Japanese variety shows go to a number of interesting places, usually squeezing something interesting out of a small budget. This is a 7-Eleven advertisement promoting a segment on a popular variety show. On the show 10 different 7-Eleven food items will be sampled by panelists as if they are restaurant food and not just quick and easy food choices. セブンイレブン
http://www.sej.co.jp/
Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.
Yamazaki did on online poll of flavors customers would like to see and cheese cake won. These sandwiches contain cheese cake flavored cream and spongecake. This is one event of many in celebration of 30 years of Yamazaki Lunch Packs. I actually had no idea how long this product line has been on the market. I would guess the production method has improved dramatically over that period of time. All products in this line are very processed, but also very neat, clean, cheap, convenient and reasonably good tasting. Very tempting when you are in a hurry to catch a train. ヤマザキ ランチパック
http://www.yamazakipan.co.jp/
Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.
Kentucky Fried Chicken will be conducting an all you can eat event again this year in what has become a yearly event. At select locations, you can eat all the original chicken, red hot chicken, fries and drink for 45 minutes (1,280 yen). Participation is by reservation only. ケンタッキーフライドチキン
http://www.kfc.co.jp/campaign/6-7_newsportal/index.html
Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.
Fujiya is a confectionary company now owned by Yamazaki Bakery, which also runs a chain of family restaurants. This offering is a special only available at one location (Sukiyabashi 数寄屋橋), but is very typical of what is considered a Western style dinner plate. This plate consists of a choice of drink, shredded cabbage, potato salad, a slice of tomato, a fried shrimp and hamburger steak. It is priced at about 2,000 yen, which comes to about 20 dollars, which does not look all that cheap to me. You can probably find almost the same thing at lunch for about 1,000 yen. 不二家
http://www.fujiya-peko.co.jp/
Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.
Several things coming together in this ad, so it takes a little explaining to unwind it. First of all, Coca Cola's Mate Tea (or the Sun's Mate Tea) is a tea drink inspired by the South American drink called Mate, which is made from leaves of the yerba mate bush or tree. This tea uses the same leaves and boasts twice the amount of polyphenol and half the amount of caffeine. They also claim that this tea goes especially well with meat.
Second, there is a little known Meat Day in Japan, when meats are promoted. It is celebrated on June 29th, and is somewhat similar to the more familiar Milk Day which is celebrated worldwide on June 1st.
Third, churrasco food is a style of grilled meat popular across South America.
Forth, the World Cup is currently being held in Brazil.
All of this comes together in this advertisement where Mate Tea seeks out a restaurant serving churrasco food, which not only goes well with Mate Tea, but also creates the right atmosphere for watching games from Brazil. And all of this on or leading up to Meat Day.
コカコーラ 太陽のマテ茶 シュラスコ ワールドカップ
http://www.matetea.jp/
Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.
This is a very nice image from Jack Daniel's to go with the World Cup, without actually saying so - something a non-sponsor can't do. The ad asks of you are staying up late, or getting up early (to see the games.)
http://japan.jackdaniels.com/
Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.
Burger King is celebrating 60 years, which includes several starts and stops in Japan. As part of the celebration, they are offering two garlic flavored oversized sandwiches: the Garlic Quattro Cheese and the Garlic Meat Beast.
Both are being marketed to enhance physical stamina during the hot summer months. There are a variety of plates offered along these lines in Japan, which include the word "stamina", usually a meal plate of some size which includes garlic and an abundance of meat. So instead of bringing in a totally non-Japanese special, this time they are playing into local traditions, at least a bit.
Garlic Quattro Cheese - a beef and a hash brown patty, fried garlic, colby jack cheese, cheddar cheese, cheese sauce and pepper Caesar sauce (which includes cheese) - adding up to 4 types of cheese.
Garlic Meat Beast - lettuce, tomato, mayo, fried garlic, two beef patties, one chicken patty, and a special sauce which contains Burger Kings special sauce which includes miso. Interestingly, in Japanese it is called the Garlic Meat Monster, which sounds appropriate.
バーガーキング ガーリッククアトロチーズ ガーリックミートモンスター
http://www.burgerkingjapan.co.jp/campaign/cp120.html
Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.
Morinaga is using its home delivery network to deliver more than milk. For example, they are selling long shelf life tofu and in this photo suggest making tofu meat wraps. Largely due to Japan's aging population, home delivery is becoming increasingly more popular. As an aside, Morinaga also sells similar tofu in US supermarkets through their Morinyu subsidiary. They don't really taste that great, but work in areas where fresh tofu is unavailable. I have tried some chocolate tofu cake recipes using the same tofu which is actually really good. 森永 宅配 豆腐
http://www.morinagamilk.co.jp/
Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.
This is a seasonal item for Tully's - avocado, chili, cheese hot dog on what looks like a baguette bread. Looks great, but I am still not sure how you make a connect between this and coffee. タリーズコーヒー
http://www.tullys.co.jp/
Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.
Nikukai, a group that follows and promotes meat and meat dishes, recently featured this offering found at a Tokyo restaurant. It looks like soft serve ice cream, but is actually a chicken flavored mousse served in a cone. Not further explanation is provided, but I assume it could be used as a dip. Eating it directly sounds a bit too rich. In any case, pretty interesting. 肉会
http://nikukai.dmm.com/
Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.
