Model Ebihara Yuri appeared in a promotional video released by McDonald’s Japan on September 10.
In the middle of the video, Lucky Man, the protagonist of a manga and anime series, suddenly joins in as well.
What was the combination of a longtime advertising face and a work from the 1990s intended to show?
3-Line Summary
1. Ebihara Yuri has returned to a McDonald’s advertisement
2. Lucky Man appears alongside her in a video for a new menu item
3. The time gap between the two figures is the key to the advertisement
Ebihara Yuri Returns After 11 Years
McDonald’s Japan uploaded a promotional video approximately 29 seconds long to its official social media accounts. The star of the video is model Ebihara Yuri. She first appeared in a McDonald’s advertisement for the Shrimp Fillet-O in 2005, and also appeared in a 2015 advertisement celebrating the product’s 10th anniversary.
This appearance comes approximately 11 years after 2015. In the video, Ebihara says, “We meet again,” while holding the product. The staging, featuring a pink outfit and long boots, evokes the earlier period, and some online viewers said they initially thought it was an old advertisement. Counting from her first appearance in 2005, her connection with McDonald’s advertisements spans approximately 21 years.
What the advertisement revived was not merely the clothing of a particular era. The memory that Ebihara had previously appeared in an advertisement for the Shrimp Fillet-O naturally connects with the theme of this menu item. The decision to bring back the face of the earlier advertisement in a scene introducing a shrimp menu item reads as a connection that goes beyond a simple return appearance.
The promotional subject of this video is the side menu Puri Puri Ebi Furio, which was introduced as scheduled to be sold for a limited time beginning September 16. It is structured to promote a new product while once again placing a long-remembered advertising figure front and center. Ebihara’s appearance serves as the starting point for making the new menu item feel less unfamiliar.
The Advertisement’s Mood Changes When Lucky Man Interrupts
In the middle of the video, Lucky Man appears by barging in. Lucky Man is the protagonist of the manga 《Really?! Lucky Man》, created by Gamo Hiroshi, and is a comedic hero who relies on luck to fight evil. The work was serialized in Japan’s Weekly Shonen Jump from 1993 to 1997, and was also produced as a TV anime in 1994.
Ebihara’s return creates a familiar scene for people who remember McDonald’s advertisements from the past, while Lucky Man draws a reaction from people who remember manga and anime from that period. By placing different sources of memory in a single video, the “two figures suddenly meeting together” itself became a topic of conversation more than the product explanation did.
The video first follows a flow in which Ebihara promotes the product with cute movements, and then has Lucky Man interrupt. As a result, the character’s appearance becomes a device that changes the rhythm of the scene rather than mere background decoration. It is also a composition that overturns the expectation that a familiar advertising image will continue with an unexpected manga protagonist.
Related posts in fact included reactions expressing surprise at Lucky Man’s appearance, along with opinions that people wanted to revisit the work. This does not mean that a new anime production or follow-up development has been confirmed. What has been confirmed is the fact that Lucky Man appears in McDonald’s promotional video this time.
Two Eras of Memories Connected by a Shrimp Menu
The most noticeable point in this video is that the shrimp menu item serves as a link between two eras. Ebihara has been connected with McDonald’s advertisements for the Shrimp Fillet-O since 2005, and this time she introduces Puri Puri Ebi Furio, which features shrimp. The structure preserves her past appearance history while changing the advertisement’s content to a new menu item.
This is also why Lucky Man was added. The video changes the mood by introducing an unexpected character as Ebihara follows the flow of introducing the product. Rather than emphasizing only the return of a long-remembered figure, it unsettles that memory through an unfamiliar combination.
When watching this advertisement, it is important that both Ebihara Yuri’s return appearance and Lucky Man’s appearance take place within a promotional video for a new menu item. Rather than an advertisement copying the past, it can be viewed as a short collaborative video that uses a familiar face and character to promote a new product.
References
Tags #McDonalds #McDonaldsJapan #EbiharaYuri #Ebijan #LuckyMan #ReallyLuckyMan #PuriPuriEbiFurio #ShrimpMenu #McDonaldsAdvertisement #JapaneseAdvertisement #ShonenJump #LimitedTimeMenu