Nissin's sporting warriors entertain, but could be crazier

The latest installment in Nissin Foods’ ‘Crazy Makes the Future’ series for its Cup Noodle brand is a decidedly contemporary interpretation of the ‘Seven Samurai’ legend.

The two-minute video is aimed at markets including Japan, Brazil, India, Indonesia and Singapore. It opens against a backdrop of Rio and features the iconic warriors engaged in a series of ‘extreme’ sports. These include surfing, skateboarding, BMX, stunt skiing and extreme pogo.

The video, which is approaching 3 million YouTube views, has also been adapted for TV. We first saw Nissin's sporting samurai back in 2014, with a breathtaking display of footwork (in full armour) around the FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

Developed by Dentsu, the ‘Crazy Makes the Future’ series debuted in March. The work is true to the wacky persona Nissin has built for itself. In the end, it’s the crazy people among us who take the world forward, Nissin says on its YouTube channel.

Campaign’s view: What does it all mean? We're not quite sure, but it’s as entertaining and well produced as you would expect. We did especially like the warrior who uses his swords as ski poles.

But we have a request: Next time, we’d like to see a new symbol for Japan. Samurai (and schoolgirls) have been used and abused by such an array of brands that all the imagery ends up blurring into one. The 2014 footballing samurai really was something, and continuing the theme is logical and safe. But Japan’s rich culture surely offers other potential icons, or at least bit-actors that Nissin could elevate to iconic status through its creative work.