The internet is a powerful tool for a lot of businesses and they certainly need to take better advantage of its potential. Some already have, using a meme to their advantage because those things practically promote themselves and people also share them willingly. That’s the internet for you. One meme, however, has transcended above and beyond thanks to a German shopping website named OTTO.

That’s right, it’s “Hide the Pain Harold” as OTTO’s advertising star. The video shows Harold as an eccentric old man who ordered a gaming laptop. His facial expression says it all, though it actually never changes and remains that of suppressed pain for which Harold became famous for. Check out the video for the ad below:
The whole thing is in German but it’s not really hard to understand what the commercial is all about. It is oddly entertaining though, seeing that many Harold’s in different genders and professions. The face that could launch a thousand memes:

However, he wasn’t always Harold who keeps hiding his pain behind that million-euro face. His real name is actually András Arató from Hungary. Harold first caught the internet’s attention from a website called DreamsTime which offers stock photos of senior citizens. His stock photos there were shared on a forum thread in Facepunch and people started to notice his odd expression. After some memes about humorous suppressed and hidden pains, a Facebook page was created for “Hide the Pain Harold.”
The rest is history, and Harold– er, András, himself was quite a good sport about it and even appeared to welcome the idea. Also, if you haven’t guessed already, he isn’t really in pain.
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