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Just when you start to think it can’t possibly get more absurd….

Japanese commercials have a reputation for being absolutely insane, but this recent one titled “Firefly Man” by OCEDEL for their long-life LED lights is on a whole new level.

▼ We start off with a family that can’t pay its electric bill.
The dad realizes he must do something.

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▼ So he leaves on a quest among the fireflies to fulfill his destiny,
and is never seen again.

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▼ …until five years later.

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▼ Dad’s back! And he has antennae, an exoskeleton…

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▼ …and a brand new way to light up the house!
What a beautiful ending to a silly little story… right?

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We won’t spoil the ending, but you can watch the full video here to see for yourself. Some of the creative ways the dad comes up with to light up the house are pretty amazing.

(Watch it with English subtitles here or just highlight this text for a translation of the twist ending: the brother reads in his book that fireflies only live up to one week, causing the father to fall and die(?).)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSaYIvx6EWg

If you watched the whole commercial, then it probably won’t surprise you to learn that it has won several awards, including silver in Film and bronze in Film Craft at Cannes Lions, and the Grande Film award at 2016’s Asia Pacific AdFest.

So well done, “Firefly Man!” I’m not sure if I’m going to go out and buy any LED lights because of you, but you certainly did make me laugh out loud, which is much more than I can say for the average advertisement.

Source: YouTube/Drill inc. via Design Taxi, Adweek
Images: YouTube/Drill inc.