Situation

Korea’s No. 1 instant noodle brand, Nongshim Shin Ramyun, was facing a new challenge in 2025: expanding into a global brand. To effectively convey more than 40 years of the unique sentiment, emotion, and culture of Shin Ramyun to global consumers, the company established a new brand slogan, “Spicy Happiness In Noodles,” inspired by the first letter of Shin Ramyun’s English name, “SHIN.” Based on this, we launched a campaign to spread Shin Ramyun’s spicy happiness to global consumers.

Solution

We selected K-pop group aespa as our ambassadors to join us on our journey toward becoming a full-fledged global brand. Drawing inspiration from the fact that K-culture has established itself as a distinct cultural phenomenon among global audiences, we adopted a music video format that breaks away from the typical mold of instant ramen commercials.

Based on the concept of sharing the spicy happiness of Shin Ramyun with people around the world, the event featured the “Shin Ramyun Dance,” which choreographed the actions of opening the package, pouring water, and preparing chopsticks, as well as a dance interpretation of the word “SHIN.” Additionally, aespa performed the iconic hit “Spice Up Your Life” by the famous British pop group Spice Girls, showcasing their unique charm. Through these musical and performance elements, the campaign aimed to powerfully convey the brand message and focused on naturally building a sense of connection with global consumers.

Results

Nongshim’s Shin Ramyun has seen explosive digital growth since the launch of its global campaign. Following the campaign’s launch, weekly YouTube search volume for Shin Ramyun reached a 52-week high, and a single YouTube video garnered 280 million views—setting a new record as the most-viewed ad in Nongshim’s history and achieving this milestone in the shortest time ever.

Significant results were also recorded in social data analysis of the global market: following the campaign launch, social mentions of Shin Ramyun increased by 68% in the U.S., 48% in Japan, and 278% in Thailand, solidifying the brand’s position in key strategic markets and once again demonstrating the global standing of K-ramen.