Anti-Japanese mood boosts Seoul ad

SEOUL: The latest television campaign for Megapass, South Korea's largest broadband internet provider, is benefiting from rising anti-Japa- nese sentiment in the country. The commercial, aired during primetime on Korea's major networks, features the computer-generated image of one of Korea's most potent icons: the national statue of Admiral Yi Sun-shin. The greatest military hero in Korean history, he is credited with turning back the 1592 invasion by sinking the Japanese fleet off the southern coast of Korea. The Megapass commercial has some fun with the admiral. His statue comes to life and leads a bumbling crew of computer geeks in a modern nuclear-powered ship into battle. However, the light-hearted spot ends on a slightly ominous note - it fires a beam that obliterates a city on the horizon in a mushroom cloud. A voiceover proclaims Megapass to be the "most powerful internet connection in the world". The targeted city is not mentioned but featuring the admiral has led to the assumption that it is in Japan. Anti-Japanese sentiment has run high in Korea in past months over several incidents, including Japan's approval of a controversial school textbook. "The commercial is not meant to be a metaphor for anything," said Ahn Hae-ik, creative director at Cheil Communications, who led the team that produced the spot. "We just wanted to invoke a popular image of a great innovator in promoting broadband." Ahn said response had been "very strong". Not all agree the spot is harmless. "This ad was definitely meant for Korean eyes only," said a foreign marketing executive based in Seoul. "Its militaristic overtones are a bit disturbing."

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