MIMIC ICE CREAM

TitleMIMIC ICE CREAM
BrandSONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT INC. / TAKESHITA SEIKA CO,LTD
Product / ServiceMIMIC ICE CREAM"DO NOT EAT"
CategoryE01. Food
EntrantDENTSU INC. Tokyo, JAPAN
Idea Creation DENTSU INC. Tokyo, JAPAN
PR DENTSU PUBLIC RELATIONS Tokyo, JAPAN
Production PADDLE Tokyo, JAPAN
Production 2 AD-PASCAL Fukuoka, JAPAN

Credits

Name Company Position
Makoto Nagahisa DENTSU INC. Creative Director
Chika Watanabe DENTSU INC. Copywriter
Ayaka Shiraishi DENTSU KYUSHUINC. Art Director
Yohei Nemoto Dentsu Public Relations inc. PR Director
Koichi Maeda Dentsu Public Relations inc. PR Planner
Kento Inaba Dentsu Public Relations inc. PR Planner
Naonobu Ito Dentsu Public Relations inc. Researcher
Motoatsu Mibu DENTSU INC. Account Executive
Saki Okamoto DENTSU KYUSHU INC. Account Executive
Hitomi Omoto DENTSU CREATIVE FORCE INC. Agency Producer
Hiromi Kobayashi AD-PASCAL Designer
Yoshihiro Matsuguma paddle inc. Producer
Shinta Shibayama paddle inc. Production Manager
Suhei Shibue Freelance Director
Satoshi Oyamada Freerance Cameraman

The Campaign

We decided to tackle the problem by renewing the product's packaging—but how does one make something delicious look completely unappealing? That's when we hit upon the idea of mimics—creatures in the natural world that camouflage themselves to avoid being eaten by prey. We decided to renew the product's packaging to one that disguised it as an ice pack. Not only are ice packs inedible and inconspicuous, they are also ubiquitous in the freezers of Japanese households, as they are given to customers for free by supermarkets and other stores.

Creative Execution

In order to create a convincing disguise, we thoroughly researched common ice pack designs. We noticed that Arctic and Antarctic animals were often featured, and we decided to replicate the most common motif: penguins. This choice allowed us to effectively disguise our product while also preserving the sense of fun and cuteness associated with Japanese ice cream packaging. We also adapted the colors and fonts to match those often found in ice pack designs. As a final touch, we printed the actual product name on the bottom half of the back, effectively concealing it underneath the fold of the back seal.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

We succeeded in promoting Takeshita Seika as a company that, 110 years after its founding, still retains a sense of social justice and an enterprising spirit. Meanwhile, sales of the product tripled, despite sales having plateaued over the last several years. The product was widely covered in TV and print media and also became a trending topic online. It was also featured in a magazine article on the year's biggest trending products. Social media users started a trend of sharing photographs of their mimic ice creams sitting safely in freezers, which helped deepen the narrative of the product being so delicious that people can't help but steal it.