Although focusing on anime, very talented people in the animation industry are fully engaged in the production of animated films and programs, and thus it had been impossible in the past to get them together to create original animated TVC. Our idea was creating a TVC and DVD series which would be offered for sale at the same time. In other words, we put together a team to create a DVD anime series and produced a TVC in the same studio. The original animation TVC immediately drew attention. The story is contiguous throughout the commercials, but there were many unanswered questions. This encouraged viewers who wanted answers to buy the DVD. The FREEDOM DVD’s price, which might be called a 30-minute commercial for a $1 product, was set at $40. Nevertheless, each DVD has become a best seller. It means that the DVD series were functioning as new advertising media which the consumer paid for.

The FREEDOM campaign achieved great success in utilizing the DVD as a new advertising medium, something no one had ever done before. The profits of character management were shared by the client, investors and agency. Cup Noodle received great recognition and benefits from the combination of ‘Free’ and ‘Paid’ exposure.