Hakuhodo Japan turns demons into smart and sexy heroes for Soycarat healthy snacks

The day before the beginning of spring in Japan is called ‘Setsubun’.  It is celebrated with a traditional ritual to scatter or rather throw beans to chase away evil spirits. The evil spirits are symbolically represented as fat and ugly demons.

This spot from Hakuhodo Tokyo puts the demons’ feelings in the center, as a payback to the public’s negative image. Instead the hero demons are smart and sexy, thanks to the healthy SoyJoy’s Soycarat snack.

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The role of the demons are usually played by parents. Therefore, the demons in the film are the alter ego of their parents, so the message behind it is to encourage fathers and mothers to eat Soycarat and become fit.

The biggest challenge was how to depict the ugly fat image of demons in a stylish way. Hakuhodo had to create the hero demons to look cool enough to be walking the runway shows at Paris Fashion Week. They also put them on top of buildings and at Shibuya crossings while they were traditionally only seen in folk tales.

With the limited budget restraints, they did numerous tests inside the house on how to show their moves dynamically. With the use of highspeed effects, they have tried to maintain high film quality. They were also designed to incorporate popular gestures among housewives, such as a man hitting his hand on the wall to make a woman’s heart pump. These sexy gestures of the hero demons have made people go crazy!

Credits –

Voice Over: Jun Yoshikawa