Are you Pockying?

Pocky: Japanese chocolate covered stick snack produced by Ezaki Glico. You might have seen these package in the store here too (picture below).

(By *Sherima*)

Pocky has been sold since 1966 and still has a tremendous popularity among all ages for decades. The name “Pocky” was named after Japanese onomatopoeia, pokkin. Glico’s Pocky marketing is a unique, but simple.

1. Pocky TV commercial is famous for interesting and eye-catchy visual, and most of famous actress have been appointed to the advertisements. For your information, celebrities are important figures for advertisements in Japan. How popular they are is a key to promote the products successfully, while the message and the brand are taken seriously in the U.S. Regardless of products, all fans of a celebrity purchase the products that the celebrity promotes. TV commercial for Pocky is a gateway for novice actress to be famous since 1975. The girl is called “Pocky girl,” and you are guaranteed to be popular after life, If you are chosen for the promotion girl. Here is a recent commercial:

The commercial is colorful, rhythmical, and eye-catchy, and the song is stuck in your head easily.

2. Another successful campaign they did was to create a “Pocky and Pretz day”, which is November 11 because  the shape of these stick snacks resembles the number 1. Pretz is another long-selling snack by the same company, Glico. Actually, Pretz is original and Pocky is chocolate covered Pretz. This once a year campaign are easy to remember and celebrate. Also every year, Glico sets a different concept in Nov. 11 and it uses Twitter hashtag to expand its influence these days (Last year, if you tweet your activity with either Pocky or Pretz from 11:11 a.m. to 12:59 p.m., you would receive various snacks from Glico).

3. Also, there is a game called “Pocky game”: When two people eat at each end of a chocolate dipped bread stick (Aka Pocky) until their lips meet. Who ever pulls away last is the winner of the game ((Urban dictionary “Pocky game”) .

This is one of most popular game especially among middle school and high school (Of course I have played).  Although Pocky is loved by all generations, a key public is students from 13 to 18 years old.

Glico has successfully established its position as a confectionary company. Glico still more innovates tasty and surprising food,  and entertains its public. Although Pocky is sold in supermarket in the U.S., there is many opportunity to expand Glico’s business here using its unique promoting way.