Overview
Nature Valley Anime Tweets are a series of anime-themed messages posted by the official Twitter account for the American grain-snack brand Nature Valley.
The tweets soon gained popularity, spawning many other parodies, featuring a variety of anime character interacting with the snack bars.Background
On April 27th, 2014, Twitter user @SuperRoyalLand[2] posted a self-deprecative message about buying a Nature Valley granola bar while dreading about his lack of social life at school. On the next morning, @NatureValley,[1] the official Twitter handle for the brand, responded to @SuperRoyalLand’s tweet with a message of encouragement suggesting that he should befriend some of their other followers who have expressed their love for anime.
SuperRoyalLand</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/galacticpixie">galacticpixieElkasaurus</a> We've met lots of <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23anime&src=hash">#anime</a> friends who do exist right here in the Twitter-sphere. Befriend them!</p>— Nature Valley (NatureValley) April 28, 2014
Notable Developments
Then on April 29th, @ER_nut[3] tweeted at @NatureValley asking about their favorite character from the multimedia anime series Love Live! School Idol Project, to which the company responded:
ER_nut</a> That's a toughie. We love Honoka's spirit - but we also love Hanayo's origami skills. Who's your favorite?</p>— Nature Valley (NatureValley) April 30, 2014
As of May 2014, the tweet has garnered over 100 retweets and favorites. After the tweets, many different news sites picked up on the story, including Crunchyroll[4], Anime News Network[5] and Anime Herald[6]. The American anime licensing company Funimation also tweeted at the company using their twitter handle @Funimation[7], joking that their Senpai Had Noticed Them.
.
FUNimation</a> None of the above. But we did emerge from a long winter of <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23polarvortexes&src=hash">#polarvortexes</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23icecaves&src=hash">#icecaves</a>. Thank you for noticing us, Senpai.</p>— Nature Valley (NatureValley) April 30, 2014
On April 30th, the handle retweeted a photoshopped image of the character Kokoro Akemi, from the anime Tantei Opera Milky Holmes, holding two nature valley bars from user @KokoroAkemi[8], adding an invitation for other users to do the same. The tweet received over 600 retweets and over 300 favorites.
Let the #NatureValley + #anime art fest begin. RT
— Nature Valley (@NatureValley) April 30, 2014KokoroAkechi</a>: <a href="https://twitter.com/NatureValley">NatureValleypic.twitter.com/i5ieAUxHHy
Notable Examples
The new official snack food of anime –
NatureValley</a> <a href="http://t.co/UHRl6L06EA">pic.twitter.com/UHRl6L06EA</a></p>— NΞØNTΛSTΞR (neontaster) April 30, 2014
@NatureValley's granola bars are so good, they must be the work of a Stand user. pic.twitter.com/rs8qOFFrZD
— EsperP Arms (@PuellaRider) April 30, 2014
@NatureValley Rikka loves Nature Valley pic.twitter.com/Nyf9bbYcZu
— Dan Cook (@dc_resistance) May 2, 2014
@NatureValleypic.twitter.com/NLxsOvbdaH
— S H I T L O R D (@mugis_husband) May 1, 2014
External References
[1]Twitter – @NatureValley
[2]Twitter – @SuperRoyalLand
[4]Crunchyroll – Nature Valley Granola Bar Maker Talks Favorite “Love Live” Girl and More on Twitter
[5]Anime News Network – Start Your Day Off Right with Some Granola Bar Social Media Fun
[6]Anime Herald – Nature Valley Goes Anime, Fans Go Gaga
[7]Twitter – @Funimation
[8]Twitter – @KokoroAkemi