The future Otsuka Pharmaceutical's Calorie Mate is pioneering. What lies behind the morning scene of a girl happily eating bread?

This is a newspaper ad for "Calorie Mate Liquid (Otsuka Pharmaceutical)". The product targets the "responsible generation" of busy 30-40 year olds juggling childcare and work, proposing its use for breakfast. The ad creation team reportedly focused specifically on "breakfast" while actually using the product themselves. The photographed scenes of hectic mornings are based on relatable anecdotes heard from families raising children. The ad flooded social media with voices of empathy.

How was this campaign created? Mr. Hiroya Iwasaki from the Product Department, Nutraceuticals Division, Otsuka Pharmaceutical; Ms. Ayako Kaji from the Advertising Department of the same division; and Ms. Makiko Ido (Creative Director/Planning Director) from Dentsu FCC look back on the process.

The "Team Responsibility Generation" Hypothesis Revealed by Refrigerator Stockpiling

Iwasaki: Calorie Mate comes in three types: block, jelly, and liquid. The liquid type (hereafter "liquid") is a "drinkable" balanced nutritional food rooted in oral liquid nutrition. Its key feature is supplementing nutrition when meals alone feel insufficient. Demand has grown in recent years due to heightened health awareness during the pandemic and busy daily lives.

Demand is particularly high among the "responsibility generation" in their 30s and 40s, who face increased burdens from childcare and work while also becoming more concerned about their own health. We were considering advertising communications that would deliver greater value to this demographic.

However, directly promoting the product with a message like "Get balanced nutrition" felt too obvious to truly resonate. We were searching for a way to create a breakthrough when we consulted with Mr. Ido at FCC.

Ido: To create that breakthrough, we focused on identifying the specific nutritional challenges faced by the responsibility generation. As Calorie Mate, a brand solving contemporary nutrition problems, we aimed to pinpoint individuals within this generation who particularly needed liquid nutrition, along with the specific situations and timing. We wanted to make this the breakthrough point for our communication.

So we assembled a team entirely from the responsible generation. We stocked liquid products in both their home and office refrigerators and had them start by keeping diary-style records of who drank when, and why they felt the urge to drink.

Kaji: You showed us the detailed survey results, right?

Ido: As we researched, multiple key moments emerged when liquids were frequently consumed. One was mornings in families raising children (especially dual-income households). Parents genuinely want to make a nutritious breakfast for their kids, but mornings are hectic and it's difficult. Still, nutrition matters, so they often provided liquids as a breakfast supplement.

Also, in daily life, the topic that almost always gets parents of the responsible generation excited is "What do you feed your kids for breakfast?" Even amidst the busyness, they never give up on their children's nutritional balance. I felt that's where parental love and instinct lie.

Considering all this, I decided to propose liquid as a way to supplement children's breakfast nutrition – to make it a breakthrough.

Kaji: As a working mother of two myself, I really connected with this proposal. While I always think about my family's nutritional balance, mornings are especially hectic, and it often gets pushed aside.

Ido: We really got excited about it, didn't we? (laughs) Furthermore, this time we decided to position the combination of "a slice of bread + liquid" as our "killer menu" and build the campaign around it. This is because data shows bread appears in about 70% of breakfasts, and also because our members, after incorporating it into their lives, felt it paired well with the taste.

We wanted to fully embrace busy mornings. The production process reflected our dedication to capturing the reality of mornings.

Kaji: After all this, as COVID-19 was downgraded to Category 5 and lifestyles were shifting dramatically, we launched the campaign on the first day after Golden Week—a time when morning busyness would be keenly felt. We started with a two-page newspaper ad. The first page featured a girl happily eating a slice of bread. Turning the page revealed relatable scenes of a busy morning household surrounding her.

While packed with various details, the copy was our top priority. The first page reads:

"Even just a slice of bread is fine. That's how it is."

and the second page continued the story with

"To every noisy, precious morning."

Ido: We aimed for content that fully embraces noisy mornings and a breakfast of just one slice of bread. Otsuka Pharmaceutical's team shared that they wanted "something that positively supports hectic mornings," which led us to this format. Hearing positive feedback from people who actually saw the ad was truly rewarding.

Iwasaki: We don't expect people to get all their nutrition from Calorie Mate. Meals are still the most important thing, and Calorie Mate is meant to supplement them. Having just a slice of bread isn't bad; it's actually a precious part we want people to keep.

This idea is conveyed not just through the copy, but also through the girl's expression. Some parents might feel guilty about this breakfast scene, but the very act of preparing a meal amidst a busy schedule is wonderful. That's precisely why the girl's expression of enjoying her meal is so important; it embodies our desire to fully embrace this situation.

Ido: For the common chaotic morning scenes happening around the girl, we reflected insights gathered from social media research and interviews with parenting influencers in their child-rearing years. Also, the images weren't composites; everything was suspended with fishing line for filming. We infused the production process with the desire to stay true to the reality of modern mornings.

Kaji: We had endless stories about our own homes for each of these common morning scenes, like "the boy swinging a stick and spilling milk" or "the baby pulling out tissues and creating a huge mess" (laughs). Furthermore, while Calorie Mate Liquid, which can supplement missing nutrients, is certainly a "little extra" for busy mornings, we felt that what truly supports busy mornings for dual-income households isn't just conveying a message. It's providing "practical tips that actually help you enjoyably navigate a hectic morning." That's why we also created the " MORNING HINTS site," gathering tips for surviving those frantic mornings.

Ido: This site is also based on actual voices from parents with childcare experience. It's full of useful tips, like telling impatient kids during a busy morning to "dance for a bit" instead of saying "wait a moment" (laugh).

We also held the real-life event "MORNING HINTS Buffet," which was featured in various media outlets.

Kaji: What made us really happy about this campaign was how many people resonated with it on social media and talked about it. Of course, we got a lot of feedback saying they understood Calorie Mate Liquid better. But we also heard that seeing their kids drink it made adults want to try it too, which I think helped broaden the product's appeal.

The future woven from the developer's vision and the accumulated efforts of pioneers

Ido: What impressed me most about this project was the brand's very clear raison d'être: "A society where Calorie Mate isn't needed is the best. The ultimate ideal is nutrition through regular meals. Calorie Mate exists because there are people who can't eat that way, or times when they can't." All employees share this vision of the future. Because of this, from the initial briefing to the feedback, we always received clear communication, making planning much easier.

Iwasaki: Calorie Mate actually originated from medical needs. The developers witnessed firsthand in clinical settings the suffering of people who could only receive nutrition via IV or couldn't eat solid food. That's precisely why Otsuka Pharmaceutical's stance is "meals are paramount." The current brand stands upon that foundation.

Ido: Carrying forward the vision of the developers from 40 years ago—understanding what they sought to achieve by creating the product—and then considering what we should do in today's era. This is something deeply valued as part of the company's culture.

Iwasaki: We have memorial facilities and books dedicated to preserving that spirit, and I still revisit them today.

Kaji: People often say, "Otsuka Pharmaceutical employees truly love their products." This is true for Calorie Mate, but the more you learn about any product—its function, roots, and history—the more you realize how many are truly original. We believe our mission is not to chase trends, but to steadfastly protect what must be preserved.

Iwasaki: Calorie Mate celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Nutritional challenges exist in every era, but our core purpose remains unchanged. We must identify contemporary nutritional issues and solve them through tailored communication.

Kaji: Nutrition is one of those things where people "know they should, but can't always do." Within that, we want to contribute to everyone's health through communication that helps them feel personally connected to the issue, and messaging that resonates with them. While cherishing the brand's history, we want to continue delivering messages that speak to today's consumers.

Ido: We aspire to be a partner that runs alongside companies and businesses, sharing the same passion and drive toward the future they want to realize. We will continue to think about what is necessary to solve nutritional problems for as many people as possible.