Posted on

Amazon Japan Enlists Pikotaro to Ring in Prime Day 2020

Amazon Japan Enlists Pikotaro to Ring in Prime Day 2020

Just a year ago in October 2019, Amazon SG launched its first website for local customers.

This year, to usher in the Amazon Prime Day, the big conglomerate hired Pikotaro — the PPAP guy — to promote the event in Japan. If you’re familiar with the acronym at all, you’d know that it stands for Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen. It was a song that went viral in 2016 and became a well-known meme throughout the world.

For Amazon Prime Day 2020, the e-commerce giant recreated their own version of the song and had Pikotaro perform it. APPD, short for Amazon Prime Prime Day, was repackaged in the upbeat dance routine for advertising purposes. Watch the video to see for yourself how they cleverly twisted the lyrics to push for the event.

Pikotaro, with his exaggerated expressions and quirky movements, definitely leaves a strong impression on the viewers’ minds. Not to mention — after his viral stunt in 2016, Pikotaro’s face is certainly one to remember. With such a memorable figure heading Amazon Japan’s advertising efforts, the event was sure to pick up much traction. At the very least, it attracted thousands of interested viewers to click on the ad.

Amazon Prime Day, which occurred on October 13 and 14, started as a way to celebrate Amazon’s birthday. Initially a one-day sale, Amazon extended Prime Day to last for 48 hours in 2019 and has been doing so since.

In order to participate in the Prime Day shopping spree, there is a pre-requirement of being an Amazon Prime member. Not yet a Prime member? You can sign up for a free 30-day trial before having to fork out the monthly subscription fee. Get this — Singapore offers one of the cheapest Prime memberships in the world!

The main selling point of Prime Day was that it presents a lot more deals than Black Friday. While Amazon Singapore, unfortunately, does not have Pikotaro promoting for them, Singaporeans were still able to enjoy the great deals featured on Prime Day.

Although it only lasted 2 short days, there are still many deals ongoing on the website itself. So if you missed out on Prime Day, fret not — there are plenty of bargains still available for you to grab, including their Lightning Deals.

For e-commerce marketing and branding, contact us

Posted on

Ikea Is the Best Solution for Your Sleepless Nights

Ikea Is the Best Solution for Your Sleepless Nights

Ikea’s new ad has been generating buzz amidst the marketing community, and it’s not hard to see why.

With its simple design, clean colours and sleek typography, the posters manage to grab attention with its visuals, spinning a clever twist on other energy-boosting products we so often see.

Led by agency Mother London, Ikea’s campaign seeks to promote sleep as the best remedy for productivity to their consumers. And what better way to get a good night’s rest than Ikea’s products?

Unlike most fad products marketed for sleep, Ikea’s bedsheets and pillows actually benefit you. At least, that’s what the ad seems to suggest. The common running theme in these posters is of their products being a “natural” solution to sleepless nights. The word ‘SLEEP’, too, features prominently across all three posters, which positions Ikea as the best brand to look to for sleep. After all, everyone needs a bedsheet. Why not go for the best?

Clearly, Ikea has done its market research. Capitalising on their consumers’ behaviour of relying on fads to cover up their lack of sleep, Ikea stepped up with their latest ad, Tomorrow Starts Tonight, to remind consumers that ‘Hey, you’re looking the wrong way. We’ve got the best products you need for a good night’s rest.’ Night creams, supplements and energy drinks don’t stand a chance against the big Swedish brand.

Not only that, but sleep has been found to be one of the factors greatly affected by the pandemic. As many people are losing sleep over such a drastic change in our circumstances, Ikea steps in with their latest ad campaign at just the right time to remind consumers once again of their amazing products.

They even made a TV ad with their take of the fable of The Tortoise and the Hare!

We all know how the story ends – the hare gets lazy during the race, and stops to nap under a tree, all while the tortoise slowly but surely overtakes him. In this cheeky prequel by Ikea, we are shown the hare’s busy schedule the night before the race. This all accumulates to him falling asleep on the couch as soon as he gets home.

Meanwhile, the tortoise wakes up refreshed and rejuvenated in another bed – one ladled with Ikea’s products – and is ready to start the race bright and early. In one last parting shot, we see the hare waking up a tad too late for him to win the race.

The underlying implication in the ad is that a lack of sleep often ruins your day of productivity. Tomorrow Starts Tonight is no doubt an ingenious campaign marketed towards the larger demographic of all those who’s lost sleep before (and who hasn’t?).

Posted on

Shopee SG introduces Phua Chu Kang as new brand ambassador

Shopee SG introduces Phua Chu Kang as new brand ambassador

This year, Shopee Singapore is going for a hyper-localised approach with their 9.9 Super Shopping Day campaign. They have decided to prominently feature local icon Phua Chu Kang in their ad as their brand ambassador. Such a partnership hints at Shopee’s tremendous efforts to involve themselves in the local market.

Phua Chu Kang is a character from a local sitcom that features the life of an eccentric contractor in Singapore. Played by Gurmit Singh, he was greatly adored by the Singapore audience due to his comedic yet relatable persona.

Since the show aired, Phua Chu Kang has become a household name amongst many Singaporeans. His ability to engage Singaporeans of all ages aligns with Shopee’s vision of connecting with the locals. By choosing to have Phua Chu Kang as the face of their campaign, Shopee’s ad manages to significantly appeal to the local population. In addition, his over-the top personality and comedic nature make for a lighthearted and lively advertisement, which goes well with the whole vibe of the ad. They have even incorporated his classic catchphrase “Don’t play play” as part of the campaign!

“PCK has always been a celebrated local icon and at Shopee, it was particularly meaningful for us to appoint an ambassador that creates a sense of oneness amongst local communities,” said Shopee’s chief commercial officer Zhou Junjie.

This ad cleverly coincides with the recent release of “Best of Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd” on Netflix, which helps to garner more attention and generate buzz around Shopee’s 9.9 Super Shopping Day event. Indeed, the marketing team at Shopee has not left anything up to chance. The use of an extremely catchy tune further serves to drive the impact of the ad as it leaves a lasting impression in the viewers’ minds.

Overall, having Phua Chu Kang as their brand ambassador this year was definitely a smart move on Shopee’s part. With Phua Chu Kang spearheading Shopee’s advertising efforts for their 9.9 Super Shopping Day, this big sale event is bound to kick off without a hitch.