Weekly roundup: Meta faces lawsuit in Japan, is OOH still relevant and more

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Happy Friday MARKETING-INTERACTIVE readers and welcome back to the weekly roundup. This week has been an interesting one filled with giant loaves of sweet potato bread, lawsuits and more.

If you need a quick summary, welcome to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE's weekly roundup, a podcast and article feature in which we take you through the biggest stories of the week and take a deep dive into trending topics we've seen in the industry.

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1. Sunshine Bakeries brings you giant loaves of bread

Sunshine Bakeries Singapore (Sushine) is bringing its limited-edition shokupan gold purple sweet potato bread to fans in a larger-than-life campaign that blends the real and virtual world.

The campaign saw the brand bringing giant loaves of breads to the heartland and a fake out of home ad.

The real-life giant loaves aimed to bring the product closer to everyday consumers and to amplify buzz on the ground. The brand engaged key opinion leaders (KOLs) with an exclusive giant shokupan pack, each containing loaves of the actual product.

Read more here.

2. Meta faces lawsuits in Japan over fake celebrity-endorsed investment ads

Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, is facing lawsuits in Japan for not blocking fraudulent social media ads related to investments that feature the names and images of celebrities.

According to multiple Japanese media reports such as NHK and Kyodo News, a total of 30 victims filed lawsuits on Tuesday (29 October) in five district courts across Saitama, Chiba, Yokohama, Osaka, and Kobe against Meta. They are seeking a total of JP$435 million (HK$23 million) in damages from Meta and its Japanese arm.

The plaintiffs allege that they were defrauded by investment-soliciting ads on Facebook and Instagram that featured false endorsements purportedly from celebrities, including entrepreneur Maezawa Yusaku (前澤友作), founder of online fashion retailer Zozotown.

Read more here.

3. Are OOH ads out as fake OOH ads get more real?

The out-of-home (OOH) scene has been rapidly changing especially as more people go online and the focus shifts to social media ads.

With more people on social media and the Internet, marketers have had to work harder than ever when it comes to capturing attention in the OOH space as consumers remain glued to their phones.

In fact, traditional OOH has been going through an interesting period in the last decade or so and getting consumers to look away from their mobile phone has become increasingly difficult especially in a market such as Singapore where connectivity is quite superior, according to Mark Teal, chief marketing officer at VCCP Singapore.

"But we think that there's a role for OOH especially when it's done contextually and really leverages outdoor not just as a channel but as a real part of the story you want to tell," he explained. "This will help set it apart from social because there is a way to justify the media investment by ensuring that you are getting a unique level of awareness and uplift in brand equity that is unique to OOH that digital could not do."