One of the most prominent aspect of Japanese culture is Anime and Manga. So when Kent Lyons were approached by Yo! Sushi to come up with a new identity for their Ramen takeaway pot, they didn’t have search too hard for inspiration.
“The main creative inspiration was the shear size of the dish – it’s huge, much bigger than YO! Sushi’s normal plates. So we imagined it as a Godzilla-type figure, monstering down the YO! Sushi conveyor belt, smashing everything out of the way,” explained Kent Lyons partner Noel Lyons.
“We also were influenced by Mortal Kombat – there was a character called Raiden. It sounds a bit like Ramen, and we started imagining Ramen as a character in Mortal Kombat. “Ramen! Vs! Kano!” “Ramen Wins!” This inspired the whole campaign.”
The consultancy was invited to pitch campaign ideas to Yo! Sushi in August 2012, as the restaurant was looking to breathe new life into its brand.
“YO! Sushi have a bold brand, and we wanted to really express that. We have used a simple colour palette and strong typography to give the campaign standout. We created a lot of different ideas for outputs, and took them to YO! Sushi, who were really receptive. The project has been very collaborative, with a lot of creativity coming from YO! Sushi themselves,” Said Noel.
Kent Lyons has looked to address a misconception that Yo! Sushi only serves cold food with a campaign focused on Ramen – its hot noodle soup.
On Monday, January 28, the campaign to promote the takeaway Ramen option begins. This includes a takeaway pot designed to be beautiful and striking, plus a wealth of campaign activities including a new TV advert. The campaign is centred on the concept of Releasing the Ramen, unleashing it onto the world.
“There were very few challenges – filming the TV ad for the campaign in one of YO! Sushi’s restaurants, and then in an office space was logistically complex, but we worked with Dogbite Films, who managed to sort out all the details so it went very smoothly,” recounted Noel.
“Arranging licensing of the music was fun and games, but we got there in the end. Everything else was pretty plain sailing. YO! Sushi are very organised, excellent at making decisions, and know exactly what is possible and what is going to not work within their restaurants, which meant the project has gone very smoothly.”
Apart from the TVC, in-store activity include vinyls on windows, t-shirts and menus. Kent Lyons have also employed unconventional marketing channels such as: flyposting, projections, and escalators.
Following Monday’s launch of the campaign Kent Lyons have set their eyes on hopefully reviewing Yo! Sushi’s other takeaway packaging.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login