Line #39 Advertising/MikadoStick


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/6455.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:"We only kept the best part."]]
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4	'''Mikado Stick''' is the name of a product advertised by the Mikado brand[[note]]the name under which Pocky biscuits are sold in Europe[[/note]] in January 2015, on French social media. Said product consisted in a new version of the famous biscuit ''without'' its chocolate coating.
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6	The product was first revealed on January 13th by Mikado's French Website/{{Twitter}} and Website/{{Facebook}} accounts, with the {{tagline}} "0% Chocolate, 100% Pleasure". It was immediately met with intense backlash, and the [[EngineeredHashtag #[=MikadoStick=] hashtag]] skyrocketed in popularity, becoming the top trending Twitter topic in France. Soon after, the ''Fun Radio'' radio station launched the [=#LeMikadoSansChocolatCestAussiConQue=] hashtag ("A Mikado With No Chocolate Is As Dumb As"), which became the third most trending Twitter topic worldwide.
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8	Along with the social media announcement, three commercials were also released on the company's Website/YouTube channel. Each of them featured a family mother explaining how much she enjoyed Mikado Stick, and that her whole family enjoyed it as well. Said commercials also reeked with awkwardness, with punchlines delivered in a way that made the audience wonder if they were actually punchlines, followed by a silent pause that lasted just long enough to get uncomfortable, and background actors that seemed to wonder what they were doing there. They can be viewed [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxRg_5FSdoE here]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLOYslYyB8U here]], and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI44hTC1jxk here]].
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10	Mikado responded to the hostile reactions with plenty of humor and {{Deadpan Snark\|er}}ing, going as far as to post {{Fake Advertisement}}s for ridiculous products such as [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B7Y4b-5CAAIgm-5.jpg:large Mikado Box]], [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B7ZABgWCYAEji8s.jpg:large Mikado Air]], or [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B7YZOJGCQAEUsTu.jpg:large Mikado Tradition]], in order to mock people who complained about this new product. Other companies even started getting on the fun, such as Creator/WarnerBrothers [[https://twitter.com/warnerbrosfr/status/555734463943278592 stating]] that "#[=AMikadoWithNoChocolateIsAsDumbAs=] Franchise/HarryPotter with no wand".
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12	Finally, on January 15th, a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Loleo5kPQ7g fourth commercial]] was released, revealing the whole campaign to be a joke all along, orchestrated by the Romance advertising agency, meant to [[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity intentionally generate backlash]] and to build up the reveal of the new Mikado King Choco product, with twice as much chocolate: "Now you know where all the chocolate went". While it ran the risk of being OvershadowedByControversy, the campaign ended up being a success. The reveal was met with praise for the ingenious marketing, with most people ending up amused by how they had been fooled. According to the company, consumer engagement on Mikado social medias went up by 296% as a result of the campaign.
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15	!!Tropes related to the Mikado Stick campaign:
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17	* BrickJoke: The campaign introduces a new Mikado product with no chocolate... Only to reveal that said chocolate was used to create Mikado King Choco, which had ''twice'' as much chocolate as regular Mikado biscuits.
18	* CaptainObvious: One of the taglines for the product was "Mikado Stick: No chocolate, otherwise there would be".
19	* DeadpanSnarker: Mikado's Twitter account answered many customer complaints with sarcastic [[FakeAdvertisement mock advertisement pictures]] and comments:
20	--> '''Original Tweet:''' "Woops, big marketing failure from Mikado."
21	--> '''[[https://twitter.com/MikadoFR/status/555659170348019713 Response:]]''' "Our entire marketing plan for 2016 goes down with a single tweet."
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23	--> '''Original Tweet:''' "Mikado Stick is worse than a scam, might as well not eat anything."
24	--> '''[[https://twitter.com/MikadoFR/status/555693658385965056 Response:]]''' "Mikado Box: 0% Chocolate, 100% Cardboard."
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26	--> '''Original Tweet:''' "Sell actual wood sticks while you're at it."
27	--> '''[[https://twitter.com/MikadoFR/status/555323787387105280 Response:]]''' "Mikado Trunk: 0% Chocolate, 100% Nature."
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29	--> '''Original Tweet:''' "Can't wait for invisible Mikados."
30	--> '''[[https://twitter.com/MikadoFR/status/555701999472492544 Response:]]''' "Don't spoil our 2016 marketing plan!"
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32	--> '''Original Tweet:''' "Mikado picked up our hashtag from this morning #[=AMikadoWithNoChocolateIsAsDumbAs=]"
33	--> '''[[https://twitter.com/MikadoFR/status/555662500973514752 Response:]]''' "#[=AMikadoWithNoChocolateIsAsDumbAs=] Fun Radio with no fun!"
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35	--> '''Original Tweet:''' "A Mikado with no chocolate is like a cupcake with no frosting, there's no point."
36	--> '''[[https://twitter.com/MikadoFR/status/555388320273154050 Response:]]''' "Sweetie, a cupcake with no frosting is a muffin."
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38	--> '''Original Tweet:''' "Come on, a Mikado with no chocolate... That's no longer a Mikado."
39	--> '''[[https://twitter.com/MikadoFR/status/555707351815434240 Response:]]''' "If a Mikado with no chocolate is no longer a Mikado, is chocolate with no Mikado still chocolate?"
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41	* ParodyCommercial: The whole campaign itself, obviously, but also the various mock advertisement posted by Mikado that promoted such ridiculous products as Mikado Box, Air Mikado, or Mikado Trunk.
42	* {{Slogans}}: Several of them.
43	** "0% Chocolate, 100% Pleasure."
44	** "We only kept the best part."
45	** "No chocolate, otherwise there would be."
46	** For the real product, Mikado King Choco: "Now you know where all the chocolate went".
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49	''TV Stick: 0% Tropes, 100% Pleasure.''

Context Advertising / MikadoStick