Whoever conceived this commercial deserves some kind of award.

A commercial from a chain of Japanese medical centers has been turning heads recently for its high production value and abstract message. Let’s take a look!

Generally, a commercial’s job is to explain the product or service it represents on at least a basic level. But I defy anyone to figure out what Ueno Clinic does based on this ad alone. Don’t worry if you don’t speak Japanese either, because it wouldn’t help anyway.

The video shows a lone hooded warrior who follows his destiny to become an Uenoman. Once he does, he becomes super powerful and capable of changing the world.

Ueno Clinc, on the other hand, is a medical facility specializing in STD treatment and a condition known as phimosis. I’ll spare you the graphic images a Google search would yield and explain that phimosis is a condition in which a man’s foreskin is unable to retract over the head of the penis.

From an advertising point of view, this particular skill set is difficult to promote in a palatable way to the masses. I know if I were an ad exec and someone came to me asking for a cool way to promote his foreskin-cutting business, I’d probably consider a different line of work.

But someone stepped up to the challenge and did an admirable job. If we revisit the commercial we see a man lost in a burning, discolored world of menacing bug-like creatures. Finally, when he pulls down the sheath covering his head (exaggerated wink), he becomes an Uenoman and suddenly everything, ahem, clears up.

The only real problem is that the symbolism is so out there, there’s no real way of getting it unless you know what Ueno Clinic does ahead of time. But once you do, it’s a pretty memorable ad campaign. Here’s another spot featuring a husband and wife watching Uenomen on TV, but the wife doesn’t realize a dashing Uenoman is closer than she thinks….

It’s a clever way to get a delicate message across the airwaves and to promote an important service, because unlike these ads, STDs and other genital complications are no laughing matter… unless you count that time Yuichiro’s pee looked like cola because he hadn’t exercised in ten years. That was kind of funny.

Source, images: YouTube/Ueno Clinic Group
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