The Amazing Takemoto Piano Commercial

I want to share my favourite commercial as a special treat to you, my cherished readers. You know, to give something back. It's not a particularly clever commercial, has no amazing visuals or handsome actors or deep message. On the first viewing it's mildly amusing, in that quirky Japanese way, and then it gets old and reveals itself as one of the crappiest, lowest-budget, most annoying commercials even seen on Japanese TV. But it is also the most magical.

That magic has earned the commercial a cult following. It has a certain effect on its younger viewers, you see. Here, let Shuma demonstrate:

That was an example of the effect the commercial has on babies. It can stop a baby crying in seconds flat, and keep him happy for as long as the commercial plays. Sometimes one playing is enough to snap Shuma out of it and permanently stop the crying, but more often it needs to be played a few times, or continuously. It works about 95% of the time, usually quite dramatically, but I don't have the heart to let him get into a crying frenzy purposely so I can capture an amazing reaction to the commercial on camera. So these two mediocre videos will have to do. But trust me, this commercial is magic.

It helps to let the baby watch the commercial, but it's mostly the sound that does it, so I have a playlist on my iPhone that consists of nothing but this commercial. I put it on loop and let it play over and over and over. It will keep the crying at bay for as long as it plays, at least so far- I always tire of it before Shuma does. It seems to work at any age. When Shuma was a newborn various sounds could soothe him (the vacuum cleaner was a favourite), but he outgrew that at around three months. But the Takemoto Piano commercial still works. There are all sorts of videos on YouTube of parents playing certain songs or noises to make their babies cry, but most of them seem to work only for that particular baby. The Takemoto Piano commercial is the only one that works for all babies.

If you live in Kansai (a region in western Japan including Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto) you are probably already familiar with the commercial, as it plays there often. Here in Tokyo we only see it a few times a year, so if you live here and don't watch much TV you might have never seen it. But it shows up once in a while on variety shows, since its effect on babies is so well-known.

Takemoto Piano is a used piano company, and this commercial implores people to sell it their pianos. I have no idea how long it's been running but I first saw it a very long time ago, maybe a decade. And they've never changed it. On purpse, I suspect, since it's so popular with parents of babies. The song, which includes a mnemonic of the company's phone number, is permanently etched into my brain, so if I ever had a piano I wanted to sell I'd know exactly what to do.

So without further ado, here is the commercial:

Note: it should go without saying, but let me point out that this is only meant to stop a baby from crying because he/she is generally grumpy, and only after it has been ascertained that the crying is not due to hunger, a soiled diaper, discomfort, pain, sleepiness, an urgent need for a hug, gas, a bee in the bonnet, or any other fixable reason.

Comments

[kat]

I've heard that it stops babies from crying, I hadn't realized it was shown more in Kansai than in Kanto.

[ria]

hehe soo cutee. Post more videos of Shuma in the future!!

[David]

Hey, do they still air the show Quintet on NHK? They used to have it on NHK''s foreign broadcasts. It was by far my daughter's favourite show. It seems Shuma might like it too.

[Laerwen]

I think my ovaries just went *boom*! Your son is so precious! <3

[Teena W.]

That was so funny! I'm going to have to test this commercial out on my friends w/ babies (mine is too old). Your Shuma-kun is adorable.

[Victoria]

That is adorable!
I'm really curious to know how he'll start speaking, if it will be jumble of Japanese and English or more of one than the other, etc.

[takiko]

How cute Shuma is!
That's adorable.
The video makes happy me.

[Sylke]

Thanks for reminding me of this - I found this video on another blog in 2007 or so when my son was as little as Shuma is now and tried it out on him. Of course it worked even though he doesn't understand any Japanese! :)
It's always good to have something like this, especially when they are teething.

[Minke]

Shuma just keeps getting cuter and cuter!!

[Lili]

Quel plaisir de voir Shuma "en vrai"!
Il est tellement adorable sur ces vidéos et il m'a beaucoup fait rire!!!

[pockosmum]

That's amazing!!

[Aspasia]

That's an awesome commercial--the cat is really what makes it.

And how is it possible for Shuma to be so cute even when he's crying? I think you guys won the baby lottery.