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Anime Ads Ask: Can Laundry Detergent Bring Romance?

posted on by Lynzee Loveridge

Can the fluffy feeling of cotton and an alluringly clean scent foster a budding romance? Kao's Fragrance New Beads line of laundry detergents intends to find out in two animated advertisements.

In the first ad titled "New Student", Kaori encounters Hanamura on a crowded subway train. The mixing smells of everyone on board is unpleasant but when the shifting train causes Kaori to draw close to Hanamura, he's struck by her fresh fragrance. He expresses his gratitude to her when they step off the train, and a surprised Kaori is pulled along as they head to class.

The video reveals that Kaori and Hanamaru became classmates this spring, but they have yet to talk to each other. When they get off the train after being shoved together, Kaori apologizes to Hanamaru for the encounter. But instead of expressing irritation, he thanks the "gently fragrant beauty" Kaori because she saved him from having to continue to smell the mass of bodies surrounding them.

In the second ad titled "New Employee," Kaoru approaches her overworked boss Ohi. The stress among the employees gives off a bad odor until Kaoru hands over her work to Ohi. His mood is immediately lifted when he smells Kaoru's fragrance.

In the video, Kaoru is working her first job and has to speak to the department head. She asks him to check materials she prepared, and the aroma of her clothes wafts over him. He is momentarily dazed and thanks Kaoru for the documents. The "gently fragrant beauty" again saves the day.

The smell from Kao's Fragrance New Beads laundry detergents provides the start to both female characters in the videos becoming "women who are praised." Both of the female characters' names can mean "fragrance" or "smell" in Japanese. The advertising for the products is aimed at women starting new phases in their lives.


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