On December 21, Nestle released this package deal of a KitKat, packet of instant Nescafe Excella coffee and a 5-sided red mug as part of their "support the students" campaign. Like the Milk Coffee KitKat, this carries the symbols and cherry blossom motif for all items marketed as gifts meant to encourage students to do well on their entrance examinations.
The mug has 5 sides and I believe that the Chinese characters (kanji) are a play on words that represent luck. This is why the mug is five-sided. The mug is the size of an average coffee cup and not some dinky affair. It's definitely built for use rather than novelty if you set aside the unusual shape. It's also quite solid and thick.
The combination of the full-size regular KitKat, single serving packet of instant coffee, and mug is only 200 yen ($2.18). This represents quite excellent value because the KitKat itself sells for 100 yen and most plain coffee cups (of smaller size, but similar quality) are about 100 yen as well. My guess is that Nestle Japan regards these more as promotional tools than as a premium money maker. I guess having a bunch of tired students who have been studying a lot drinking out of a KitKat and Nescafe mug that might inspire them to seek a sugar and caffeine rush seems like a pretty good idea.
This is not the first time it has been released. I got this mug a couple of years ago :) More duplicity from nestle.
ReplyDeleteIt must be rough for them to keep coming up with new ideas. ;-)
ReplyDeletePlus, they probably have a whole bunch of them in a warehouse somewhere that they still need to unload.
This good luck examination set has several items in it which rely on Japanese play on words. "Gokaku" is an idiom which refers to "passing the test." It also means (phonetically) "five sided" or "pentagonal," therefore the mug is in the shape of a pentagonal prism. The sakura-flavored Kit-Kat is an obvious reference to the time of year in which tests are administered. The prominence of Kit-Kats as a good luck food lies in a Japanese phonetic reference to "kitto-katsu" or "sure victory," thus ensuring a positive outcome during the examination season.
ReplyDeleteHi i would like to get one gokaku cup for my brother on his upcoming birthday.he loves it a lot.but in our country we cant buy it.Kindly help this sister.plzzzz i want this badly for my brother.if u can help kindly mail in this id:friendz2help@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteeven a second hand will be fine
friendz: I'm sorry, but I have no idea where to get one of these mugs now. They were only sold during certain times of year in Japan, and I'm not longer there. I don't even have a mug of my own (as I came back to the U.S. and couldn't carry back something so heavy).
ReplyDeleteYou may want to search eBay and hope you get lucky!
Okay thanks a lot
ReplyDeleteOkay I will look.Thanks a lot
ReplyDelete