Hasta La Gadget!

It’s not hard to get us excited about a post at CScout Japan, especially not when it involves sampling an ice cold beer on a sweltering hot day! Beverage manufacturer Kirin has introduced their new “Ice Plus Beer” which pretty much does exactly what it says on the can, cold beer designed to be poured over ice. Hitting the shelves today, the new beer from Kirin seems to be generating quite some chatter, especially as they have been pushing out their social marketing campaign, tweeting “cold jokes” and 100 different “hidden” commercials.

Consuming beer with ice may make the beer connoisseur shiver, however the manufacturers have touted that the Ice Plus Beer has been specifically designed to be poured over ice to enrich the taste and enhance the aroma. After sampling it, surprisingly the advertisements aren’t far off and it does seem to taste better over ice than consumed straight from the can (however it did take three or four to verify it!). There is no escaping that it still is a cheap and cheerful Kirin beer taste though, all be it a colder one. As with many Japanese products that have to compete with other seasonal items, the packaging is interestingly designed also. On the back of the beer can itself is a nice pop-art style 4-frame comic that illustrates how to enjoy the product, complete with swooning girl over alcoholic male. The convenience stores didn’t miss a trick either, a nice tie in offering a discount “Ice Cup” with the each Ice Plus Beer, to help the thirsty consumer enjoy it as soon as they step out the shop and drive sales during the humid months.

The marketing build up has been well thought out also, punning on the ability of the beer to “Cool Japan” and some self-effacing tweet gags that run on the phrase “samui” (cold) which refers to a bad joke. They did however miss a trick not tying it into Coll Biz though, anyone who has seen a drunken salary man in Tokyo on a weekday night knows the comedic potential there! On the product’s own homepage is also a secret collection of 100 short (approximately 30-60 second) and humorous commercials featuring the cartoon characters to advertise Ice Beer Plus, further drawing the consumer into the brand.

Seasonal products are big business in Japan with a particularly competitive FMCG (fast moving commercial goods) market. Pepsi and Kitkat for example, are constantly coming out with new flavors to keep the public’s appetite satiated, and on the shelves in the convenience store we purchased this beer in, we also spotted a new Pepsi “Caribbean Gold, White Sapote” flavored drink….although we did have to Google white sapote before we knew what it was!

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“Legendary Biru” – Beer Advertising Genius
Asahi Extra Cold instant beer cooler campaign
Beer-wine-liqueur mash-up from Kirin Beer