| Title | SAMURAI IN MANCHESTER |
| Brand | NISSIN FOODS |
| Product / Service | NISSIN FOODS |
| Category | A01. Use of Promotional Events & Stunts |
| Entrant | DRILL Tokyo, JAPAN |
| Entrant Company | DRILL Tokyo, JAPAN |
| Advertising Agency | DRILL Tokyo, JAPAN |
| Advertising Agency 2 | DENTSU Tokyo, JAPAN |
| Production Company | UNIT9 London, UNITED KINGDOM |
| Name | Company | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Naoya Hosokawa | Drill | Creative Director |
| Tatsuyuki Hamada | Drill | Planner |
| Tomoyuki Hirota | Drill | Planner |
| Tomoyasu Katagai | Drill | Producer |
| Hotsumi Iguchi | FLN | International Project Coordinator |
| Takehiko Shimura | Dentsu | Account Executive |
| Hiroaki Dehari | Dentsu | Account Executive |
| Dale Healy | UNIT9 | Producer |
| Luke Fogg | UNIT9 | Production Coordinator |
| Tom Elliott | A Common Future | Director / DOP |
| Simon Reichel | A Common Future | Director |
Outside Japan, Nissin Foods is still a relatively minor player in the food world. They want to be increase their visibility in Europe and Asia. However, they do not have the budget to run a mass marketing campaign worldwide. To increase awareness of their brand with a modest budget and to do so among young people in Europe and Asia, our strategy was to go viral on the web.
Outside Japan, Nissin Foods is still a relatively minor player in the food world. They want to be increase their visibility in Europe and Asia. However, they do not have the budget to run a mass marketing campaign worldwide. To increase awareness of their brand with a modest budget and to do so among young people in Europe and Asia, our strategy was to go viral on the web.
The popular response was explosive! Seizing on the popularity of the initial video, a video capturing the samurai, Nissin mascot, and Manchester United players interacting with one another was also uploaded. In just one month, all the videos combined were viewed more than 8.5 million times. They were also transmitted in countries throughout Asia. Popularity spread through social networking sites, and we eventually gained over 13 million views. Nissin are seizing this opportunity to put a variety of products adorned with both players and the Nissin logo on sale throughout Asia. Compared to the same quarter last year, they expanded their share by 40%.
We decided that a guerilla performance during the halftime of a match by Manchester United with a massive fan base of more than 300 million in the Asian region alone would be the most effective approach to make an impact on the targeted younger generation, and to create brand awareness in the target region in a short span of time. Once the project was approved, and after 3 months of negotiations and discussions with the parties concerned, we were given 5 minutes during the halftime during a Premier League match—Manchester United vs. Queen Park Rangers—for our performance. With a mere one to prepare and rehearse, and without an opportunity to rehearse on-site, we successfully gave a one-off live show in front of a crowd of 75,000.