The Daily Bombardment
I was always irritated when I saw this commercial. Not being able to read Japanese is actually a benefit, as its true insidious nature is more easily understood.
The basic idea is that a silly girl has borrowed 100,000 yen, and returns the money one month later – and only has to pay 1500 yen. At least that’s the mental picture you get if you are an exhausted salary man, forced to stare at these sorts of commercials in a packed train on the way home.
It isn’t misleading in the strictest sense, but it trivializes the difficulty of obtaining the 100,000 to pay back (not to mention the 1500 yen). There is small print that says “Please borrow money responsibly”; maybe responsible advertising would be a first step to that goal.
