Ae! group's "Puccho" debuts on TV in new commercial! In their fifth year since formation, they have perfected the "true Ae pose"

■ “I’ve been eating it since I was a kid” (Richard)
“We are so happy to be able to appear in this commercial.” (Suezawa Seiya)

The “Puccho” TV commercial, featuring Ae! group as the commercial characters, will begin airing nationwide from September 7th.

This is Ae! group’s first TV commercial. The commercial’s theme is “Puccho’s Miracle,” which happened during a certain shoot. Five years after the group’s formation, Kojima discovered a significant fact about the group’s familiar “Ae pose.” While the other members are surprised by Kojima’s discovery, Suezawa comes up with a “miraculous inspiration” and creates the “true Ae pose.” It’s a new commercial that’s full of Ae! group-ness, a little surreal, and will make you chuckle.

■TV commercial story
During a photo shoot, the members strike the group’s signature pose, the “Ae pose.” Suddenly, Kojima realizes a crucial fact: “The ‘A’ in the Ae pose isn’t actually an ‘A’, strictly speaking.” While the other members are stunned and exclaim, “That’s true,” Suezawa, holding a Puccho, has a miraculous inspiration. “Put a Puccho here…” He places the Puccho between Kojima’s index finger and middle finger in the Ae pose, and it forms the horizontal line of the “A,” completing the “true Ae pose.” After five years of work, the Ae pose is finally completed, and Richard bursts out, “Oh my God!”, depicting the fateful moment when all the members witnessed the “miracle of Puccho.”

■ Filming episodes
As this was their first time appearing in a TV commercial, the five of them looked nervous when they entered the studio, but they seemed to get along well and the shoot progressed in a harmonious atmosphere, gathering together and chatting in between takes.

The key scene in this commercial is when Kojima realizes the “important fact behind the Ae pose.” In take 1, the members burst into laughter at Sano’s “Honmaya” face. After regaining their composure, Sano was so fired up that he burst out laughing. Suezawa immediately responded with a sharp, Kansai-style retort, “That’s enough!” After that, various versions of this scene were shot. It was also revealed that Shomon, Suezawa, and Richard had been laughing the whole time out of the camera’s sight. It was revealed that Shomon in particular “was making a funny face,” and the members all had a hard time getting it right. Let’s check out the commercial to see what kind of “Honmaya” Sano used in this scene, which is so meaningful to us.

Furthermore, the official UHA Mikakuto YouTube channel will release a video of the making of the commercial from 10am on September 4th. It will show the members’ friendly relationship and the behind-the-scenes of the commercial’s production, providing a complete look at the commercial’s filming.

In the comments from the members at the end of the making-of video, they talk about their thoughts on appearing in the commercial, their favorite things about Puccho that even the Ae! group members love, as well as Kojima’s miraculous eel story in line with the theme of the commercial, and the surprising timing when Sano wanted to eat Puccho.

■Ae! group Interview
Q. How do you feel about appearing in your first TV commercial?
Suezawa: This is Ae! group’s first TV commercial, and it’s for “Puccho.”
Sano: Puccho! That Puccho!
Everyone：That’s amazing.
Suezawa: I’ve seen it before and I’ve eaten it before.
Sano: I ate a lot, Puccho.
Richard:I’ve been eating it since I was a little kid.
Suezawa:We are extremely happy to be able to appear in that commercial.
Sano：You must be happy.
Q. When do you feel like eating Puccho?
Small Island: It’s going to be a hot season soon, so it’s great when you’re walking outside. You want to have something in your mouth all the time when you feel like you need something to eat.
Main Gate: Also, when we do live performances or dance, we go all out, so we still dance a lot in between rehearsals.
Sano: Maybe this could be a source of income for band members too.
Suezawa: Eating during band?!
Sano:There are some songs that we haven’t sung yet!
Small Island：Akiya, I’m a drummer.
(Sano’s air drumming motion)
Suezawa：If you don’t sing that song, why don’t you eat a Puccho??
Everyone:(lol)
Q. Related to “Puccho’s Miracle”, has there been any “miraculous event” that has happened to you in your work or personal life?
Main Gate:Speaking of work, he (Kojima) performed the miracle of finding an eel in Dotonbori.
Small Island: Apparently it was their first time, in Dotonbori.
Sano:It’s a historic discovery.
Small Island：I discovered the Japanese eel.
Suezawa: How many did you find?
Small Island：11!
Sano:You’ve found too many, one is enough.
Q. What were some of the difficulties and fun parts of filming this commercial?
Small Island:Sano is laughing.
Sano：That’s great!!
Main Gate：The very first one.
Sano:It’s my first TV commercial so it’s fun.
Main Gate: I guess it’s a little embarrassing when the members say things like that.
Sano: I guess I’m not used to this kind of environment.
Richard:It feels a little surreal sometimes.
Small Island: It was fun, but it was hard work.