PG&E never had such touching commercials, part II

[agentduckiechan]

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Japan sure loves sentimental commercials. The Youtube account from which I got the Tokyo gas ad also features a Kepco ad featuring Angela Aki's 手紙 ～拝啓 十五の君へ～ ("Letter: Greetings to a Fifteen-Year-Old"). And at first I was like, really, Japan? Taking one of my absolute favourite songs - one of the very few that can make me cry - and using it for a freaking electric company ad. And then I realised that it was only appropriate, as this particular company delivers electricity to the Kansai region, and the huge Kobe quake happened fifteen years ago (it was so huge that even I, a six-year-old Californian, knew about it). The kids who were born then are fifteen now, and this song is about encouraging and supporting your fifteen-year-old self. I thought it was really heartwarming when the commercial said "In a hurt town, the one who inspired us was you who was [sic] just born." Kobe was devastating, even more so than Loma Prieta in 1989 (although Kobe was a mere 6.2 while Loma Prieta was a 6.7). Also, electricity is important, and the first thing to go after a major quake. So maybe this was one of the rare justified cases of sentimentality in advertising. Like, what better way to commemorate a tragedy fifteen years ago than to show how much they've grown since then? And what better way to gauge growth than teenagers? And what better soundtrack than Angela Aki? Still, I didn't see PG&E making these types of commercials after Loma Prieta. But then, I was two and living in Manila during that earthquake XD

Sidenote: Loma Prieta, San Francisco's last big quake, happaned while the Giants and As were playing the World Series. Right now, the Giants are playing in the World Series for the second time in twenty-one years. Moreover, seismologists say California is overdue for the Next Big One (the last being Northridge in 1994), and 2010 has seen some epic seismic activity (Haiti, Okinawa, and Chile - all within, like, a week - back in February, and a tsunami-earthquake combo in Indonesia this past week, just to name a few). And MY HOUSE IS ON TOP OF AN EARTHQUAKE FAULT.

Should I be worried?