AFLAC Duck Ads Grate On Japanese Viewers' Nerves

POSTED: 8:33 a.m. EDT May 8, 2003

ATLANTA -- He may be lovable in America -- but the Japanese may have a different opinion of the way the AFLAC duck quacks the company's name.

And so a new version is waddling out, just for Japan.

The duck is the center of the insurance company's ad campaign -- constantly quacking out "AFLAC!" to anyone within earshot.

Comedian Gilbert Gottfriend provides the voice now. But an AFLAC spokesman says in Japan, that version sounds just too abrasive -- and makes people feel they're being yelled at.

So the insurance company is giving the duck a kinder, gentler voice when it launches the Japanese ads. Japan makes up the lion's share of AFLAC's business.

The new ad, with the new duck voice, take flight there May 16.

Sheesh, so now we have to have kinder and genteler ducks, sheesh, what next.....

So basically what they're saying is the Japanese are a bunch of pussies because they feel a duck in a commercial is YELLING at them?

WTF, Over?!

Yup thats the way I read it....

I love that duck.

[img]http://duckgear.aflac.com/ccduckgear/assets/product_images/AD-02small.jpg[/img]

[b]AFLAC[/b]

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