Have you ever wondered what would happen if the structures of hierarchy broke down in Japan? Well wonder no more!
A Japanese commercial for the strategy card game Hearthstone has become an overseas hit online by pitting the company president against a “regular office lady”.
The commercial cleverly works on the idea of the Japanese phrase “ippatsu gyakuten”, which means a “come from behind victory”.
▼Watch the commercial here
The commercial begins with the company president (played by veteran actor, Minori Terada) being chauffeured in a Mercedes Benz to the front of a prestigious looking company headquarters.
Terada then leads a large entourage into the building with everyone dutifully greeting the boss with the accustomed “otsukarasama desu”, which is usually translated as something like, “thank you for your hard work” and often used a sign of respect.
One office lady (played by popular actress Ryo Sato), however, refuses to greet the boss and stands firm without bowing.
This results in an “ippatsu gyakuten” with the boss bowing to the office lady, immediately throwing the entire ground floor into chaos.
People falling off ladders, high heels breaking underneath women’s feet, businessmen accidentally pouring coffee onto their colleagues, and even the security guard’s shirt buttons bursting from the seams — it’s total mayhem! We then learn that the young woman had previously beaten the company president in a game of Hearthstone, which was apparently all it took to flip their social relationship on its head.
This commercial is not only well produced and extremely humorous, it also gives us an insight into the importance of hierarchy in Japanese society, hence the success of the video.
▼ Who wouldn’t want the company president bowing and opening doors for them?
Here’s what netizens have been saying about the ad:
“The acting is better than a movie.”
“This commercial will probably increase the number of women playing this game.”
“This commercial is fantastic.”
“This is a pretty catchy ad.”
So, what did you think? Are you tempted to start playing Hearthstone now?
Source: Aol News, YouTube, Hearthstone Japan
Image: YouTube
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