How Bazooka Candies' 'Power Up' Campaign Unlocks Adventure
Bazooka’s latest campaign, 'Power Up', from UltraSuperNew, aims to immerse you into a Tokyo adventure fueled by Bazooka Candies, unleashing creativity and imagination with each candy.
The confectionery brand’s 'Edible Entertainment' proposition bridges flavour and fun, seeking to captivate tech-savvy youngsters through a blend of physical and digital environments. Embracing Bazooka's brand proposition, the campaign seeks to blend the physical and digital worlds, inviting children to explore and play while enjoying their favourite candies.
Speaking to LBB, UltraSuperNew senior creative Kelly Ann Nguyen discusses the campaign's inspiration and creative process, weaving together Tokyo's vibrant energy with digital gaming realms.
LBB> What inspired the campaign idea of using Bazooka Candies to fuel an adventure?
Kelly> Bazooka Candy Brands and products are all about playfulness and interactivity, so we wanted to spotlight the delightful and joyful experiences that Bazooka Candies bring. By highlighting the interactive and playful experience of unwrapping Bazooka Candies, we position them as more than just treats but as entertainment that sparks joy. Adding that to our young audience, we wanted to introduce a new way to “play” and enter their worlds of adventure.
LBB> Can you elaborate on the creative process behind bringing the vibrant, imaginative world of Bazooka Candies to life in the campaign?
Kelly> Our audience is truly new people, representing the first generation born in a fully digital world where fun and play take centre stage. Their playground transcends physical boundaries, encompassing both the virtual and physical worlds, seamlessly blending offline and online experiences. This is why we chose to blend the vibrant energy of Tokyo (in areas like Harajuku and Shibuya, which are equally vibrant and exciting) with a gaming/digital world.
LBB> Bazooka's "Edible Entertainment" brand proposition aims to bridge the worlds of flavour and fun. How does the 'Power Up' campaign embody this, and what sets it apart from other confectionery campaigns?
Kelly> Most candy brands reside in one world – the real world. But Bazooka Candies are different, bridging between two worlds - Candies and Play - unwrapping experiences that can spark joy, power imagination, and boost exploration to new heights. With our audiences being young kids, we thought Bazooka candies could be the perfect Sidekick to take their fun moments (or playful adventures) to the next level.
LBB> What challenges did you encounter while translating Bazooka's brand essence into a cohesive campaign that resonates with the target audience of children?
Kelly> There is such a wide range of Bazooka Candies, each with its own interactive element, flavours, and target audiences. Trying to fit all of the brands into one campaign instead of just one product felt like a challenge–until we turned it into a creative opportunity. With our idea being “Power Up” and therefore about heroes, we gave each candy brand a personality and addressed each of their brand messages into a “hero assemble”.
LBB> How does the 'Power Up' campaign leverage the convergence of physical and digital environments to engage with today's tech-savvy youngsters?
Kelly> Taking place in the middle of Tokyo, we brought the familiar and physical aspects of our audience’s reality. With Bazooka Candy as a sidekick to their fun, once the kids in the campaign ate the candies, they entered into a digital CGI world that nodded to pop culture in games, anime, and manga.
LBB> Could you provide insights into how the campaign integrates different Bazooka candy products into the storyline?
Kelly> Each candy has their own target audience, but we also interpreted a personality for candy based on their shape and interactive element. The sliders felt so much like a lightsaber (when thinking of kids and their imagination), but we didn’t want to stop it there. We thought the “light saber” Sliderz could propel or make the kid go faster. From here, the kid jumps and transitions into an “older” audience, with two kids breakdancing, incorporating social media icons and emojis. This was a nod to how our audience is active online. The dancers nod to how the “juicy drop” is a liquid and flowing candy that makes you want to move your body. As the gummy shoots itself towards the last character, a young girl in a fashionable part of Harajuku, we show the subculture of Japanese fashion and how the Ring Pop can act like an accessory.
LBB> How does Bazooka envision the 'Power Up' campaign contributing to building brand awareness and loyalty among children worldwide?
Kelly> This campaign was very new for Bazooka, especially because it focused on the Japanese market and how kids here interact with the world around them. But the excitement and joy around imagination is what we really think “Power Up” is about, with Bazooka taking it to the next level. They truly are the bridge between flavour and fun, candy and play. Along with the tagline “Play level, MAX!”, we believe that children worldwide can see Bazooka Candies as more than a candy.
LBB> What metrics or indicators will Bazooka and UltraSuperNew use to evaluate the success of the 'Power Up' campaign, and what are your expectations regarding campaign performance?
Kelly> We will track the rate of sales from stores and brand awareness and advertising awareness with quarterly and annual targets that will help evaluate our effectiveness in the long term. The general hope is that Bazooka Candy will gain greater awareness in the Japanese market among kids and that the concept of Power Up and Play Level MAX! will become synonymous with edible entertainment as well.
