For some time, Softbank, the only Japanese carrier that sells the iPhone in Japan, has been giving away cell phone straps of its mascot Otosan. The standard version of the cell phone strap is small (around 5 cm./2 in. long) and could be obtained when you bought new Softbank cell phones two years ago; I have seen quite a few people on the streets with the dog hanging from their cell phone. There is also another version a little bit more special that was released last summer; the new version is 30 cm./12 in. long!!, and can only be obtained by some Softbank clients that pay for certain special promotions. Because they are really big I didn’t expect to find anybody using them, but I was wrong; the other day I found in Shibuya this happy Japanese man showing off his big Otosan attached to his cell phone. It’s true!! The man was walking around Shibuya with the cell phone on his hand and the dog hanging.
He probably wanted to imitate and feel like actress Aya Ueto in the Softbank commercial, in where she is talking on the phone with the big dog strap hanging:
So you have an idea of the original size, here is a picture of my Otosan (small version) that I took in a Kyoto temple:
1 reply on “Big Otosan”
Interesting that they went through the trouble of having a black guy in the commercial, but then everyone (including the dog) says something except him. Benetton a´la Japan.