For Maruchan's first post-pandemic campaign, it was time to try something new. We had been noticing a fascinating dynamic playing out in social media.

• On one hand, there was substantial confusion among casual instant ramen consumers about which products were made by Maruchan and which ones were made by its competitors. For example, they would post the name of one of our products and mistakenly reference it as being made by a competitor!

• On the other hand, Maruchan had an extremely knowledgable and engaged group of superfans who adamantly asserted the brand’s superiority over all others.

How’s that for a tension-filled insight? “The average consumer thinks all instant ramen is the same, but our biggest fans know it’s not.” From this, the strategy flowed: “Our biggest fans will tell you there’s only one Maruchan.” The integrated campaign included a new Anthem theme song and TV spot with direct quotes from superfans' social media conversations. Paid media spanned television, digital, streaming, and social media. It also featured influencer partners on TikTok and Instagram, merch kits, social giveaways, and pop-up festival events.