What Is The Long Long Man Commercial?
In 2017, UHA Mikakuto, a Japanese company which produces a brand of candy named Sakeru Gummy and many other iconic chewy treats, commissioned an agency Hakuhodo to produce an 11-part television commercial series to advertise the Sakeru Gummy. The result of that is what is now widely known as the Long Long Man commercial. The commercial is barely 6 minutes, but it is a hell of a ride.
The commercial owes its name to the now-infamous catchphrase, which was repeated way too many times in the commercial by an obnoxious voice. The catchphrase is heard seemingly at random throughout the commercial series that it is nearly impossible to ignore.
What is Sakeru Gummy?
Although Sakeru Gummy is occasionally interpreted as "gum," it is actually a gummy candy that consumers can separate before eating, or sakeru (さける, in Japanese). The candy is sold in multipacks of tiny rectangular sheets that are divided into a number of pull-apart strips, much like string cheese. The most widely consumed flavors of Sakeru Gummy, like those of most Japanese snacks, are apple, peach, and grape.
Long Sakeru Gummy, which has 40cm strands of gummy candy, debuted on the market in 2017 in contrast to the traditional Sakeru Gummy's tiny, individual servings. The manufacturers hired the Japanese ad agency Hakuhodo to create a series of television ads to promote the new release and help popularize the product. To combat the juvenile and narrow implications of Long Sakeru Gummy's two primary selling qualities, the producers in particular sought to develop a sophisticated, mainstream image.
The ensuing advertisement, formally titled "Sakeru Gummy vs. Long Sakeru Gummy," but more often known as "Long Long Man," garnered numerous prestigious prizes both domestically and overseas.
Summary of the Long Long Man Commercial Series
The first clip starts with a lady, Chi-chan, and her boyfriend, Tooru-san, simply having a great time sitting on a bench outdoors. Tooru-san holds up a pack of Sakeru Gummy and proceeds to open it and peel one in half to share with his girlfriend while she expresses her enthusiasm for the candy. However, when Tooru-san proceeds to place it in her mouth, Chi-chan becomes quickly distracted when she sees another man. Seductive music plays over the background as the ‘handsome man’ dramatically pulls out ‘Long Sakeru Gummy’ which is just Sakeru Gummy but produced in longer strip as opposed to the shorter, more regular sized ones her boyfriend had and suddenly a voice starts singing the infamous catchphrase ‘Long Long man’ while Chi-chan watches him longingly.
This becomes a recurring theme throughout the commercial series, the girl becomes more and more conflicted about her relationship with her boyfriend Tooru-san who only gives her the short Sakeru Gummy and the Long Long man who can satisfy her love for long things much to her boyfriend’s dismay.
In the second part of the series, Chi-chan is at the zoo with Tooru-san and she makes an effort to point out every animal in the zoo that had a long body part, a giraffe, an elephant’s, and a gibbon. Tooru comments that she really likes long things as he is opening a pack of short Sakeru Gummy, Chi-chan instantly denies this but moments later she becomes distracted by the same Long Long man ripping apart a very long strip of Sakeru Gummy.
The next part of the series shows Chi-chan at home. She receives a call from her boyfriend who tells her he has ordered a pack of Sakeru Gummy and was having it delivered to her home. Chi-chan hears the bell, the audience can already tell at this point that it is the delivery guy. Chi-chan opens the door and it turns out that the delivery guy is Long Long Man. The disembodied voice sings the catchphrase once more as seductive music plays in the background, Chi-chan gazes lustily at Long Long Man’s Loong Sakeru Gummy which he carries in his breast pocket.
The two characters then proceed to reenact a scene of a cheating pair where Long Long Man moves to hold Chi-chan’s hands to show her how to rip a strip of Looong Sakeru Gummy. Chi-chan is hesitant and declares that they shouldn’t be doing ‘that’. Long Long man also turns away from her for a moment and when he looks in her direction again Chi-chan is facing him with her mouth open to accept the long strip of Looong Sakeru.
Tooru finds out about the affair, i.e her love for Looong Sakeru Gummy instead of his own short Sakeru Gummy, and he immediately feels betrayed. He proceeds to have a breakdown as he takes out a normal sized Sakeru Gummy and attempts, futilely, to stretch it out to show her that it didn’t matter whether it was short or long, all Sakeru gummies were the same.
During the argument Chi-chan faints. She then proceeds to announce that she has a very short time to live and as a result of that she is inspired by long things. She and her boyfriend split up during this part of the series.
In the next part, her friend chastises her for the breakup and then proceeds to use a board to demonstrate that a normal sized Sakeru Gummy is just cut up strips of Looong Sakeru Gummy. Chi-chan exclaims that “Tooru-san is a good man” after all.
Following this, Tooru-san and Chi-chan get back together and we see that he’s planning on proposing to her. Even as he holds up the ring to her, Chi-chan is distracted by the long ears on a rabbit and the “Long Long Man” catchphrase plays once again.
The final part of the series shows Chi-chan and Tooru-san newly married and on their way out as their friends celebrate and hold up packs of Sakeru Gummy. As the two reach the end of the red carpet a long limousine parks in front of them and Long Long Man comes out, cue ‘Long Long Man’ catchphrase.
Chi-chan is immediately happy and says that she knew Long Long Man was going to show up. She goes on to break things off with Tooru-san and walks up to Long Long Man who is bearing a bouquet of Long Sakeru Gummy. Tooru-san is distraught at this new development.
At this point the commercial throws a massive twist at the audience as Long Long Man walks past Chi-chan to stand in front of Tooru-san and proceeds to confess his longing for him. It turns out that Long Long man was impressed by Tooru’s dedication to the short Sakeru Gummy and he says that he believes that they could both understand each other. Tooru asks if he can touch the Long Sakeru Gummy.
To watch the Long Long Man commercial yourself, here iit is with subtitles:
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Conclusion
This commercial is arguably one of the best in the world. I mean, there is the cliché “does size matter?” euphemism that couples argue about, and it is a brilliant way to advertise the new product from Sakeru Gummy which is the Long version. It has romance, the best friend, the proposal, the cheating partner, the wedding and best of all, a shocking plot twist. All episodes ended with Sakeru Gummy Vs. Long Sakeru Gummy but the last episode where Tooru and Long Long man end up together ends with Sakeru Gummy & Long Sakeru Gummy which shows that the two gummies can coexist as long as they understand each other. Ultimately, it is a great cinematic piece that most movies could learn from.
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