Asian favourite Yakult seeks welcome on US shores

Client: Yakult USA, a subsidiary of Yakult Honsha

Agency: Piston (San Diego, CA, USA)

Market: Western United States

Campaign scope: TV, online video, in-store, social and digital creative, digital media buying

Facts: The 'Forever Yakult' commercial (above) began playing on television Monday in seven US states: California, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, and Utah. The company opened its first US manufacturing plant this past spring and intends to expand to other US regions.

Press release quote: "Reaching out to nutrition-conscious mothers and health strivers, specifically 25- to 54-year-old men and women who maintain a healthy lifestyle, the campaign pays homage to the brand’s 80-year history and its founder Dr. Minoru Shirota—after whom the good bacteria in Yakult and Yakult Light, 'L. casei Shirota,' is named.

Comments: Trying to educate the market about the product's Japanese creator and his namesake healthy bacteria is a tall order for a 30-second spot. But the lively animation, which shows the cute little bottles wafting across the Pacific to land gently on the West Coast, makes the 'medicine' go down more easily. The consumers seen enjoying the product at the end are so blond as to be California stereotypes, so here's hoping the brand also has variants in the works for Asian or Hispanic Americans.

CREDITS

Animation Director: Sam Mason
Animation Director: Jordan Bruner
Executive Creative Director: David Schafer
Creative Director: Colin Ayres
Creative Director: Jessica D’Elana
Producer: Eric Herrmann
Live Action Director: James Lipetsky
Account Director: Obele Brown-West
Animation Production Company: Passion Pictures (New York)
Director: Mason & Bruner
Live Action Production Company: Foundation Content
Live Action Director: James Lipetsky
DP: Martin Coppen
Music: Human Worldwide
Mixer: Jeff Payne, Eleven Sound