A sushi brand manifesto built around one line
How It Started
Mori Sushi came to People of the Internet in 2019 as a pitch. A well-established sushi chain with fourteen years of history and a presence across three continents, looking for a new communication platform.
I wrote them a manifesto built around a single tagline.
The Thinking
Sushi is a category that takes itself seriously. Every brand is precious about tradition, craft, authenticity. You can’t build a platform on those words because every competitor is already there.
Mori Sushi had a claim most of their competitors didn’t. Fourteen years in the business. Three continents. They weren’t just another sushi spot. They were, genuinely, one of the brands that set the standard in the region.
So I wrote from that premise. I built a manifesto that walked through the criteria for “being an example”: origin story, skills, showmanship, something to look up to. Then I qualified Mori Sushi against its own criteria. Fourteen years. Three continents. Iconic bite-sized memories. Only after the receipts did I let the line land:
Mori Sushi
The Roll Model
The pun is doing strategic work, not just phonetic work. A roll model isn’t just sushi wordplay. It’s a claim to category leadership dressed as a joke. Saying “we’re the brand you should measure yourself against” with a straight face sounds arrogant. Saying it with a pun is how you get away with it.
The Script
What does it take to be an example?
An origin story helps. Where you’re from, where you went, what you did along the way.
Skills also help. Your craft, your technique, that special something that you do. And let’s not forget showmanship. Because people eat with their eyes first.
But it helps to have something to look up to. A legend in the field, with years under their belt. A goal to put in perspective. A standard to set and uphold. Basically, something to keep you going.
We’ve been in the biz for 14 years. And across three continents. Rolling up iconic bite-sized memories.
So as far as sushi’s concerned, we’re what you might call a… roll model.
Mori Sushi. The Roll Model.
Why This Work Matters to Me
This one is about a line.
Some case studies are about systems. Some are about strategies. This one is about landing a single tagline that does more work than three paragraphs of positioning could. “The Roll Model” is a category claim, a legacy flex, and a piece of wordplay all at once. Five words.
The manifesto around it is structural. It builds the frame the line needs to land inside. Without the setup, the pun would feel cheap. With the setup, the pun feels earned.
I also voiced this one myself. A manifesto lives or dies on its read.
Project: Mori Sushi Brand Manifesto
Role: Copywriting, Voiceover
Year: 2019
Agency: People of the Internet
Client: Mori Sushi