Osaka's Glico running man sign to be revamped starting Dec. 1
The iconic Glico sign in Dotonbori, Osaka's entertainment and food district, will be covered up starting Dec. 1 to make way for a makeover, The Mainichi reported on Oct. 14.
Installed in October 2014, the current sixth generation sign will be on display for the last time on Nov. 30 before it is revamped.
The new sign, which will keep the famous runner's pose, will be unveiled in spring 2027, around late March to early April.
In its announcement, confectionery company Ezaki Glico, which makes Pocky, said the current sign's LED system is aging, and it has been difficult to source replacement parts. It has become inconvenient as the sign contains about 140,000 LED chips.
Since the original Glico sign was first installed as a neon tower in 1935, its sixth-generation sign was the first to incorporated a LED display. This allowed the company to enable limited-time video effects and other more modern displays.
The upgrade will make the sign more energy efficient, said the company.
"The Glico sign goes beyond the bounds of corporate advertising and is beloved. We will evolve it so that visitors can enjoy it even more," said a company representative, quoted by The Mainichi.
While the sign is being renovated, the whole billboard will be covered with a sheet. But since it has become one of the iconic tourist spots in the Dotonbori district, the company said it is finding ways to allow tourists to still enjoy the sign even while it is undergoing a makeover.
The 20-meter-tall sign features an athlete running on a track with his arms raised, supposedly about to cross the finish line. It was originally conceptualized to advertise Ezaki Glico's heart-shaped caramel candy, along with the slogan, "300 meters in a single piece." The campaign implied that one piece of caramel candy could give someone the energy to run a 300-meter race.
Over the years, the sign became one of the icons of Dotonbori and Osaka in general, with tourists often taking photos of the sign, as well as selfies of them imitating the runner's pose.
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