- Tech
-
-
Tech
The gadgets, platforms, and software that make your digital life possible. If it bleeps, clicks or blinks, you’ll find it here.
-
Devices
-
Categories
-
-
- Internet Culture
-
-
Internet Culture
-
Categories
-
Featured
-
-
- Streaming
-
-
Streaming
-
Services
-
Featured
-
-
- IRL
-
-
IRL
-
Categories
-
Featured
-
-
- Social
-
-
Social
-
Categories
-
Featured
-
-
- Live TV
-
-
Live TV
-
Services
-
Guides
-
-
- More
- Search
See all Editor's Picks →
See all Popular →
Represented by Complex Media, Inc. for advertising sales.
Privacy Policy Terms & Conditions Ethics
Latest
- Guy who runs Trump Organization Twitter account caught hyping up own tweet 1 Year Ago
- People found out how tall Olaf is–and now ‘Frozen’ is terrifying Today 3:41 PM
- Rapper Juice WRLD dead at 21 Today 3:02 PM
- Embody Andrew Yang, fight other presidential candidates in video game Today 2:33 PM
- Ariana Grande spoke with TikTok teen who looks exactly like her Today 1:00 PM
- Beyoncé accused of paying dancers ‘low rates’ Today 11:58 AM
- Timmy Thick blasted for saying the N-word in comeback video Today 9:11 AM
- Netflix’s ‘The Confession Killer’ is a devastating and well-built portrait of a con artist Today 8:00 AM
- Swipe This! I’m ashamed to tell anyone about my online shopping habit Today 6:00 AM
- UPS facing backlash for thanking police after employee killed in shootout Saturday 5:02 PM
- Sanders campaign fires staffer after anti-Semitic, homophobic tweets surface Saturday 3:13 PM
- Brother Nature was attacked, says everyone just watched with phones out Saturday 2:45 PM
- Ryan Reynolds’ gin company hires Peloton wife for ad Saturday 1:24 PM
- Ex-vegan YouTuber accused of fraud after following meat-only diet Saturday 1:11 PM
- The 15 best Disney+ hidden gems and deep cuts Saturday 12:23 PM
‘Hide the Pain Harold’ plays his meme character in commercial for gaming laptop
‘Harold wins!’
András Arató, known on the internet as “Hide the Pain Harold,” is now using his meme persona to sell tech products. In a commercial for the German retail site Otto, Arató plays Harold, the character based on a series of stock photos that he posed for several years ago. Two delivery men appear at his door with an Acer Predator gaming laptop, and Harold quickly grabs it and starts playing a game. The delivery men, meanwhile, look around the house and notice framed photos of the stock photos where Harold looks like he is smiling while hiding his pain. It’s a commercial you’d appreciate only if you’ve been on the internet for a while, but since it is advertising laptops, it seems like the company knows its target market well.
Check out the commercial here:
In an interview with the Daily Dot earlier this year, Arató said that he was comfortable with his “Harold” persona—he regularly updates his social accounts and chats with fans. Although being an internet meme hasn’t made him rich, he has led a fulfilling career as a lighting technician. He accidentally became a stock photo model after a photographer noticed Arató’s selfies online and sold the photos to a website. Then people on the internet saw the photos and turned Arató in a meme.
It looks like “Harold” isn’t going away, especially if Arató happily agrees to keep acting out the character. Earlier this year, he appeared in a music video for Cloud 9+ and a video about Manchester for the website Dugout. With this commercial, it looks like Harold is only getting more popular with his fanbase.

Tiffany Kelly
Tiffany Kelly is the Unclick editor at Daily Dot. Previously, she worked at Ars Technica and Wired. Her writing has appeared in several other print and online publications, including the Los Angeles Times, Popular Mechanics, and GQ.