This Ad for a Bidet Toilet Seat is a Symphony of Synonyms for Butts

Today, over 80% of households in Japan have a bidet seat, but Americans have just started to follow suit.

 

TOTO USA, the Americas division of the TOTO Global Group and world’s largest plumbing manufacturer, has teamed up with advertising agency barrettSF to create a new video for its WASHLET, a high-tech bidet seat. Aimed to change America’s approach to bathroom hygiene, its message is simple: you should use water for personal cleansing.

 

“99% of Americans don’t use bidet seats”, commented creative director and avid WASHLET user Aryan Aminzadeh, “But once you do, you realize you’ve been performing a daily activity the wrong way your whole life.”

 

To show us how the WASHLET works, the video follows a man toting a seemingly endless hose. The man makes his way through several scenes, spraying water to clean everything in his path – from a dumper, to a tray full of buns, to a backdoor, a brownie box, and a poster featuring the planet Uranus.

 

“We liked the idea of using American euphemisms to appeal to the U.S. market,” said a TOTO representative. “Interestingly, in Japan, no euphemisms for the word ‘butt’ exist.”

 

The video was directed by Cameron Harris of Gravy Films. As a native New Zealander, where toilets are rumored to flush backwards, he brought a global perspective to the project.

 

The video will debut online Tuesday, October 24th on a variety of platforms.

 

For those who prefer a more immersive experience, the video will also be screened regularly at Concept 190, TOTO USA’s one-of-a-kind showroom. There, visitors can test drive anything from the WASHLET to the top-of-the-line NEOREST in one of four private experiential bathrooms.