4/19/2005

Is “24″ popular in Japan? Apparently it is. Proof is the CalorieMate’s new ad on TV and on big billboards everywhere in Tokyo, which proves once again that when you’re a star in Hollywood, you should do Japanese commercials and laugh all the way to bank.

So, in the new CalorieMate TV commercial (TVCM), you have two guys bitching about life while doing nothing and one guy complains about a test the next day, and the other replies that “it’s not 24″, whatever that means. Then you have an helicopter descending from the sky, and Keifer Sutherland. He shouts 24-style instructions to someone at CTU on his mobile phone, and the SWAT team run behind him. And so, because he’s kinda tired and needs energy but balanced food because he doesn’t like junk (remember, he’s Jack Bauer ok.), he takes a big bite in a CalorieMate bar. Then, the screen becomes a series of several rectangular screens next to one another, in a typical 24 way, and we hear the “bip bip bip” of the clock ticking… They made a special promotional website just for it, so you should go visit it here.

So, you wonder, what is CalorieMate exactly? Basically, a bar of flour mixed with margarine and sugar. According to the official page in English, CalorieMate is:

- A balanced nutrient meal.
It contains a proper balance of all types of nutrients, including proteins, fats, sugars, vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

- It provides a handy way to calculate energy consumption:
One can = 200 kilo-calories
One block = 100 kilo-calories

- It provides about half the adult daily intake of essential eleven vitamis in a single can or pack (four blocks).

- It is easy to take with you and have anytime, anywhere.

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Plus, if you haven’t slept in 24 hours and your brain-dead slutty daughter is making your life hell, you can eat a block and look cool just like Jack Bauer in the middle of Shibuya.