- Sad looking executives of Akagi Nyugyo were seen in a video asking apology for what is described as an inevitable price hike
- Akagi Nyugyo’s GariGarikun bar price was increased to 70 yen (almost P30) from 60 yen (around P26)
- The 10-yen price rise was due to rise of costs and the first hike since 1991
- The video, which was uploaded by Akagi Nyugyo on their YouTube account, has been watched by more than 1.2 million times as of posting
TOKYO, Japan – Executives of a Japanese frozen dessert company appeared on the national television advertisement asking an apology for raising a popular ice cream cost by 10 yen, which is the first price hike after 25 years.
NDTV mentioned in their article published on April 5 that sad looking executives of Akagi Nyugyo was seen in a video asking apology for what is described as an inevitable price hike.
Akagi Nyugyo, which is a brand popular with millions of schoolchildren in Japan, needed to increase the price of its GariGarikun lollies on Friday for the first time after two and a half decades following evident deflation and falling prices in Japan.
Anticipating a possible backlash from the price increase, the company did a preventive step and apologized in a 60-second advertisement that ran on nationwide TV channels on Friday and Saturday.
The same video, which was uploaded by Akagi Nyugyo on their YouTube account, has been watched more than 1.2 million times as of posting.
The video footage started with a close up shot showing high-ranking officials of Akagi staring into the camera, arms folded, as they stand in front of the company’s headquarters about 75 kilometers (46 miles) northwest of Tokyo.
An article by Japan Today published on April 6 said that the video also reveals around 100 distressed-looking employees standing in a formation, as music by a popular folk singer lamenting price hikes, plays in the background.
All the executives and employees of the company took a bow, a common act of contrition in Japan, while text appears on the screen that reads: “We held on for 25 years but…” followed by “60 to 70”.
The texts are a reference to the rise of the GariGarikun bars to 70 yen (almost P30) from 60 yen (around P26). The 10-yen price rise was due to the rise of costs and the first since 1991 when the company took out a newspaper advertisement to apologize for a 10-yen increase.
“It was beyond our imagination that the video would be watched so many times,” a company spokeswoman said; addressing how the video became viral.
Admittedly, it’s a unique expression of apology which one can’t help but admire.
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