UNIQLO's Mother's Day Japanese print ad draws mixed reactions from HK netizens

UNIQLO’s Mother’s Day Japanese print ad featuring manga series character Chibi Maruko-chan and her mother has drawn mixed reactions from Hong Kong netizens.

On 10 May, UNIQLO’s latest Mother’s Day ad appeared on The Asahi Shimbun, featuring Maruko-chan and her mother on two separate pages with their heartwarming words for each other. The two pages were separated with multiple pages in between, symbolising the two didn't talk much about their deepest secrets in daily life. 

Within the ad, Maruko expressed her gratefulness to her mother despite not knowing why her mother gets angry and impatient all the time, “It's hard for me to express that verbally as we are so close to each other. It makes me feel shy when telling the truth. But really, thank you mom.”

On the other hand, Maruko’s mother also thanked her daughter for staying around despite her being lazy and self-centred. “As long as you are by my side, I'm very grateful...It’s hard to say these words to you but this is very important. I will be sure to convey it to you, let's chat."

Despite the ad was being printed on a Japanese paper, media intelligence firm CARMA saw a recent surge related to the ad across Hong Kong media platforms. “Specifically, we observed a 30% positive sentiment among these mentions, with many applauding UNIQLO for executing another successful campaign for two years in a row,” said Charles Cheung, CARMA’s HK GM.

However, CARMA also saw a 15% negative sentiment associated with the story, with a number of comments coming from LIHKG. “These netizens criticised the lack of creativity in the print ads in Japan and felt that advertisers in the market often rely on traditional advertising methods, such as featuring celebrities in full-page photo shoots with their products, rather than exploring more innovative approaches,” Cheung said.

Last year, UNIQLO has released a Mother's Day ad featuring another Japanese comedy manga series character Atashin'chi, an episode-based animated sitcom of the daily experiences of a family of four. Within the ad, the mother of the family was featured saying she did not need any gifts for Mother's Day, with a hidden line suggesting that she sometimes lies.

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