Spotify Celebrates Creative Audio Advertisements at Spotify Hits Japan 2025 Award Ceremony
Spotify, the global audio streaming service with over 713 million users, hosted the Spotify Hits Japan 2025 Awards on November 10, 2025. This innovative award ceremony aimed to celebrate cutting-edge audio advertisements and creative campaigns that connect brands with users through the power of sound. Designed to spotlight the synergy between Spotify's streaming experience and its advertising solutions, the Spotify Hits initiative recognizes the potential of audio creativity to inspire emotions and actions among listeners.
This year marked the second edition of the awards in Japan, featuring various categories that included established campaigns and a special public solicitation category for young creatives. Winning campaigns demonstrated innovative uses of audio to forge new connections with users, culminating in multiple awards across five categories, including the Grand Prix 'Mic Drop' award.
Among the standout campaigns recognized at the 2025 Spotify Hits were:
1. Spotify Mic Drop (Grand Prix) - _#LoveYourMistake “Knock Turn”_
Advertiser: Yamaha
Advertising Agency: Dentsu East Japan
Production Companies: Pyramid Film / Massive Music
This campaign transforms mistakes made during musical practice into a positive message, encouraging listeners to ‘love their mistakes’. Using Chopin's 'Nocturne Op.9-2' as a base, 42 musicians contributed performance data to create a new piece that highlights common musical errors, breaking new ground in audio advertising.
Watch here
2. Ear Candy (Best Immersive Audio Campaign) - _Surround Commercial “Encirclement” & “Encirclement (Club)”_
Advertiser: Otsuka Pharmaceutical (Pocari Sweat)
Advertising Agencies: Dentsu / Dentsu Digital
Production Companies: Big Face / Step / Sound House
Employing binaural recording techniques, these commercials created an immersive experience that made listeners feel as if they were inside a circle, successfully boosting positive brand sentiment for Pocari Sweat.
3. Seized the Moment (Best Moment Campaign) - _Homebound Speech_
Advertiser: Suntory (Kanbaku)
Advertising Agency: Dentsu
Production Company: AOI Pro.
This campaign captures the emotional moment of returning home, using a soothing arrangement of 'Hotaru no Hikari' to depict the transition from work to relaxation, thereby enhancing Kanbaku's soothing brand image.
Watch here
4. For the Fans (Best Audience Strategy Campaign) - _Irohasu 2025 Communication “Tomorrow Will Feel Good”_
Advertiser: Coca-Cola (Irohasu)
Advertising Agencies: Dentsu / Dentsu Digital
Production Companies: VML & Ogilvy Japan / WPP OpenX / Platinum / Accenture
This campaign featured Fujii Kaze's song “Shirasu” to illustrate a pleasant lifestyle. Through multi-format audio/video/playlist sharing, it created an experience where fandom and the brand resonated together.
Watch here
5. Future Hitmakers (Best Innovative Idea) - Multiple Winning Entries
_Ajinomoto Award: “Nekojita Knorr - Playlist That Reaches Perfect Temperature”_
_au Award: “Forever Playlist”_
_Family Mart Award: “Mission from Food Waste Patrol - Rescue Family Mart Discounted Products”_
All campaigns utilized Spotify's audio advertising format, showcasing creative ideas that appealed to younger generations.
This year, a panel of professionals from the advertising and audio/media fields judged the awards, ensuring a thorough selection process. Key judges included:
Judging involved an initial screening followed by final presentations, allowing for evaluation of creativity, audio experience depth, alignment with brand challenges, and innovative use of data.
As Spotify looks toward the future, the company remains dedicated to merging audio's potential with advertising creativity to foster deeper relationships between brands and users.
On a final note, Spotify has changed the way we enjoy music since its launch in 2008. With over 100 million tracks, more than 7 million podcasts, and 350,000 audiobooks available, users can easily discover, manage, and share audio content. Upgrading to a premium plan offers an ad-free experience with higher sound quality. Today, Spotify serves over 713 million users globally, including 281 million premium subscribers across 180+ countries.
This year marked the second edition of the awards in Japan, featuring various categories that included established campaigns and a special public solicitation category for young creatives. Winning campaigns demonstrated innovative uses of audio to forge new connections with users, culminating in multiple awards across five categories, including the Grand Prix 'Mic Drop' award.
Award Winners Overview
Among the standout campaigns recognized at the 2025 Spotify Hits were:
1. Spotify Mic Drop (Grand Prix) - _#LoveYourMistake “Knock Turn”_
Advertiser: Yamaha
Advertising Agency: Dentsu East Japan
Production Companies: Pyramid Film / Massive Music
This campaign transforms mistakes made during musical practice into a positive message, encouraging listeners to ‘love their mistakes’. Using Chopin's 'Nocturne Op.9-2' as a base, 42 musicians contributed performance data to create a new piece that highlights common musical errors, breaking new ground in audio advertising.
Watch here
2. Ear Candy (Best Immersive Audio Campaign) - _Surround Commercial “Encirclement” & “Encirclement (Club)”_
Advertiser: Otsuka Pharmaceutical (Pocari Sweat)
Advertising Agencies: Dentsu / Dentsu Digital
Production Companies: Big Face / Step / Sound House
Employing binaural recording techniques, these commercials created an immersive experience that made listeners feel as if they were inside a circle, successfully boosting positive brand sentiment for Pocari Sweat.
3. Seized the Moment (Best Moment Campaign) - _Homebound Speech_
Advertiser: Suntory (Kanbaku)
Advertising Agency: Dentsu
Production Company: AOI Pro.
This campaign captures the emotional moment of returning home, using a soothing arrangement of 'Hotaru no Hikari' to depict the transition from work to relaxation, thereby enhancing Kanbaku's soothing brand image.
Watch here
4. For the Fans (Best Audience Strategy Campaign) - _Irohasu 2025 Communication “Tomorrow Will Feel Good”_
Advertiser: Coca-Cola (Irohasu)
Advertising Agencies: Dentsu / Dentsu Digital
Production Companies: VML & Ogilvy Japan / WPP OpenX / Platinum / Accenture
This campaign featured Fujii Kaze's song “Shirasu” to illustrate a pleasant lifestyle. Through multi-format audio/video/playlist sharing, it created an experience where fandom and the brand resonated together.
Watch here
5. Future Hitmakers (Best Innovative Idea) - Multiple Winning Entries
_Ajinomoto Award: “Nekojita Knorr - Playlist That Reaches Perfect Temperature”_
_au Award: “Forever Playlist”_
_Family Mart Award: “Mission from Food Waste Patrol - Rescue Family Mart Discounted Products”_
All campaigns utilized Spotify's audio advertising format, showcasing creative ideas that appealed to younger generations.
Judging Process
This year, a panel of professionals from the advertising and audio/media fields judged the awards, ensuring a thorough selection process. Key judges included:
- - Noriko Kitahara, CEO of MICHI inc. & Brand Creator
- - Yusuke Sato, Creative Director at Dentsu
- - Koichiro Shima, Executive Officer at Hakuhodo
- - TaiTan, Rapper & Creative Director
- - Shohei Hashimoto, Head of Creative Strategy at Spotify Japan
- - Takashi Wasa, CEO of Jukebox Dreams.
Judging involved an initial screening followed by final presentations, allowing for evaluation of creativity, audio experience depth, alignment with brand challenges, and innovative use of data.
Looking Ahead
As Spotify looks toward the future, the company remains dedicated to merging audio's potential with advertising creativity to foster deeper relationships between brands and users.
About Spotify
On a final note, Spotify has changed the way we enjoy music since its launch in 2008. With over 100 million tracks, more than 7 million podcasts, and 350,000 audiobooks available, users can easily discover, manage, and share audio content. Upgrading to a premium plan offers an ad-free experience with higher sound quality. Today, Spotify serves over 713 million users globally, including 281 million premium subscribers across 180+ countries.
Topics Entertainment & Media）
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