I find commercials fascinating. They take the culture in its current state and time,
and try to appease to their wants and needs. And when we look back at old commercials,
we can see how they used to try and sell products and lifestyles to us
And the separating of time allows a forest from the tree's perspective.
Because of that, they go from corporate machines of control,
to adorable little slices of nostalgia. But that is not always the case,
sometimes things just age, really, really poorly. Ladies and gentleman, exhibit A
[commercial music]
[Japanese announcer]
>>Azriel: Man, that is really hard to look at. Like an Energizer Bunny
that's swallowed its own drum. Hi everyone, Azriel Knight here, and
on this episode of TOC Xtra, we take a look at the nightmare fuel that is Canon’s former mascot.
[intro music]
Before we go any further I think we should get a closer look at Oh god, just look at this thing.
[Music]
[Japanese announcer ]
>>Azriel:Okay, now let’s back up. And this time, I’ve also had it translated into English.
It opens with some futuristic console, and the tweeked out
bunny comes from inside an illumined iris. The title reads Enter the Image Wonderland, Canon.
[Music]
>>Azriel:I can’t tell if they are trying to rip off Rick James or Billy Ocean.
[Music]
>>Azriel:Really? That’s kind of an insult to professional photographers.
>>Azriel:Hey, I know, there are a lot of strange commercials out there,
but this is not just a one hit wonder. I have managed to come across around eight
with this thing in it. I mean, It looks like Captain Crunch and The Violator had a baby.
[Music]
>>Azriel:Yeah, let’s not step into the image wonderland. Cameras advertised include the EOS 10, the 630,
and The Autoboy’s AF Zoom, and Jet. They were released around 1989 or 1990.
EOS cameras you are probably familiar with, and the Autoboy was marketed as
the Photura in the west. So what’s the story here,
who is this hemorrhoid with ears? Well, I would love to take the credit
for finding out, but it was actually the translator I hired for the commercials that
found a very, very old webpage. We're talking like a Geocities,
or Angelfire level, personal webpage. Last updated February 21st, 1998.
And the site belonged to the man behind the fur. His name was Kato.
The page explains, that while in college, he attended a pantomime school and was asked to
play the part of, wait for it,
He says the rabbit was created to promote a new slogan for Canon, “The Image Wonderland” and he
was in charge of operating its arms.
Thanks for the explanation Kato, but I’m still wondering what this controls. He talks about feeling like a celebrity,
that since he was restricted in the costume, that people would feed him.
He, ah, also said it marked an important part in his life, and was using the same name as
his handle on the internet. In these behind the scene shots it
looks like he’s holding the EOS 10 or 630. I’m just guessing, but it’s likely they pushed
out these initial commercials, then the subsequent ones were these intro and outro bumpers that could
be added to anything really.
Here’s an ad for the Q-pic.
>>Azriel:As you can see, I also had this one translated, but really, what more are you going to learn from an illegally parked
ram driving a floating stingray and flipping off a robot from batteries not included?
Kato would be fifty years old now, and he may have not have been the only one to play
Rapper Rabbit, but regardless, thanks for the night sweats Kato, we salute you.
So there it is, mystery solved, somewhat. We still have a lot of questions. Like, are there
more of these commercials? I really hope not! In all seriousness though, I love doing this
stuff because you never know where the research will lead you.
If you like what I do around here, maybe you’ll consider becoming my patron on Patreon. You can
also follow me on Instagram and twitter, and until next time, stay classic.
[Music]