January 4, 2007
Shiro the budgie goes ringtone
Shiro the budgie is capable of reciting passages from books and can "talk" constantly for about 20 seconds. Ringtones featuring a recording of the bird's voice are about to go on sale from dwango, the major Japanese ringtone company on whose TV ads the bird is already appearing, reports Mainichi Daily News.
"We've received a lot of calls from people about Shiro's ad, saying things like they're pleased because they've got a budgie of their own or wanting to know how they can train their own birds to speak as well," a Dwango spokesman tells Shukan Bunshun.
Filming Shiro for his hit commercial wasn't so easy. "We filmed him constantly for about three months 'cause he had a few problems with his timing. Budgies talk every day, but they don't always necessarily follow the script, which is what we needed Shiro to do," the Dwango spin doctor says. "We wanted to get a really good sound bite for the ringtone, so just kept on at it. The film crew had a pretty rough time of it."
Related:
-- Birds mimic ring tones
-- Birdsong ringtones
-- Links to more animal tones.
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