MHI Thermal Systems Launches New Air Conditioner Ads on Concept of "Comforting the World with Heat," Featuring Popular Actress Keiko Kitagawa -- First New Ad for Residential-use Lineup in 20 Years --

Tokyo, April 09, 2020 - Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Thermal Systems, Ltd. (MHI Thermal Systems), a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group, is launching a new series of commercial advertisements promoting the company’s domestic lineups of "BEAVER" residential-use air conditioners and commercial-use air conditioners. The new ads, featuring popular actress Keiko Kitagawa, were created to mark the 50th anniversary of the BEAVER brand in 1970. TV broadcasting of the new commercials will get underway in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area from April 10, with other major cities to follow from April 11. The company’s aim is to reinforce the image of "MHI air conditioners" as a way of enhancing their name recognition and product differentiation in the domestic market.

The new commercial promoting MHI’s residential-use air conditioners is the first to appear in almost 20 years, the previous ad dating to 2001. It calls attention to the latest systems’ "diverse comforts" enabled by their various advanced features. The complementary ad for the company’s commercial-use systems emphasizes their ease of operational control deriving from IoT technology and their energy efficiency. Brand value will be enhanced under a concept of "comforting the world with heat."

In the commercial for residential-use air conditioners, Ms. Kitagawa appears in a soft white dress, relaxing with a cat in an abstract space bathed in warm colors. The ad describes the various advanced features of the BEAVER lineup: their swift "JET airflow" and powerful "WARP" operating modes; "area air conditioning" enabling control of 16 different airflow patterns; "sensor-controlled airflow" and "power-saving support" enabling automatic control of airflow volume and direction as well as automatic switching to low operating mode when the sensor detects no one is present; and "bio-clear filter" which, through temperature and humidity control, suppresses allergens such as pollen and, relying on the power of enzymes and urea, traps and suppresses pollutants. The ad describes the resulting indoor comfort as well as the various modes of comfort realized through energy efficiency.

In the ad for commercial-use air conditioners, Ms. Kitagawa, this time dressed in a white suit, walks　briskly through a nondescript space of cold colors. "Don’t you think there’s a big connection between work efficiency and office air conditioning?" she begins. The ad proceeds to describe how air conditioning contributes significantly to work efficiency by introducing the company’s proprietary technologies such as "M-ACCESS," an IoT-based service for remote monitoring of air-conditioning status and energy saving, and "AirFlex," the industry’s first air-conditioning technology to prevent air from blowing directly on the people present.

Both commercials, as well as behind-the-scenes looks into their production, can be viewed on the MHI Thermal Systems website. Plans also call for the ads and visuals of Ms. Kitagawa to be available through the company’s Twitter and Facebook accounts (content only available in Japanese).

MHI Thermal Systems, since its launch in 2016 taking over MHI’s Air-conditioning & Refrigeration business, has focused on expanding business in thermal solutions - primarily development of advanced technologies and products - and strengthening communication with customers as well as the company’s brand power. Broadcasts of commercials featuring Ms. Kitagawa, started in 2017, are an integral part of those initiatives, and now, with the new ads we will ramp up our advertising and PR activities further.

Please refer to the URL below for information about our air-conditioners written in English:

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