Being one of the biggest games in the world comes with its perks. One of those, is that word-of-mouth advertising is enough to keep you going without having to rely on more commonly-recognised means. But that hasn’t stopped League of Legends developers Riot Games from putting out a few more ‘traditional’ TV adverts over recent weeks.
If you’re in NA, you might have seen a few animated shorts over the past month or so. Japanese audiences, however, have been treated to something very different, as their new League of Legends mascot is a giant, talking cabbage roll.
If that seems like a bit of a non-sequitur, I’m reliably informed that it’s a play on words. In Japanese, the expression ‘lol’ (and therefore League of Legends’ acronym) is pronounced ‘Roru’ (Ro-roo). It just so happens that that’s also the part of the word for a sushi-like roll, featuring cabbage and ground beef instead of seaweed and fish. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that a character called Roru-kun should be advertising a global videogame.
In the video (which you can watch below, with translation available), a businessman boards a train to be met with the glass-eyed stare of the anthropomorphic cabbage roll. Clearly understanding immediately, the man recognises the roll as a representative of League of Legends. They chat for a bit, before Roru-kun asks if his new friend plays LoL.
When the businessman answers that he doesn’t, Roru-kun starts describing, announcing that League has “everything you’d want in a game.” But our new hero doesn’t have a good PC! No worries, says Roru-kun, League of Legends will run on nearly anything.
The commuter, however, has heard that League of Legends is pay-to-win. Roru-kun is shocked, dropping his briefcase in alarm, and telling his companion that “the game doesn’t make you pay to play, or to win. Anyone who plays hard can taste sweet victory.” It’s very strange, but there’s a charm to it, although it takes on an odd twist at the end, as Roru-kun realises he’s left a box of what seem to be his children on the train.
If you want to keep up with the game in a way that doesn’t feature talking food, check out the League of Legends patch 8.19 notes. It’s a relatively small patch, as we’re approaching Worlds, but there are some great skins for you to check out. We can only hope that Roru-kun eventually makes his way to the game.