A little vinegar for your choke?

How to get noticed in 2007 if you're an old-timey Japanese condiment maker: build a robot that puts Darth Vader to shame.

What was the Tamanoi Vinegar Corporation thinking when it asked Tokyo-based entertainment firm buildup Co. to construct a Sith-like pitchman?

Well, it seems the robot's appearance was inspired by the company's "black vinegar" products. It will do presentations about them through prerecorded voice and gestures.

Nearly 6 feet tall, the "Tamanoi Vinegar Robot" runs on an air-servo system and has 24 joints. The dusky droid will be hawking Tamanoi's sour stuff at a theater in its Osaka head office starting in July, the 100th anniversary of the firm's establishment.

There's a video of Darth Vinegar here.