In a cross promotion which is surprisingly rare in my opinion, the Lotte conglomerate is promoting its Ghana chocolate line in its Lotteria fast food chain. For a limited time you can buy Ghana milk chocolate shakes, pies and french fry dip. That dip is an interesting idea. Meiji and Morinaga, the other large chocolate makers, don't have fast food chains of their own.
http://www.lotteria.jp/topics/2014/topics01090002.html
Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.
Burger King Japan is now offering a New York Whopper, which gets its name from "The Big Apple" and not because you would find a hamburger like this in New York. This Whopper includes grilled slices of apple, thus the connection. In Japanese, the word for apple is "ringo", so the promotion also uses the copy "Ringo Swings". In addition to the Whopper there is another smaller hamburger (not shown) which also includes apple slides.
http://www.burgerkingjapan.co.jp/campaign/cp109.html
Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.
Kirin is using its size and market power to promote its probiotic they call plasma lactic acid bacteria (Lactococcus lactis JCM5805（プラズマ乳酸菌）). This strain has immunostimulatory activity and as there is not a claim category for that, the ads have to carefully keep from making a specific claim. When you navigate over to the R&D section it gives research results, but only uses the strain name and not any product names.
Among the products containing this probiotic are a yogurt drink, a water drink, a fermented lactic acid drink and a fortified drink which also contains DHA and Vitamin C.
http://www.kirin.co.jp/csv/plus-i/product.html#ctpla
Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.
Burger King is offering three choices of side soups (100 yen each), Boston Clam Chowder, Rich Corn Soup, and Beef Stew. The colors also play into the Japanese affinity for visual presentation of food including color.
http://www.burgerkingjapan.co.jp/campaign/cp97.html
Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.
Pronto is offering a special morning only coffee, which is slightly larger and less expensive than the normal M size offering. It also uses a superior milk which is supposed to retain more of the natural milk sweetness.
http://www.pronto.co.jp/campaign/2013/10/03-1.html
Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.
The finalists for the Meiji Karl versions worthy of a second go are as follows:
1) Shrimp Butter Soy Sauce (1999)
2) Butter Milk (1976)
3) Carbonara (1996)
4) Grilled Sausage (1996)
5) Bistro Hamburger (2001)
http://www.meiji.co.jp/sweets/snack/karl/
Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.
Pronto has been diversifying in recent years from simply being a coffee chain to also offering food and alcoholic drinks. They are currently offering a golden highball for 500 yen, which contains real gold leaf flakes. Gold leaf is actually not uncommon in Japan and can be sprinkled on foods to turn a fairly standard meal into something to talk about. Seeing it in drinks or having a national chain use gold leaf IS something unusual. The copy uses the phrase 大吉大利 which refers to good luck and prosperity in the new year. Obviously the image they are trying to convey. プロント ハイボール
http://www.pronto.co.jp/campaign/2013/12/post-1.html
Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.
Part of Wendy's Japan "Japan Premium" line-up, "The Chili Burger" looks pretty nice. It isn't cheap though (780 yen). Wendy's presence in Japan is still very limited and McDonald's profits are suffering due to popular ultra-cheap offerings off its 100 yen menu. Getting people in the store and making a profit can be a challenging proposition.
http://wendys.co.jp/
Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.
Meiji's popular Karl snack held a contest to determine which flavors to bring back. The winner was a flavor from 1999 - shrimp butter soy sauce flavor - with over 121,000 votes. Meiji Karl is one of the big brands in Japan that can get people excited over new flavors and offerings limited to specific towns or regions of Japan. 明治 カール
http://www.meiji.co.jp/sweets/snack/karl/
Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.
