Creative shark exhibit ad for Osaka aquarium goes viral on Twitter

Thanks to movies like Jaws and the rare instances of human shark attacks, most people don’t conjure up images like the friendly-looking guy above when they think about sharks.

To clear up much of the misconceptions and misinformation surrounding these sea creatures, the Discovery Channel began airing a weeklong marathon of shark-based programing, named Shark Week, in 1988. Celebrating over 15 years of annual shark science documentaries and mockumentaries in the summer, it’s gone on to be the longest running cable television event in history.

But this July, after the Discovery Channel finished up its Shark Week marathon in the U.S., Japan soon took up the baton with the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan’s Shark World event that began July 17. In order to attract attention the aquarium has been putting up a number of poster advertisements around stations and on trains, leaving those that spotted the ad feeling consumed by surprise.

The Kaiyukan Aquarium, which is celebrating its 25th year, has always been a popular spot for locals and tourists alike. So in order to celebrate, they decided to dedicate a huge exhibit to those fierce predators of the ocean, called Shark World.

▼ And also the facility’s most famous resident, the serene whale shark seen in the upper left

But according to Japanese Twitter user @harunatusora, advertisements displayed around stations and other high-traffic areas for the exhibit were a more realistic than expected:

▼ “These ads for the Kaiyukan Aquarium are just a little too original lolol”

海遊館の広告が斬新すぎるww http://t.co/wTX8mqA4CP

—
なつ (@harunatusora) July 26, 2015

The tweet caught the attention of shark enthusiasts who were surprised when they first saw the posters and wondered whether the missing chunks were part of a cleverly orchestrated prank or not.

Either way it seems a large part of the exhibit information on the ad was lost after becoming shark bait, so those interested in the exhibit might want to give the Kaiyukan official homepage a click for more visitor details.

We figure the event must be getting a ton of exposure already due to the large amount of retweets this picture of the Shark World advertisements has received, but in order to raise even more awareness about the exhibit, the aquarium is running a campaign encouraging visitors to snap a selfie in front of a shark and upload it on Twitter with the hashtag Shark World.

What do you guys think? Do these advertisements leave you chomping at the bit to visit, or is the shark exhibit something you’d rather not sink your teeth into?

Source: Twitter/@harunatusora
Top image: Osaka Kaiyukan Aquarium
Insert image: Osaka Kaiyukan Aquarium

Origin: Creative shark exhibit ad for Osaka aquarium goes viral on Twitter
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