Sunday, April 10, 2016

GODZILLA CLEANS UP HIS ACT! The King of the Monsters Sheds His Bad Breath!


In Godzilla's Revenge (1969), Minya commented that Godzilla was "the one with the bad breath." Who knew that Minya meant it literally?


From April 4 until April 10, Godzilla was seen lifting a big cup (4.5 meters high, 4.1 meters long) of the mouthwash Isodine to his enormous mouth, apparently taking heed of Minya's admonishment.


Actually, the pharmaceutical company Mundipharma partnered with Toho to use the King of the Monsters to advertise its product. (We know what happened the last time a pharmaceutical company tried to use kaiju as part of its marketing strategy, don't we?)


The signage says it all. According to it, the publicity stunt started with a bit of a joke, with someone apparently wondering what would happen to Shinjuku if Godzilla caught a cold.


While the big cup made a bit of news in the West, the mural on the 8th floor of Hotel Gracery Shinjuku did not. Fans and tourists could pose for pictures with the Big G as part of the promotion. Not a bad marketing gimmick, eh?


There was even an Easter egg in the diorama. Maybe the building below sells fish tanks!


By the time you read this, the promotion will be over. I'm glad I had a chance to check it out while it was still there.

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