McDonald's Heats Up Japan's Winter! That Popular Dessert Returns

McDonald's Japan held a press conference for its "HOT JAPAN" campaign—"Heating Up Japan's Winter"—at the McDonald's Shibuya Toei Plaza store in Tokyo on October 10th. The first phase of this campaign revives the popular dessert "Cinnamon Melts" after a seven-year hiatus, launching its winter-limited sales starting October 16th. Additionally, a limited-time free trial campaign for the "Premium Roast Coffee," renewed in January, will be conducted.

Takeshi Komuro, Senior Manager of the Marketing Division, stated, "We want to heat up Japan with 'Hot Japan' instead of 'Cool Japan'. For this campaign, we declared that we would distribute free coffee to 10,000 times the number of retweets our announcement received. As a result, we will distribute free coffee to the first 130 million people."

Shigeaki Wakana, Senior Manager of the Menu Management Department, explained the secret to the Premium Roast Coffee's deliciousness lies in three points: "four types of coffee beans," "roasting adjusted for each bean," and "extraction replicating hand-drip brewing." He also mentioned the commitment to the dough, kneaded from wheat flour, to achieve the unique fluffy texture of the Cinnamon Melts.

Actress Hikari Ishida and actor Takuro Ohno, who appear in the new TV commercial airing from the 11th, made a surprise appearance at the venue. Ishida wore a red dress, McDonald's signature color, while Ohno appeared in chic-colored fashion evoking coffee and Cinnamon Melts.

Ohno happily shared his coffee-loving routine: "Coffee is indispensable every day—mornings heading to shoots, between jobs, and coming home. This season marks the switch from iced to hot coffee, and coffee on set also becomes hot. Its aroma makes me feel autumn has arrived, signaling a happy season."

The two sampled the coffee, smiling as they remarked, "It's autumn, isn't it!" and "It's comforting and delicious." Ono, who regularly compares different coffees, seemed surprised, saying, "You wouldn't believe it's only 100 yen."

In the TV commercial, Ohno couldn't eat the Cinnamon Melts, but this time, Ishida fed him a bite, fulfilling his wish.

Ono wore an expression of pure bliss, truly "melting" at the perfect pairing of the sweet treat and coffee. She commented, "Today, my unrequited crush blossomed into love."

The store began an early release of Cinnamon Melts starting that day. To commemorate this, they were offered free of charge with coffee to the first 50 customers visiting that day.

The two urged, "As the weather turns colder, please try these two perfectly matched items."

Official website:

http://www.mcdonalds.co.jp/campaign/hotjapan/