相撲 コマーシャル

     This commercial is provocative in a weird way. You wonder to yourself, “Why is there a sumo wrestler perched atop this Subaru? What does that have to do with the product?” The sumo being a traditional part of Japanese culture, he is supposed to represent the idea of the new Subaru model being engineered in Japan. This in itself is downright silly because, come on: how funny and ridiculous is this commercial? A 300+ pound Japanese wrestler striking sexy poses on top of minivans is quite possibly one of the greatest things that you’ll ever witness in your life. Advertisers use this sense of amusement to further rope you in. Picture it this way: a slightly covered-up message combined with enjoyment leads to the need for you to buy the product. Subaru wouldn’t be the first.

     Music is a prominent factor in this commercial as well. In the background, you can hear this jeering, punkish tune that compliments the sumo’s actions. The music is playing throughout the commercial, with the sumo even drumming his fingers to its rhythm at one point, making it very active in portraying the message.

     This commercial uses the appeal to satisfy curiosity. As stated earlier, it’s almost impossible to conceive what a sumo wrestler has to do with a car commercial. In addition, this commercial also uses the advertising technique of patriotism. As stated at the end of of the commercial and as represented by the sumo, this new line of Subaru models is made and engineered in Japan. This creates a sense of pride if you buy this car, then you are directly supporting the Japanese car industry.

     Even though the whole commercial in itself is ironic and sarcastic, the text shown at the end stating “Sexy comes standard” still gets me every time. Whether they’re talking about the car or the sumo, it doesn’t matter: either being called sexy makes the commercial all the more hilarious.

     This commercial doesn’t necessarily appeal to any audience in particular because the sumo is completely non sequitor to everything except maybe traditional Japanese people, but even that’s far out there. Instead, it’s the product, in this case the Forester, which would appeal to parents ages 35 through 45 because they need a car in which to haul kids around in.

     If you combine all of these factors, you collectively get a very successful and memorable commercial because of its appeal to curiosity, its sense of humor, and its representation of Japan and the Japanese industry.