The Campaign

SEIYU poses the question of whether, today, after the passage of so many years, grownups can still recognize the bento lunches made by parents back in their schooldays.

Creative Execution

For the setting, we arranged a selection of box lunches crafted in the respective hometowns of young adults working in Tokyo, by their own parents . Participants were asked to search out the specific bento, which they had not eaten for over a decade or more, based on memories of the appearance, aroma and taste of those lunches. As it turned out, all correctly identified those past box lunches. The results indicate that for the Japanese, many of whom lose their native homes in natural disasters as a, images of handmade meals, so prepared by parents day after day, live on in their hearts as memories of “yet another hometown.”

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

These images were picked up by numerous different media, changing the perception of such “work by mothers,” often prone to be largely dismissed in the public awareness to date, from “simple menial labor” to the dimension of “proud creation.” This approach likewise proved potent in showing how closely SEIYU is actually involved in the daily lives of consumers, thereby successfully expanding the number of SEIYU brand fans. •97.9% positive interaction in social media. •Over 400% increase on Youtube SEIYU channel subscriber

During their student days, the majority of Japanese grow up eating box lunches, known as “bento,” prepared by their parents. For Japanese housewives, however, this is no easy task. Even if not feeling well, there is no choice but to make these lunches day after day. The supermarket SEIYU, which supports daily handmade dishes with its “EveryDayLowPrice program,” conducted an experiment to understand the value generated by the “continuation”.