Aww haha how cute! Diapered birdy pals look great together! :3 It's not every commercial that lets ya pee your pants (or lack of) on TV!

Those Korean commercials don’t feel like something diaper companies would try to get away with in the US.

*Blushes* Nope, nope, nope! Plus, with the diving commercial, I hear the girl duck does a cute shaking of her rump to help illustrate how she is still all dry. Makes me think of Yosh doing such a thing after leaping out of the water after a good swim. His little hands flapping about as he gets all that extra water out of his scales and feathers.

Thanks for taking the time to read over this concept, Oxnard. I genuinely appreciate when you can weigh-in on something I put together. especially when, as you probably noticed, it was a larger collaboration as Leon helped make it possible and Pidgo did the art. :)

Hehehe really cute diapers ad and amazing drawing

I am glad you like this picture. It is good friends, like you, who helped me to see the blue duck girl enough to want her to be paired with Yosh. So thank you very much.

I thank you for taking the time to read the advertisement, too. I hope you were able to see it play out in your imagination.

I do believe cartoon animals are better for diaper commercials. They allow for a lot more potential without making real children need to be immortalized in such an advertisement.

I bet it would be embarrassing for a teenager to bring someone they are dating over to meet mom and dad knowing they could show your moment of televised fame being a diaper commercial.

Hehehe you're pretty right. I wouldn't like to be one of those babies that have participated in diapers commercials. That may follow you even to your gravestone. But you know, in the western world it is more difficult to show people things with cartoons, they find them something really afar of their lives. Just look at how the era of cereals with mascots has nearly come to an end.

Now that I remember (and I should be really silly for not noticing that earlier), in my country there is a diaper brand called "Pequeñin" (like little one in English) that makes commercials mixed with real-life and cartoon, and the side character, the symbol of the brand, is a yellow duck. Let me know if you want to learn more hehe

You are very right in how cartoons and animation are not viewed positively in Western culture.

I will add how many people got their negative feelings as a result of seeing cartoons as nothing more than commercials to sell children toys, games, etc. However, having grown up in the 1980s, I remember the cartoons as helping me have a template for making my own adventures. I could not do what I do now as a writer if such simple cartoon shows did not exist.

For me, a cartoon does not need a plot if the viewer is able to find their own meaning. Original MLP and Transformers had stories that played out more like a child's imagination works than attempting to be real. I miss this in animation.

What really hurts is, as I've studied, the first shows we show children use the cartoons to show how anyone and everyone can be a friend. Sadly, as we age, the media presented to us becomes less playful, more serious, and not showing as much interaction between characters of different backgrounds. Violence then starts to be involved with a lot of 'us against them' that, to me, encourages prejudice and racism.

So Western culture creates its own monster by starting us off with how the world is vibrant, caring, and inclusive. It then gradually switches the content to being exclusive, fear, and lackluster.

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Sorry for long response. I would love to hear about the duckling mascot character for your country's diaper ads. :)

As you’ve probably noticed, for many children, the toys are an important part of bringing their favorite shows to life.

Ironically, there are characters in MLP that I wish Hasbro had made or licensed toys for. Such characters include Thorax, Ember, Terramar, and the reformed changelings in general. I also wish I could collect the Pillars of Old Equestria — especially Somnambula.

I have found figures of Sandbar, Smolder, and Silverstream. But I find no figures of Gallus, Ocellus, or Yona. There is one of Spike with wings, from a foreign Happy Meal. But I can find no eBay listings.

By the way, you can get your own Snowdrop plush for $19.95, including shipping: https://lunarshinestore.com/collect.....-filly-studios.

As MLP (the TV show) grew up, it started to remind me of one of those old cartoon sitcoms meant for adults and children alike. Except this was far more inspirational.

I'd like to think the show matured with age to better portray the characters it was following. Some characters did not get enough development but we do know that Fluttershy came to control her anger issues. (Perhaps Fluttershy was so shy and timid for fear of letting that nasty side come out? I know I repressed my rage after an incident where I really hurt my sister when I was about 13 years old.)

Rainbow Dash achieved her dream but didn't really mature much. This also goes for Rarity who, like Dash, achieved her dream but didn't quite change in how her 'generosity' could be questioned as being a 'what's in it for me?" kind of thing from time to time.

Applejack was, well, Applejack. She stayed the same, to me, during the whole series.

Pinkie Pie remained her unique self with maturity finally really coming through at the very end when she married Cheese sandwich.

Twilight, who was original core character, did evolve a few times but also had setbacks from writers who may not have known of her past experiences prior to making the script.

Starlight Glimmer made a lot of great strides in growth. Sunburst did, too, as his confidence finally started to blossom after the events of The Crystaling.

The 'Student Six' grew well and so did Ember and Thorax. Though we didn't quite get enough outside of knowing that Gallus went on to become the Shining Armor for Princess twilight.

I finally did get that next letter to you. Please feel free to continue the discussion there, or in a PM, as the screen reader is starting to get some trouble from all the data now on this post. *Blush*

When I saw that duck in that commercial, I thought she looked like a possible match for your character. She seems built a lot like your character — and looks possibly like an older kid who enjoys diapers. I found the parallels startling.

I really wish I could see what she looks like for myself. There were not a lot of duck characters around when I could still see and, well, there isn't a whole lot now. The irony is how ducklings and chicks are so synonomous with early childhood.

How did you like the way the advertisement wrote out? I tried to 'script' the whole thing to make it plausible to be a 15, or 30 second, commercial for TV.

Does she look older than Yosh? It'd certainly be neat to see who is the older of the two.

I made up her name. Calling her Bosomi Duck just didn't seem right and, based on Leon's description, she has that adorable tuft of hair / feathers that was popular in the 80s and 90s. I think they also called them, at least with 'Care Bears', kiss curls. So, in any case, I thought a name like Tuft would be cute and fitting.

I feel the blue duck does look possibly older than how your character has normally been presented. Even so, the proportions seem fairly similar.

The commercials put the diapered characters in a context that makes them feel like older children who love diapers. I keep thinking, I don’t think any company would try to get away with such a commercial in the U.S. By now, I’m accustomed to weird interests being fairly normal in Japan and South Korea.

I think the duck’s design was easily adapted to make her look like a distant relative to your character. In the above picture, they both seem like toddlers.

So far, I feel your idea for a commercial could work. However, the use of furries would probably be more suitable for Japan or South Korea, even with toddlers.

*Nods* I hear you there as, last I knew and have heard, furries / cartoon animals tend to not have a positive perception in American society. This is unfortunate as, in my years here and working towards positive mental health and advocacy, being a 'furry' helps people to feel safe when they may fear their true self may be met with negative response. (This has been commonly shown from those I've met who are on the spectrum and/or work with individuals on the spectrum)

What is interesting is, due to not seeing the ad myself, I only ever saw toddler-like characters. So I'd never have thought they would be presented as children over the normal age to still be in diapers.

I often thank God for blindness in how it has largely prevented me from making improper snap judgments of people based on their appearance. Some people ask me how I visualize them and, quite often, my guess is totally wrong. However I base my feelings on someone on their conversation style, friendliness, and other factors that, in all honesty, have no visual components beyond the human soul itself.

I never thought you would be so much at peace with losing your sight. The thought suddenly gets in my head — about Snowdrop helping a young stallion who has lost his sight.

Snowdrop knows nothing about sight — except that it lets people detect what they cannot hear, smell, or touch. Even so, she appreciates that the other pony has lost something he really treasures. Even though she cannot see, she becomes his seeing eyes.

Amost without trying, Snowdrop teaches “Broken Reed” how to see with his heart — rather than his eyes. Reed lost his sight partly because he was doing stupid things to be cool. Much of it was a vain attempt to find his cutie mark.

Only when Reed learns to see properly with his heart does he finally find his cutie mark. He cannot see it — but the feeling of it makes him feel complete.

This story would be a case of recursive fan fiction.

By the way, I had no idea that those on the autism spectrum are commonly attracted to the furry fanbase. Could this help explain the success of CWLTP?

Yes and no. Though the MLP fanbase did have a lot of fans on the spectrum.

The way I found out was through BronyCon 2013. My son, age 6 at the time, was in the 'Crusader Clubhouse' getting his face-painted while a mom and her daughter waited in line. Normally parents of children tended to avoid me like the black plague. However BronyCon was different and I was able to strike up a chat with the mom. She said something along the lines of...

"I'm here because my seven year old daughter, who has autism, seem to come out of her shell after starting to watch this show and I wanted to see what it was abut the show that caused this for my daughter.)

This was what hit the power button for me to get CWLTP proposed, eventually accepted, and the rest is history.

Then 2014 came and I found out the school my ex-wife works for had a classroom for students on the spectrum preparing to transition from school to their future outside of having such a support system. These students loved MLP and got me to start donating items from my personal collection to help encourage the students to work towards their success...

...and it worked!

There have been many different limitations represented by the team. However spectrum is the largest and most common.

When I worked the disability advocate in 2016, she was doing a research project on how cosplay helped those on the spectrum to come into themselves through characters, like Pinkie Pie. So this only furthered how the spectrum has gained a lot thanks to MLP.

If you ask folks in the care of individuals on the spectrum if they know MLP, they are most likely to say 'Yes'. :)

What is it about MLP that attracts those on the spectrum so much? What are your theories?

Could it be that the Mane 6 are largely easy for such people to relate to?

Twilight Sparkle, Luna, Starlight, and Sunburst are four of the characters I relate to most. I also find Maud, Mudbriar, and Quibble Pants surprisingly relatable. I find Sci-Twi possibly more relatable to me than Princess Twilight, though Princess Twilight feels more motherly. I also closely relate to Fluttershy, Spike, Thorax, Pharynx, and Ocellus.

Rainbow Dash’s kindness toward Quibble Pants and Scootaloo earns my respect for her as an icon for coping with limitations. That quality is where I really find common ground with her, apart from my love for speed. Also, she kind of represents my hyperactive side.

The characters I love the most are not necessarily always the ones I relate to most. Shining Armor, for example, may not have much in common with me other than his tough but gentle spirit. However, he doesn’t seem to consider himself too old for children’s things, as I recall. If I could meet him, maybe such a common interest would allow me to have a personal relationship with him.

The Student Six appeal to me mainly for including boys and other creatures. Their inclusive nature is what really draws me in. Gallus and Smolder may be surprisingly relatable to me because of their initial aversion toward friendship — along with representing the tougher side of love.

The way Sandbar reaches out to foreign creatures and stands up for them is what earns my great love for him, including as another icon for coping with limitations. Those qualities are where I really find my common ground with him.

I think Terramar strikes a big chord with me for some reason. Maybe he strikes me as a little shy. Autumn Blaze kind of represents my hyperactive side, and she represents my past struggles with constructively handling a bad temper.

Pinkie Pie also relates to my hyperactive side, though I find her to have poor comprehension of personal boundaries. She can also be grossly insensitive without apparently realizing it, though I have the misfortune of relating to that, too. Also, her tone of voice can be terribly grating. Princess Skystar does a better job validating my feelings of being a child at heart, along with Silverstream.

One of my favorite elements is the brotherhood between Spike — and the brotherhood between Thorax and Pharynx. The reform of the changelings was largely the work of two sensitive boys. Thorax and Pharynx seem to complement Celestia and Luna. Whereas Equestria has the two sisters, the new changeling kingdom has the two brothers.

You actually did a better job of answering the question than I would have. :)

I try not to pry too deeply into why a specific demographic is into something. This is because I don't want to make an internal stereotype that would make me presume someone on the spectrum would be into ponies. However I can say it is something that is not surprising to find out because of how, for over 5 years, the donations to the school were a smashing success. :)

Based on what I learned in working with other advocates, some of which do such work for their actual career, I can say that relating to a character and feeling free to express themselves as the character, through the character, etc. allows them to feel a lot more comfortable in public settings.

At BronyCon, you'd find a number of folks quite open to sharing their particular limitation and how MLP made them feel like they were a part of a caring community. So, as a whole, MLP appeals to anyone who is coping with having a physical and/or mental condition.

What I think happened is that the, as defined on Equestria Daily years ago, the Hipsters that got into pony opened a door to show liking a show like MLP was cool and acceptable. As the Hipsters left, those of us with limitations continued to churn out material for the fandom. However the nature of the internet provided the ability to not have to show we were any different from those who knew little to nothing about coping with a limitation. So nobody saw how those on the spectrum, along with other conditions, were producing content to further build on what had been initially started.

BronyCon, to me, was a place filled with individuals seeking community and acceptance outside of the internet. It was an event that allowed many of us who were 'different' to learn we were not alone in our struggles. Knowing you could be respected, understood, and welcomed in a large public setting without feeling like you were an oddity was very nice and will be missed deeply.