Wagamama draws inspiration from Japanese anime in new ad campaign

The ‘Bowl to Soul’ ad took six months to create.

Wagamama has teamed up with creative agency MullenLowe and Passion Animation Studios for an anime-style fantasy animation.

The ad, named Bowl to Soul, shows a female protagonist tumbling into a magical land filled with rivers of ramen, coriander fields, mushrooms and spice fireworks.

The anime-inspired ad, a combination of hand drawn and computer illustrated images, took six months to create by a team of artists.

Wagamama said the ad’s style influenced by films of Studio Ghibli, a renowned Japanese animation film studio based in Koganei in Tokyo, Japan.

‘Bowl to Soul’ is launched nationally across cinemas and social media from March 2 to November 29. The cinema ad has 60-second and 30-second versions whilst online ads are in 60 seconds, 30 seconds and 15 seconds.

To celebrate the launch, Wagamama will be holding ‘waga-me’, a series of anime drawing workshops in the country.

“We’re delighted to be introducing the brand to a whole new audience through this beautiful art form,” Wagamama chief marketing officer Ross Farquhar said.

“I’ve loved the challenge of using anime, a style associated with Asian environments, to show life in London. It’s been enjoyable to express my love of the style, respecting the tradition of anime animation and making it feel current, relevant and adventurous,” Passion Animation Pictures director Mads Broni added.