China Pocky Day Fails to Gain Attraction by Local Chinese Lovers

TODAY IS POCKY DAY!

Pocky is a popular Japanese snack resembling thin sticks of flavored goodness. Pocky’s popularity crosses all ages and genders and they are sold in sweet and salty varieties.

Since 1999, Pocky’s parent company in Japan, Glico, has pushed forward its Pocky Day campaign, as the stick-like Pocky snacks mimic the dates 11/11. (Legend has it that they borrowed the idea from the Korean snack, Pepero, which is a similar stick snack.)

Never one to shy away from popular Korean and Japanese marketing campaigns, the China Glico company responsible for distributing Pocky in China is promoting their own version of Pocky Day in China on a specially made mini-site.

I first heard about Pocky Day a few months ago after viewing a bus advertisement proclaiming Glico’s “Love Pocky Day” campaign. The campaign is simple enough: head online to the Pocky Day mini-site and upload a “confession” video revealing your secret crush or secret sentiment to the one you love. It can be a lover, a family member, or a friend. The campaign sounds simple enough to catch on with Chinese lovers. The top video will be broadcast on national TV and prizes are awarded.

However, the ineffectiveness of the campaign is apparent with the lack of activity on the mini-site. The video upload page has about 15 videos (some in English and Japanese), and no website upload feature. Links lead to Youku or Tudou, and other Pocky videos are difficult to find on these sites.

Asking many young Chinese people if they are aware today is Pocky Day, they shake their heads no. A corporate holiday created to sell products? Chinese people are not stupid. Perhaps this campaign needs a few more years to catch on, but until then, I’ll be celebrating Pocky Day by myself surrounded by boxes of Pocky’s.