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McDonald's Releases AKB48 Anime Commercial Sequel
posted on by Eric Stimson
While Americans often view a job at McDonald's as a grimy, greasy, thankless job, in Japan McDonald's is largely free of these connotations. It's seen as a standard part-time job for teenagers looking to earn some money and gain career experience; even demon kings can make a good impression by working there. To really hit this reputation home, McDonald's has released a two-minute anime commercial starring AKB48 members Yui Yokoyama and Rin Okabe and animated by Studio Colorido.
Sumire (Okabe) is Ikumi's (Yokoyama) manager, but she's hunting for a corporate job. Ikumi swears that she can handle the job without her boss. Sumire's interview goes great, thanks to the business skills she's picked up over four years at McDonald's. Ikumi's day also goes great, thanks to her growing confidence and familiarity with her work. In the end, they joyfully reunite, and Ikumi asks her boss if they can work together again next week. Sumire accepts, and dramatically dons Ikumi's beret.
The commercial is a follow-up to a commercial last year depicting how Ikumi started the job and grew more confident thanks to Sumire's calm, patient mentoring. It also draws at least in part on Yokoyama's own experiences; she also worked at McDonald's and is grateful to her boss for teaching her how to serve customers calmly, smoothly, and with a smile — surely relevant skills for an idol performer. "It might be a bit of an exaggeration, but my starting point was McDo. Using teamwork to do your best. Greeting and courtesy are important in your career. I learned it all at McDo, and it's connected to my current duties as general manager of AKB48."
Yokoyama and Okabe record their lines; Yokoyama recalls her experience working at McDonald's and how much she appreciated her manager's help.
As a fun bonus, the commercial notes that McDonald's mascot Ronald McDonald is hidden in five different places in the anime. Can you find them all?
Studio Colorido has also animated commercials for Puzzle and Dragons and Marukome. The Yōkai Watch cats Jibanyan, Komajiro and Komasan were also enthusiastic about working at McDonald's.
Source: McDonald's
