About

"Werther's Original" is a brand of caramel butter candy produced by the German confectionery company August Storck KG. Online, a Japanese-dubbed commercial for the candy has been the subject of numerous parodies on the Japanese websites 2channel and Futaba Channel (2chan), and later becoming a popular source of remix on Nico Nico Douga. On Niconico, "Werther's Original" is considered as one of the site's three main influential pillars, alongside the likes of "Ran Ran Ru" and "Nerunerunerune".

Origin

Beginning in the 1990's, "Werther's Originals" began an television advert campaign in Great Britain, Germany, and other parts of the world featuring grandads expressing nostalgia for the caramel candy and their joy of sharing them with their grandsons, one of which starred the late British actor Arnold Peters^[1] as the granddad. This particular commercial would later be dubbed in Japanese and exported to television stations in Japan in 2003.

Transcript

I can still remember the first sweets given to me by my grandfather.

They were Werther's originals, I was just 4 years old.

It tasted, sweet, creamy and made me feel like a special person.

I remember feeling I must be someone very special when my grandad gave me his wonderful butter candy.

Now, I'm the grandad, and what else would I give my grandson, but my Werther's original?

He, too, is someone very special.

Many Japanese viewers found the dub voice acting off putting upon the ad's airing in Japan, with them citing the strange pronunciations and dialog, notably the line "sweet, creamy, and made me feel like a special person" inadvertently being seen as a sexual double-entendre.

Spread

2chan and 2Channel

The transcript of the commercial was turned into several copypastas on the anonymous imageboard 2chan and the textboard hub 2channel. The earliest thread featuring a collection of copypasta derivatives was posted to 2channel's /gline/^[2] (guideline) board on March 18th, 2003, and another copypasta thread being posted the following year on March 6th, 2004.^[3]

Nico Nico Douga

After the Japanese video sharing service Nico Nico Douga was launched in 2007, the commercial became a visual resource for MAD remixes, peaking in popularity from 2007 to 2009. The first big "Werther's Original" MAD video was a remix of the Touhou Project arrangement Marisa Stole the Precious Thing titled "Grandad Gave the Precious Werther's Original to his Grandson" (shown below, left), posted to Niconico on July 30th, 2007 along with a full video version a month later.^[4] But according to Nico Nico Pedia^[5], it was on January 13th, 2008 when a remix video of the Touhou song U.N. Owen was Her?, titled “W.O. Candy was so Sweet and Creamy? The Last Brutal Grandad Werther's. O" (shown below, right), was uploaded to the site, that the remix series would receive a substantial increase in popularity. As of May 2017, the remix has been viewed over 1.9 million times.

The Grandad's disturbing facial symmetry in a UNITIИU style in the MAD earned him the nickname "Satan" (Japanese: 魔王, Maō), and became an iconic symbol for this fad among NND users.

"I am very special…"

Moreover, "Werther's Original" is one of three remix fads that exploded in popularity during the same time of "Ran Ran Ru" and "Nerunerunerune" and have since earned the title as one of "The Three Major Religions on Niconico" (Japanese: ニコニコ三大宗教, NicoNico Sandai Syūkyō) for these fads had a profound influence on the MAD video phenomenon on Niconico.^[6] As of August 2011, the amount of MAD videos related to the grandad is nearly 500.^[7]

Notable Examples

Copypastas

Dragon Ball

I can still remember the first scouter given to me.

It was Frieza's Original, I was the prince of Saiyan.

That performance was uncommonly good.

I remember feeling I must be a proud Sayian.

Now, I'm the king of Saiyan, and what else would I give my son and subordinates, but my Frieza's Original?

They, too, are proud Saiyans.

Via: LEAD END^[8]

Death Note

I can still remember the first Death Note given to me.

It was Ryuk's Original, I was in my third year of high school.

That impact was uncommonly good and I sometimes couldn't sleep because of the excitement.

I remember feeling I must become god of the new world.

Now, I'm god of the new world, and what else would I give my wife and son, but my Ryuk's Original?

They, too, can become god of the new world.

Via: LEAD END^[8]

Star Wars

I can still remember the first power given to me by the Dark Lord of the Sith.

It was the dark side of force, I was a Jedi knight.

That power was strong, infinite, and uncommonly good.

I remember feeling I must be someone very special when he gave me his wonderful power.

Now, I'm the Dark Lord, and what else would I recommend to my son, but the dark side?

He, too, is someone very special.

Via: Anonymous 2channel user

MADs / Parodies

For more videos, check out the video gallery below.

Illustrations

Search Interest

Google searches for the Japanese translation for "Werther's Original" (ヴェルタース オリジナル) saw a spike in interest during August of 2004, just around the same time that the commercial was gaining traction on 2chan and 2channel.

External References

Editor’s Note: Registration on NND is needed to browse the original videos listed in this section.