Feature Image: Yusuke Kawasaki
Everyone knows Pocky: Japan’s delectable chocolate breadstick . But did you know this common snack is so popular, it actually has its own day? Yes, Pocky Day has been celebrated on the 11th day of the 11th month for 16 years now, creating myriad opportunities for lovers of crispy breadsticks to have all kinds of creative fun.
Pocky Day Began as a Revenge
The origin of Pocky Day lies in the breadstick jousting between two snack companies: Glico and Lotte. Glico first created Pocky, but had its idea stolen by Lotte which went on to enjoy huge cultural success in South Korea with Pepero. Glico was left with such a sour taste in their mouth, they took Pepero Day (November 11) and media blitzed it until it also became known as Pocky Day.
To make it clear that “my chocolate breadstick is better than your chocolate breadstick”, Glico set about a record breaking attempt of the “Most mentions of a brand name on Twitter in 24 hours” – watch the digital cloud of tweets form like a solar system – with a grand total of 3,710,044.
That same day, at 11:11am, Glico also launched its brand into the atmosphere – quite literally – by firing off a chocolate-coloured Pocky rocket. This biscuit-shaped projectile lifted a camera far above the Hokkaido launchsite, capturing a unique bird’s eye view as it parachuted back to Earth.
Basically something as simple as Pocky, Pepero or even Italian breadsticks can do a great deal if you let it, making us look forward to more surprises as the clock ticks ever closer to 11.11.
Perhaps the most fun by volume was generated by biscuit fans who sought to realise the hidden potentials of Pocky:
As delicious defence for a cupcake hedgehog.
How will you be celebrating 11.11?
By Vincent Tan
