Scoffing a calorific hamburger the size of your mouth can be difficult while maintaining good table manners. It’s even trickier for women in Japan where small and modest mouths, or ochobo, are considered attractive and the opposite not so much. Social etiquette in the East Asian country also dictates that women should never open their mouth wide in public places.
In a bid to free women from the curse of ochobo and flagging sales, Japanese hamburger chain Freshness Burger has launched a new so-called Liberation Wrapper. The paper napkin features a picture of an immaculate smiling woman diners can hide behind when they eat. Sales of the chain’s Classic Burger have gone through the roof since the Liberation launch, reportedly up 213 per cent.
‘Their largest and best-tasting Classic Burger was amongst the least chosen by their female customers,’ explained a spokesman for Dentsu East Japan, the firm that created the wrapper. ‘One of the major reasons seems to relate to Japanese manners… It is good manners to cover their mouth when they have to largely open up their mouth. ‘Our female customers had a frustration of not being able to do it. ‘Freshness Burger decided to challenge convention, freeing women from the spell of ochobo mouth.’
(Metro)
‘Their largest and best-tasting Classic Burger was amongst the least chosen by their female customers,’ explained a spokesman for Dentsu East Japan, the firm that created the wrapper. ‘One of the major reasons seems to relate to Japanese manners… It is good manners to cover their mouth when they have to largely open up their mouth. ‘Our female customers had a frustration of not being able to do it. ‘Freshness Burger decided to challenge convention, freeing women from the spell of ochobo mouth.’
(Metro)
