Pop Princess' Panasonic

If you've read through some of my older posts, you may have noticed a trend in Japanese advertising that revolves around the magnetic power of the celebrity.

Panasonic, a worldwide powerhouse for electronics, has hired "Empress of J-Pop," Ayumi Hamasaki, as their spokesmodel since 2002. Each ad in the campaign transforms Hamasaki into a different character; sometimes she's a traditional, kimono-clad woman, other times she's a British countess sitting in a train through the UK countryside. Part of the allure of the campaign is seeing what Panasonic and Ayu, as she's known as from fans, will do next.

Hamasaki, who holds the record for the highest single sales in Jpop history, comes with a hefty price. For Panasonic to stay loyal to her for over five years (and show no signs of stopping), shows how effective she is a product spokesmodel. A continuous contract of so long is quite rare in the Japanese advertising industry, making her a steady example against the fickle world of the entertainment business.

Here's one of her TV spots from 2003:



And her latest one in 2007:



One of her campaigns from before stressed the new slim model of the Lumix cameras. Her connection to it was her own slim frame, with an incredibly low body fat percentage of 15.

Annoying izzinit.