KFC Australia has launched its new Sweet Tokyo campaign, a playful and action-packed collaboration between Ogilvy and acclaimed Japanese director Hiroshi Kikuchi. The campaign, live this week, celebrates the brand’s new limited-edition Sweet Tokyo menu range.
Shot on location in Tokyo’s bustling Shinjuku district, the campaign tells a humorous love story between two star-crossed ingredients: KFC’s Hot & Crispy chicken and its Sweet Teriyaki sauce. The concept fuses absurdist comedy with stylised Japanese action, leaning into Australia’s growing fascination with Japanese pop culture.
Campaign executions will appear across TV, VOD, OLV, OOH, social, activations and audio, forming a fully integrated national rollout.
Shaun Branagan, creative director at Ogilvy, said the collaboration with Kikuchi — known for his work with Suntory, Lazada and SoftBank — allowed the brand to create something distinctively Japanese yet recognisably KFC.
“The launch of Sweet Tokyo isn’t just about a new product – it’s a love story around sesame-coated chicken being reunited with an old flame, sweet teriyaki sauce, much to the excitement of the sesame seed kids,” Branagan said.
“The fast-cut result is very typical of Japanese ads, and the kind of all-in approach we know KFC’s fans will love. Almost as much as chicken loves sauce.”
In addition to the film and digital creative, the campaign features an on-ground activation: a world-first KFC vending machine offering free Sweet Tokyo Hot & Crispy in a secret Sydney Inner West location. Fans can follow clues on social media to uncover its whereabouts and claim free product.
Credits:
Ogilvy: Strategy, Creative and Activation
Ogilvy PR: Influencer and Earned
Hogarth: Production Agency
Mr+Positive: Production
Director: Hiroshi Kikuchi
EssenceMediacom: Media
We Are Social: Social
Etcom: Multicultural Communications
AKQA: Digital