We chose the ninja, a Japanese national icon that symbolizes stealth and cunning and that seemingly has the ability to disappear.In keeping with the ninja theme of the package design, we implemented a campaign that would “magically” appear and disappear in the same unexpected way, instantly imprinting the products image with our audience. We utilised the tunnels of the subway systems to promote the campaign, carefully placing ninja pictures that animated when trains drove past at high speeds, making the ninja run, eat the snack and then disappear. The use of this subway tunnel advertising in particular generated a major buzz among business and school commuters who were bored with the chronic congestion that they usually encountered on the trains.

The campaign was covered extensively by numerous TV shows, magazines, blogs and so forth, which led to tie-in offers from publishers and game software makers. A number of new flavors have since been added to the product series, including sea urchin and shrimp flavors. All in all, this campaign ushered in a new era for the Japanese snack industry where, conventionally, only one out of 100 new products has been able to survive.