German home improvement retailer Hornbach has managed to cause quite a stir with its latest commercial, dubbed “The Smell of Spring”.
The spot, created by agency Heimat, Germany, features several middle-aged men who, after working up a sweat in the garden, hand over their dirty clothes, pants included, to a squad of scientists. As the ad goes on, it turns out the apparel ends up in vending machines, in Japan. Eventually, a Japanese woman is seen purchasing one of the undergarments, which is vacuum-packed and sealed in plastic, and inhaling the smell, presented as “the smell of spring”.
The spot, which takes a jab at the creepy Japanese fetish for the (worn) underwear of young women (fetish called
Burusera), features the song “So Riecht Das Frühjahr (Theme)” by Blut Audio.
