I was making some toast on the weekend and, as I waited for the bread to pop, I found myself humming a tune. "Hmmmm hmmmm hmmmm hmmmmm, ohhhhh oh whoah oh whoah, hmmmmmm hmmmmm hmmmmm hmmmmmm".
I sang the "oh whoah" part in a soft-yet-gravelly voice, and it must have sounded so weird that my wife turned to me and asked, "What the hell are you singing?" To which I replied, "Why, it's Shigeru Matsuzaki's iconic Japanese PlayStation Vita commercial from 2012, didn't you recognise it?"
This commercial was released 14 years ago, but was belted out with such memorable gusto by the famed singer (and voice actor), and is so god damn catchy, that I don't think a week has gone by since when I haven't sung it, or at least thought about it.
If I see or hear mention of the Vita, I think about it. If I hear the word "crooner" I think about it. If anyone says "Katamari Damacy", a game Matsuzaki is probably best known for here in the West, I will think of this commercial before I think of that song.
This commercial ostensibly had nothing to do with Sony's handheld. He doesn't mention it, he's not wearing a Vita shirt, he's not playing a PlayStation guitar. They just got a famous guy to sit on a stool and sing for a minute, then threw a little Vita overlay in at the end. And yet 14 years later here I am, still singing along and being instantly reminded of a video game handheld that ceased production in 2019 and hadn't been relevant for quite a while before that.
If that's not the definition of a Very Good Ad, I don't know what is.
