A recent appearance by a new mascot in Tokyo’s Shibuya ward saw young women flocking to take commemorative pictures. When our reporter encountered the mascot, officially named “Mr. T Stain,” women were following it around with squeals of delight, making the surrounding men extremely jealous. But why is Mr. T Stain, who could be in the running for weirdest mascot, so popular with the ladies? It has something to do with a toothpaste commercial featuring a very eccentric pop star.
Mr. T Stain is the official mascot for Ora2, a brand of “stain clear” toothpaste. According to the Ora2 website, “every time [Mr. T Stain] dances to his favorite euro-beat tunes, everything around him gets stained.” When he is clean and thoroughly brushed, he turns back into Mr. Teeth, a pearly white version that still has oddly shaped eyes. The dancing tooth appears in a television commercial alongside Harajuku pop star, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. After watching the commercial below, the bizarre appearance of Mr. T Stain starts to make a little more sense:
To make matters more abnormal, Ora2 has created a colorful, albeit curious, official website to go along with the commercial. But no matter what your opinion of Mr. T Stain, there’s no denying that the women of Tokyo absolutely adore him.
[ Read in Japanese ]