U.F.O. TIME REWIND

TitleU.F.O. TIME REWIND
BrandNISSIN FOODS HOLDINGS CO., LTD.
Product / ServiceNISSIN YAKISOBA U.F.O.
CategoryA02. Fiction & Non-Fiction Film: 5-30 minutes
EntrantDENTSU INC. Tokyo, JAPAN
Idea Creation DENTSU INC. Tokyo, JAPAN
PR PLATINUM Tokyo, JAPAN
Production ROBOT COMMUNICATIONS INC. Tokyo, JAPAN
Production 2 D2C DOT Tokyo, JAPAN

Credits

Name Company Position
TATSUHIRO NAGASHIMA DENTSU INC. Creative Director / Planner
IORI ANEGAWA DENTSU INC. Planner / Copywriter
KOSUKE FUKUI DENTSU INC. Planner / Copywriter
KYO NISHIYAMA DENTSU INC. Art Director
RYO SAKURAI DENTSU INC. Planner / Copywriter
ATSUSHI MUKUNOKI DENTSU INC. Account Executive
KEISUKE SHINTAKU DENTSU INC. Account Executive
TSUYOSHI UNOKI DENTSU INC. Account Executive
Daisuke Takahashi D2C dot Inc. Communication Producer
Go Yamamoto D2C dot Inc. Communication Producer
Taro Sugawara D2C dot Inc. Communication Producer
Junya Sato Freelance Designer
Haruki Yokoyama ROBOT COMMUNICATIONS INC. Producer
Kazuchika Yoshida EUROPE KIKAKU Associate Producer
Satoshi Urabe ROBOT COMMUNICATIONS INC. Production Manager
Ryunosuke Oka ROBOT COMMUNICATIONS INC. Production Assistant
Makoto Ueda EUROPE KIKAKU Director / Screenplay
Junta Yamaguchi EUROPE KIKAKU Director / Cinematographer / Editor
Kensuke Okura FUJIART,INC. Production Designer
Katsuhiro Yokota YKP INC. Stylist
Nana Sato SHOCHIKU COSTUME INC. Stylist
Miku Takeyama SHOCHIKU COSTUME INC. Stylist
Chica - Creators-plus INC. Hair & Make Up
Natsuko Ide Freelance Hair & Make Up
Hiroe Sato Freelance Hair & Make Up
Masaya Kuranuki Freelance Recording Engineer
Shinsuke Iwasaki SPOT INC. Foley Artist
Masayuki Takahashi VASC INC. Sound Mixer
Shota Ojima aiin CO.,LTD. Music Producer
Mamoru Miyano Himawari Theatre Group Inc. Actor
Gota Ishida EUROPE KIKAKU Actor
Yoshifumi Sakai EUROPE KIKAKU Actor
Takashi Sumita EUROPE KIKAKU Actor
Masashi Suwa EUROPE KIKAKU Actor
Kazunari Tosa EUROPE KIKAKU Actor
Haruki Nakagawa EUROPE KIKAKU Actor
Munenori Nagano EUROPE KIKAKU Actor
Naoko Nishimura EUROPE KIKAKU Actor
Shintaro Kanamaru Freelance Actor
Kazunori Kameshima Lolo Icc Actor
Kumi Kureshiro jungle Actor
Saori - STARDUST PROMOTION inc. Actor
Yuya Hamamura Platinum, Inc. PR Producer
Nozomu Watanabe Platinum, Inc. PR Producer
Ai Shibahara Platinum, Inc. PR Producer
Hiroe Ajiki A3 Co., Ltd. Casting Director

Why is this work relevant for Entertainment?

This work succeeded in creating a form of entertainment out of an “eating the product scene,” which is very important in a branded food advertisement but can also be very boring for consumers to watch. These days, an increasing number of people dislike advertisements. The 30-minute drama featuring eating scenes successfully generated buzz, inspiring food manufacturers all over Japan with new hopes and dreams.

Background

Nissin Yakisoba U.F.O. is Japan's major instant fried noodles in a cup -- “cup yakisoba.” In recent years, as consumers keep changing their media usage, there has been a need to figure out a way to ignite buyer motivation with a method other than using TV commercials. Especially in 2020, with the impact of COVID-19 making it difficult to do offline sales promotions, we have been searching for a way to promote the eating experience through digital media.

Describe the creative idea

We came up with the idea of time travel as a plot twist to show eating scenes multiple times. The product itself becomes the main character in our drama, in which time leaps back whenever they try to eat the product. The live stream of the drama was made into an event by combining the streaming of the video with experiencing the product. The video was marketed as “the drama that will make you the hungriest,” streamed at lunchtime on YouTube Live, and promoted eating the product while viewing the video.

Describe the strategy

While a product’s “eating scene” is a very effective tool to make viewers crave it and then buy it, the advertisement itself becomes quite boring if this moment is over-shown. In order to solve this dilemma, Nissin Foods came up with the surreal idea of repeatedly showing scenes of almost eating the food product, making people look forward to seeing it finally eaten.

Describe the execution

We created a drama that uses time travel to repeatedly show the product eating scene. One week before the drama was live-streamed on YouTube Live, the campaign launched primarily on Twitter, telling people to buy U.F.O. for when they watch the video. After the live stream, the drama remained on YouTube as an archive; we also streamed a talk show with the actors, continuing to make the drama a relevant topic.

Describe the outcome

Generated buzz starting on Twitter with a record of trending at #3, resulting in over 60,000 related tweets. While spending zero money for advertising promotion, the piece was featured in over 300 media outlets, including four TV programs (over 10 minutes), with the total advertisement exposure equal to 240 million yen. In the first week of release, it reached 1.3 million plays, even though it was a long-form 30-minute video focusing on eating scenes. After the video stream, many tweets about the product said things like “now I want to eat U.F.O.” and “I went and bought it.” The video was successful in not only creating buzz but also in increasing the appetite for the product. Media site Netorabo said in an article that “it makes you totally want to eat U.F.O. which makes it completely correct as a promotion.”

Links

Video URL