The archive · PR & Stunts · Marketing decision · 2023–2025
Ajinomoto fakes a #CancelPizza conspiracy on TikTok to save MSG's reputation
The MSG maker fought a Gen Z backlash with a fake conspiracy to cancel pizza, changing 5M minds and winning a 2026 Sustained Success Effie Gold.
Ajinomoto Group
What it had to solve
Ajinomoto, the company that created MSG, faced a reputation collapse among young Americans: acceptance of the seasoning among Gen Z fell 37% between 2021 and 2022, driven by TikTok videos calling MSG a toxin. The misinformation had outrun the science, and a conventional corporate correction would only be ignored.
How it works
Ajinomoto, the company that created MSG, faced a reputation collapse among young Americans: acceptance of the seasoning among Gen Z fell 37% between 2021 and 2022, driven by TikTok videos calling MSG a toxin. The misinformation had outrun the science, and a conventional corporate correction would only be ignored.
The agency Edelman noticed that on TikTok conspiracy theories travel six times faster than factual content and are 70% more likely to be shared. So Ajinomoto launched a conspiracy of its own with one twist: it was true. If MSG deserves cancelling, the argument went, then pizza must go too — because parmesan, tomatoes, pepperoni and garlic all naturally contain MSG.
In August 2023 the #CancelPizza campaign appeared as native TikTok content: an unshaven, unknown conspiracy theorist ranting from bad lighting and phone-shot footage, using green screens and trending formats. Influencers including scientists, chefs and dietitians replied with stitches and duets that quietly confirmed the facts, and later the company revealed its role.
Within 12 weeks the campaign earned 2.05 billion impressions, changed the minds of more than five million Gen Z consumers, lifted MSG favorability by 39% and brand trust by 65%, and drove a 5.7% increase in sales. The Effie Awards US later honored the sustained program — anchored by #CancelPizza — with a 2026 Sustained Success Gold.
Why it lands
- Conspiracy content spreads six times faster than facts on TikTok, so mimicking the lie's format was the only way the truth could keep pace.
- Pizza is Gen Z's favorite food and genuinely contains naturally occurring MSG, so every outrageous rant doubled as an accurate science lesson.
- Phone-shot, in-app production made the account indistinguishable from organic conspiracy content, so the reveal worked as discovery rather than advertising.
- Scientist, chef and dietitian influencers answered with stitches and duets, supplying credible proof while the parody kept its entertainment value.
What it did
Within 12 weeks the campaign earned 2.05 billion impressions across the US, changed the minds of more than five million Gen Z consumers, lifted MSG favorability by 39% and brand trust by 65%, and drove a 5.7% increase in sales. Searches for 'Is MSG healthy?' rose 5,000%, the hero video passed 27 million views within days, and the Effie Awards US later honored the sustained program — anchored by #CancelPizza — with a 2026 Sustained Success Gold.
What you can take
Meet misinformation on its own turf: a parody conspiracy that hides real facts travels like the lies it fights, and viewers who come to argue stay to learn.
Since then
The 12-week #CancelPizza burst anchored a longer fight: Ajinomoto kept building the KnowMSG platform around the same insight, and the campaign's framework became the model its team pointed to for later consumer-education work. Results held across measures — a 39% lift in MSG favorability, a 65% rise in brand trust and a 5.7% sales gain — and in May 2026 the Effie Awards US gave the multi-year program a Gold in Sustained Success under the title 'How Ajinomoto Changed America's Minds about MSG.'
Sources
- Ajinomoto: #CancelPizza
- Satirical #CancelPizza campaign highlights the safety of MSG
- Most effective planning, research and evaluation in consumer communications
- Uber Eats and Special US Earn Top Honor at 2026 Effie Awards United States Gala
spotted an error? The archive wants to know.
Your turn
You just read one. Describe the brief you are staring at, and see who has been given the same problem.
Free account · 3 free questions · no card