I would like an explanation, and I would like it soon. Anyone want to tell me why Domokun is advertising Halloween for Target? How exactly did the lovable if mysterious mascot for NHK become the spokesperson for spooooky holidays here in the US? I, for one, am baffled.
I mean, I get it. Target has been doing their best to get all coolified, what with their off-mainstream music finds etc. Why not grab viral phenom Domo? He's cute, he's from Japan, geeks love him -- he's god damned perfect.
And yet, there's something a little odd about it.
Sure, part of the cool thing about Domo was that he wasn't well-known, but that's a fairly standard geek complaint when stuff gets out to the normies. I tell you what I find unsettling. Domo hatched in front of a TV screen and fell blindingly in love with it. The little fuzzy dude just can't get enough terebi. He's a TV mascot and he loves TV. Unlike here in the US, where our TV mascots encourage us to go outside and play.
So there he stands at Target, his gaping maw hoping to convince us to purchase halloween goodies for the kids, while secretly he's at best an addictive personality and and worst an utter sellout. I love Domo, and seeing him in a US advertisement gives me a bit of evil joy.
4 comments:
Doesn't domo mean "thank you"?
Apparently it's the Japanese verios of 'aloha' or 'dude'. It means everything. Like hello, thank you, excuse me, what are your thoughts on the later works of Proust, etc.
domokun's appearance on both Target advertising and a disturbing amount of T-Shirts in NYC has been distressing me for some time.
Far too many people are attiring themselves in the domo-face tshirt that was formerly the domain of the otaku, or simple japanophile.
It must be stopped.
The good news is it's easier for True Believers like us to get our hands on him.
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