Solt, George
(2012)
Shifting Perceptions Of Instant Ramen
In Japan During The High-growth Era, 1958–1973.
International Journal of Asia Pacific Studies (IJAPS), 8 (2).
pp. 14-31.
ISSN ISSN: 1823-6243
Abstract
Instant ramen attained national prominence in Japan beginning in 1958 with the
release of the first nationally advertised brand, Chikin Ramen, produced and sold by
Momofuku Ando's Sanshī Shokuhin, later to be renamed the Nissin Foods
Corporation. From the time of its release, instant ramen became one of the most
widely advertised products in Japan. The industry, led by Nissin, was exceptionally
successful in utilising marketing campaigns to capitalise on social transformations.
The advertisements of the Nissin Foods Corporation are particularly useful
indicators of shifts in social organisation, reflecting the transformation of norms and
sensibilities occurring in Japan during the fifteen years following the introduction of
the emblematic food of convenience. Nissin Foods Corporation reinvented its
product and shifted advertising emphasis frequently to accommodate the changing
milieu with respect to convenience foods. Initially marketed as a healthy meal full of
essential vitamins and nutrients that provided an alternative to cooking for busy
housewives, instant ramen quickly became a defining product symbolic of postwar
youth culture in the 1960s. By tracing the shifts in instant ramen advertising from the
earliest ads in newspapers to later spots on television, the essay will examine the
evolving form and content of instant noodle advertising in Japan to illuminate the
connections between popular food trends and larger social and political changes
related to family organisation, nutritional science and projections of national identity
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