d/b/a ADK, formerly known as Asatsu-DK, is a Japanese

advertising agency An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generally ...

. Headquartered in the Toranomon Hills building complex in

Minato, Tokyo is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is also called Minato City in English. It was formed in 1947 as a merger of Akasaka, Azabu and Shiba wards following Tokyo City's transformation into Tokyo Metropolis. The modern Minato ward exhibits t ...

since June 2014 (previously in Tsukiji,

Chūō, Tokyo is a special ward that forms part of the heart of Tokyo, Japan. The ward refers to itself in English as Chūō City. It was formed in 1947 as a merger of Kyobashi and Nihonbashi wards following Tokyo City's transformation into Tokyo Metrop ...

), the firm is Japan's third largest advertising agency after

Dentsu Dentsu Inc. ( ja, 株式会社電通 ''Kabushiki-gaisha Dentsū'' or 電通 ''Dentsū'' for short) is a Japanese international advertising and public relations joint stock company headquartered in Tokyo. Dentsu is currently the largest advertis ...

and

Hakuhodo is a Japanese advertising and public relations company. It is headquartered at Akasaka Biz Tower in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo. History Hakuhodo is one of the oldest advertising agencies in Japan and was founded by Hironao Seki at Nihonbashi-Hon ...

. The agency has 80 offices in over 20 countries. One, Asatsu-DK Europe, was established in 1993 in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Bain Capital Bain Capital is an American private investment firm based in Boston. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, public equity, impact investing, life sciences, and real estate. Bain Capital invests across a range of industry se ...

has owned the company since 2018.

History

Asatsu Inc. was established in 1956 by Masao Inagaki. In August 1998, it entered a business tie-up with the

WPP Group WPP plc is a British multinational communications, advertising, public relations, technology, and commerce holding company headquartered in London, England. It was the world's largest advertising company, as of 2019. WPP plc owns many compan ...

. It soon merged with fellow advertising agency Dai-ichi Kikaku Co., Ltd. (established in 1951) to form Asatsu-DK (the DK stands for Dai-ichi Kikaku) on January 1, 1999. Masao Inagaki died on April 16, 2015. In October 2017, it was reported that U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital was looking to buy Asatsu-DK for ¥152 billion ($1.35 billion). On January 1, 2019, it was reported that Asatsu-DK fully acquired d-rights. It had previously shared that company with Mitsubishi Corporation.

Controversy

In October 2022 ADK President Shinichi Ueno was arrested as part of a Prosecutors investigation into

bribery Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Cor ...

. Prosecutors alleged that ADK sent ¥47 million to a former executive of the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee through two different routes in exchange for preferential treatment of sponsorship contracts for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired ...

Subsidiaries and interests

It owns a variety of interests, including production companies

NAS Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ...

and d-rights; animation studio Eiken; animation studio

Gonzo Gonzo may refer to: People * Gonzo (nickname), a list of people with the nickname * Radislav Jovanov Gonzo (born 1964), Croatian music video director Radislav Jovanov, also known as Gonzo * Matthias Röhr (born 1962), German musician whose sta ...

; Nihon Bungeisha Publishing; film and print processor Taiyo Seihan; production studio Sun Artist Studio, Supervision Inc.;

television commercial A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

production house Prime Pictures; and creative services company Tokyo Ad Party. Asatsu-DK is also involved in producing and providing its services to numerous

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

series, through itself as well as its subsidiaries, including recent installments of

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects. Terminology A ...

's Gundam series, such as the latest series ''

Mobile Suit Gundam 00 is a Japanese anime television series, the eleventh installment in Sunrise (company), Sunrise studio's long-running ''Gundam'' franchise comprising two seasons. The series is set on a futuristic Earth and is centered on the exploits of the f ...

'', ''

Turn A Gundam , also stylized as ''∀ Gundam'', is a 1999 Japanese mecha anime series produced by Sunrise, and aired between 1999 and 2000 on Japan's FNN networks. It was created for the ''Gundam Big Bang'' 20th Anniversary celebration, and is the ...

'', ''

Mobile Suit Gundam Seed is an anime series developed by Sunrise and directed by Mitsuo Fukuda. The ninth installment in the '' Gundam'' franchise, ''Gundam SEED'' takes place in a future calendar era, in this case the Cosmic Era. In this era, mankind has dev ...

'' and ''

Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny is an anime television series, a direct sequel to ''Mobile Suit Gundam SEED'' by Sunrise and the overall tenth installment in the '' Gundam'' franchise. It retains most of the staff from ''Gundam SEED'', including Director Mitsuo Fukuda. S ...

'', as well as several other anime titles.

References

External links

Official website
* {{Authority control Advertising agencies of Japan Mass media companies based in Tokyo Service companies based in Tokyo Mass media in Tokyo Japanese companies established in 1956 Marketing companies established in 1956 Mass media companies established in 1956 Bain Capital companies Anime companies 2018 mergers and acquisitions