The business objective of Mitsubishi Electric Taiwan is to become a top-end Japanese brand in a market that is mainly dominated by Hitachi.

To compete for marketshare among affluent customers, Mitsubishi is launching a high-end rice cooker, billed as the world's first 'no steam-exhausted' rice cooker. When the device is cooking, its steam is retrieved, so the rice cooker doesn't emit steam and won't cause wetness or humidity in the house, according to the company.

The price tag: US$1000 (NT$29,900), at least double that of an average rice cooker in Taiwan.

Millennium Advertising, which won the Mitsubishi Electric account in April, is rolling out an integrated campaign that includes TVC, print, POSM, and even a Facebook game. The agency is responsible for the creative and media planning, and the campaign is running until October.

Vincent Wu, deputy general manager of the agency, explained that in Chinese, ‘steam’ has a second meaning, ‘being angry’, hence ‘doesn't produce steam' is "不(產)生氣". The creative concept emphasises the double meaning of 'no moist' which is the same sound as saying 'no angry'.

The TVC features a mother and daughter in their kitchen. The young girl asks her mother, "Why doesn't our rice cooker produce steam?" Because she speaks in kid's tone, the question is heard like "Mom, why is our rice cooker not angry?"

The mother explains that the rice cooker retrieves the steam, and this keeps the delicious molecules in the rice.

The product was launched in Japan in 2009. The company launched in its first overseas market in Hong Kong in January at a retail price of US$1,134 (HK$8800).