Dakara is a soft drink from Japanese beverage giant Suntory. It belongs to a class of functional drinks meant to appeal to consumers with health and/or beauty concerns. Dakara has been around for several years, but this recent TV ad is noteworthy because of the clever way it leverages viewers' awareness of a common Japanese customer to create an opening to communicate the product's main selling point.
To quickly summarize what's going on here:
Just as the woman (whose name is "Sweetness") begins to hand over her card, the "excess brothers" push her out of the way and introduce themselves as "Fat," "Sugar," and "Salt."
Failing in her first attempt to get rid of the intruders, she drinks Dakara, and off they go.
Although it's simple-minded, the ad is effective because it employs four elements.
First, it immediately grabs viewers' attentions by contradicting the expectation of a serious card exchange with the sudden appearance of a comedic trio. Second, it presents the consumer problem with clear aural and visual cues (the three brothers, with three cards, with names that stand for the problem). Third, it softens communication of the problem and continues to hold Japanese viewer attentions by making the "dangers" bookish and unsophisticated--which is very common in Japanese advertising. Finally, the solution to the problem--the product-- is conveyed with quick sip shot and a lilting jingle that says Sayonora excess brothers, Dakara.
