Have you seen this television commercial?

An elegantly dressed woman, played by actress Ziyi Zhang (of "Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon" fame), is sitting in a sophisticated French
restaurant.  The waiter brings her a bowl of soup, she tastes it, and
says "The soup is too salty".  The entire restaurant screeches to a
silent halt.  The waiter runs into the kitchen to tell the chef, who
becomes stark raving mad.  He runs out into the dinner room to argue
with the woman diner, and a huge melee results, with kitchen knives
being thrown and tables smashed, while the woman dodges and flips, gives
out flying kicks, and runs along the side of the walls.  Finally, when
only the woman is left standing at the end, a last waiter comes up and
says, "Madame, what about the bill?"  She takes what looks like a
throwing knife of some kind, and flings it at him.  However, it turns
out it is just a VISA card.  The commercial was longer than usual,
perhaps two minutes, with high production values and a very similar
"look and feel" to the "Crouching Tiger" movie.

This question is unusual, in the sense that ANYONE can answer it
correctly, and the more answers, the better.  A correct answer can be
one of two forms:

1) "NO, I have not seen it", and you tell me roughly where you
live(state/city/country).

2) "YES, I have seen it", and you tell me roughly where you live, how
long ago you saw it, and if possible, which network it was on.

I'm not sure who gets the $10; I'll leave that up to google answers
arbitration.

Dear maho-ga,

No, I have not seen this commercial, although it does sound
interesting.

I live in the State of California.  I reside in a small city called
Glendale.  Furthermore, my place of residence is located in the United
States of America.

---

Request for Answer Clarification by maho-ga on 21 Jun 2002 09:24 PDT

It's hard to get enthusiastic about this answer.

Thanks to all the other google researchers who left their comments,
both the yeas and the nays.

A very literal answer of the question, that didn't show much research.
 However, it is an answer of the question as asked.

Hi Maho-ga,

No, I have not seen this commercial --- though I wish I had!!!

I live in a small town in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. 

websearcher-ga

I haven't seen this commercial either, but I live in the United
Kingdom, so I don't suppose I was ever likely to.

I have seen this commmerical, and thought it was really cute. I
remember it sticking out in my mind because of that actress. I live in
Atlanta, Georgia, and from what I can remember I was at home in
Atlanta when I saw that commercial.

Please allow me to clarify the question.

What I really want to know is: has the commercial ever been shown on
TV in the U.S., and where/when?  A definitive "YES" would tell me what
I want to know, whereas a bunch of "NO" answers would probably cause
me to conclude it hasn't been shown.

Ideal would be some way of PROVING that it had or hadn't been shown,
but I don't know how that could be done.

Suzanne's answer, because it is a YES, is what I want to hear.

Suzanne, can you elaborate on your experience and share your impressions?

Any more YES answers out there?

Thanks.

No, I have not seen this commercial although it sounds really great. 
I live in San Diego, California, USA and watch television everyday.

No, I have not seen this commercial.  I hope I do!
I live in central Indiana north of where they race the cars.
Tan-ga

I haven't seen the above commercial.  I live in Philadelphia, Pennyslvania, USA.

I have seen it as well, I live in Los Angeles, CA.  I don't remember
exactly when, but it sounds like a spot created for an event like the
Oscars.

I live in Atlanta.  I think I saw it but I might just be creating the
memory from your vivid description.  I saw the movie so it's easy to
picture the scene.  Why do you care about this?  Are you from the
Neilson's or something?

I have not seen the commercial though I haven't watched much TV recently.

Info about the commercial at

http://www.visa-asia.com/offers/tvc_index.shtml
http://www.kungfucinema.com/news/2001-12-10-02.htm
http://www.ziyiforever.net/media/videos/commercials/

Yes.

I'm in Singapore.

I have seen this on the local free to air TV channels. The last time
it aired was a think a few months back.

Let me add.

It appears to be screened in 2 versions here. A longer version can be
seen when it is displayed in move theathers, and a shorter TV
version..

Is anyone else grumbling because AdCritic.com hasn't re-launched yet? 
I'd like to see this one!

(Sorry Maho, that's a big, disappointed NO from Ohio's "Glass City")

missy-ga

missy-ga:  you *can* see it!  It's hosted on the Zhang Ziyi fan site:

http://www.ziyiforever.net/media/videos/commercials/

Download is slow right now, but it appears to actually be there.

No I have not seen this commercial (until now on the web)
Long Island/New York/USA

Mother911-ga

I have not seen it: Orlando, FL.

Hello again,

I typically read while watching TV (confirmed multi-tasker) and
normally I don't pay attention to commercials unless it has a cool
music and I raise my head.
Although I don't remember if there was any music, and I'm not exactly
sure what made me glance at the commercial, but I do remember that
once I saw that actress I automatically knew it *had* to be a very
cool commercial.
I know it's available online, and I won't view it until I have posted
this so I know my answer isn't tainted.
Odd thing is, the part that stuck out in my mind the most was not the
hilarity that ensues because of the salty soup, but because of the
Visa card being thrown at the end. Wish I could explain why that part
sticks out the most, but I'm not even sure why.
By the way, I have no idea of when I actually saw the commercial.

After seeing the commercial online. The fight scene sticks out the
most now instead of the ending. I think it's one of those top quality
commercials out there that I don't mind watching a view times during
my favourite TV shows.
Hope this answers your question better. 
Take care,
Suzanne

Thanks, Suzanne, I enjoyed your response.  I wish there were some way
to give you the $10!

YES, I have seen this ad.  

I live in Wellington, New Zealand.
I last saw this advert two weeks ago - roughly.
It's screened regularly on all of New Zealands national networks of
which there are three:  TVNZ (2 channels) and  TV 3.

The ad is for VISA and ends with a rather trite comment: "What! No
tip?!!"

A great gung-ho ad....although with my current VISA limit, it's not
something I'd be tempted to try in a restaurant near me.

Yes - I have seen the commercial several times and remember it well.
Loved it.

I'm in Sydney Australia, it was aired regularly here a few months ago
(our summer time) on the major commercial networks. I wish they'd
bring it back.