Should the advertisements that we see on Singapore trains be more like the ones in Japan?
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The latest thing making the rounds in the Nippon news circuit are whacky “nasal gargling” ads that have been appearing on subway trains (such as the one pictured in the cover photo).
The ad for a nose gargle, or nasal douche, is something one doesn’t often see. In Japan, the ads have given commuters a bit of a shock, since nasal irrigation is often considered quite a private activity. The product, which can be used to clear one’s nasal passageways, also helps to fight hay fever.
According to this ad, the nose gargle is painless. If you don’t believe it, the creepy smile on this model’s face has been convincing many Japanese commuters otherwise.
This is unlike Singapore, where the ads we encounter tend to be of the shallow, patronising variety. The recent string of Bag Down Benny and Hush Hush Hannah ads, for instance, all seem to imagine that the average Singaporean is in fact 5 or 6 years old.
If only these ads could take a page out of these crazy Japanese ones, maybe people would actually pay attention.
In Japan, these ads for this nose gargle can currently be spotted on the JR Yamanote Line, Chuo Line, Keihin Tohoku Line, Keiyo Line, Saikyo Line, Yokohama Line, Nambu Line, Joban Line, and will run until the end of February on these 8 routes.
