Nicholas Cage Pachinko Ad – Celebrity Shaming from Japan.

Do you know what Pachinko is? A friend explained this to me when I visited Japan last year and noticed the abundance of ‘Pachinko Parlors‘. (Click image to enlarge)

Much like slot machines in the western world, Pachinko is a game played obsessively by Japanese people. The game is an arcade-style unit that is a cross between a pinball and a video game machine. Players don’t win any money, but they can win a number of little nick-nacks and prizes. Winning money will render the activity as ‘gambling’, and gambling is prohibited in Japan.

It is not uncommon to see a morning lineup infront of Pachinko parlors waiting for them to open. Addicts of the game will stand there with money in one hand, and a ‘good luck’ charm  in the other. This can be their cat, an old coin, their lucky sock, you name it!

Pachinko parlors are normally sided by thrift shops. To get around the gambling ban, Pachinko winners take whatever small tokens they have won from the machine (watches, dolls, toy cars, small electronics, etc.) and go next door to exchange their winnings with cash by selling their prize to the second hand shop.

Another thing you see in Japan that you will never see in North America is your favourite celebrities doing commercials that are prohibited from being shown outside Japan. From Sean Connory’s Whisky and Yogurt commercials, to Tommy Lee Jones doing canned coffee.

But, the Pachinko ad below by Nicholas Cage brings the practice to a new low. What do you think?