Because We Too, Are Beautiful

 

On the surface, this may seem like your typical beautiful, yet over the top shampoo commercial. Yet the TSUBAKI campaign is significant in that it's one of the first ads to proudly declare the beauty of Japanese women. Most other shampoo ads in Japan had always featured foreigners, again highlighting how in Japan, the standard of beauty is of the West.

TSUBAKI and their tagline "The Women of Japan are Beautiful," aim to change this. While this certainly isn't the first shampoo ad to include Japanese women, this type of in-your-face "declaration" is a first.

Since it's debut in 2006, TSUBAKI has signed on dozens of spokesmodels, mainly actresses and models. Featured below are actress Aoi Yuu and model, Watanabe Ann (who btw, is The Last Samurai's Ken Watanabe's daugther).

"Japanese women are starting to have confidence in themselves," said Yoko Kawashima of Itochu Fashion System, a marketing company.

But now, young people are taking a different cue from Westerners and rediscovering sushi, manga animation, kimono and other elements of Japanese culture, said Kawashima, who has written a book about the success of Shiseido's branding strategy.

"Shiseido has totally changed the shampoo market," Ikegami said. "Tsubaki has become more like a Louis Vuitton bag."

The Tsubaki story reflects broader societal changes in Japan, and some say future marketing will choose images that are even closer to home.

According to this same IHT article, TSUBAKI raked in $155 million in its first year sales.

Culturally, this ad has also spawned a slew of imitators trying to adapt the same concept to their own niche. For example, I've seen "Ninja Women are Beautiful," or "The Women of [Insert Favorite Anime] are Beautiful" video clips on YouTube. Sadly, none measure up to the original.

WELCOME Yookoso Nihon he!