Casio's reaction: the model company that was left in the middle of the Shakira-Piqué dispute

The song that Shakira dedicated to her ex-partner, Gerard Piqué, hit not only the player but also

.

BZRP's explosive Session 53 had a tremendous impact and instead of affecting the company's image, the

.

"You changed a Rolex for a Casio"

, sings the Colombian artist and without wasting time, the company raised its gauntlet.

The various Casio accounts echoed the theme and

.

His Twitter and Instagram bio from the day the song was released, Wednesday, January 11, laid out his take on the issue with humor and a bit of vengeance:

, referring to Piqué's new girlfriend. 

But the company went for much more.

One of his Twitter accounts posted a clip of the video clip shared by the Argentine producer and wrote: "Hey, what about this free attack?"

The Colombian singer also appears in a photo in meme mode next to the phrase:

.

And as if that were not enough, the official Casio Spain account also posted on Instagram and Twitter a photo showing a watch with drops of water next to the phrase "we love that this is splashing on us".

In turn, it became the trending topic "Casio" and the hashtag

.

It is that session 53 was

with 14.4 million views in 24 hours on Spotify globally and revolutionized much more than the music industry.

The impact of the phrase comparing a Rolex to a Casio was so great that Piqué, a former Barcelona Football Club footballer, announced this Friday in a streaming broadcast that he closed an agreement with the Japanese company to be a

, called Kings League.

Piqué, showing his Casio watch after announcing an agreement with the Japanese company.

He also distributed watches to those present, among whom was Ibai Llanos, the famous Spanish streamer.

"I tell you what, this is a watch for life," Shak's ex released while Sergio "Kun" Agüero looked at him in surprise.

Team Casio or Team Rolex?

The wrestling that created the

between the watch brands had

from users on social networks and the Japanese company won by a large majority, instead of the Swiss. 

"I don't see that the song hurts Casio, in fact they took it as a joke on the networks because they took advantage of free publicity. The company is so well known that

," says journalist Federico Aikawa , who learned about the company when he was a fellow of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. 

Carlos Parascandolo is a salesperson for Casio Argentina.

And he agrees with Aikawa: "The issue generated an increase in inquiries, every time customers come to the store or call us, they tell us about the

," he says.

And he adds: "Casio took the issue

. Although it has an impact on a social level because it is a mockery of a relationship and of the social or economic condition."

In addition, he acknowledges that the company "does not pay for direct advertising, but rather, for example, an actor appears in a novel with a watch and that is paid by the company as it is indirect advertising." 

Going back to the Shak and BZRP

, the seller clarifies that "the watch that Shakira could be referring

."

Parascandolo is an expert on the different models of the company.

"The Vintage collection is in fashion and

. Within that series is the calculator model, which was used in the

series ," he highlights.

The Vintages bring to the present the characteristic design of the watches of the 70s and 80s.

The journalist also remembers that the Casios appeared in the films

.

In addition to taking it Bill Gates, creator of Microsoft, who

.

The good thing about Casio is that there are

.

"The most expensive watch we sell is $500,000, it's a G-Shock that won't break if you drop it," says Parascandolo.

Precisely several models of this "indestructible" watch have the privilege of being

.  

One of the many Casio watch models.

That series is so special that for the company's anniversary in 2020, the 

model was released .

The 'Pure Gold Edition' watch came with solar charging, LED backlighting and Multi Band 6 technology. 

The limited edition was only 35 units and each one cost around US$ 65,000.

On the opposite side,

is called the Oyster Perpetual and can sell for around $6,000, but some Rolexes can cost several million dollars. 

From Kashio Seisakujo to Casio

In 1923, one of the founders of Casio Computer Co. Ltd., Tadao Kashio, moved to Tokyo at the invitation of an uncle who worked there.

While studying at the university he worked in a factory.

He started out making pots and pans and lamps for bicycle generators, and quickly his talents came to the fore.

In 1946, Tadao started his own business called Kashio Seisakujo, in Mitaka.

"Casio didn't start out as a watch company, they

. Tadao did repairs until he fixed a giant calculator, thought it shouldn't be that big, and

," Aikawa explains of the time the Success came to the man born in Kochi Prefecture in 1917 when he created

.

The journalist learned about the company in the scholarship he obtained for descendants of Japanese who were Latin Americans.

His paternal grandmother was from Fukushima and his paternal grandfather was from Saga Prefecture.

In one of the classes he covered the stories of Japan's most iconic companies, including Casio.

Employees assembling calculators at a Casio factory in Japan.

Photo Bloomberg

"The watch company applies the

(kai means change and zen, good). It is a continuous system of small and constant improvements that, when accumulated, result in great benefits in the long term," clarifies the communicator based in Spain.

For him, the company's strengths are that they are

.

And he confesses: "I have one that lasted 15 years."

The calculator boom, basic and scientific, continued with the creation of

.

It was called Casiotron and it not only indicated the time and the day, but also specified how many days the month had and whether that year was a leap year.

And it is the world's first wristwatch with LCD display.

In turn, the Japanese company sells electronic musical instruments and label makers.

In 2017, it made history again by launching the G-Shock GPW-2000, the world's first watch to be equipped with a three-way time synchronization system.

Thus, Casio demonstrated throughout these 40 years that taking small but constant steps achieves the best results.

And just like Shakira... invoice!

ACE

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