Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Video of the Day: Don't Judge a Girl by Her Voice
Subbed and self-explanatory!
This ad stars indie movie star, Ryo Kase. This first aired during the Japan-Korea World Cup 2002. As an avid soccer fan myself, I find this hilarious and memorable. All in all, a great ad typical of the Japanese.
Asia's Mixing Bowl of Asience
Advertising isn't typically thought of as a cultural movement, but after TSUBAKI's success in changing Japanese women's perspective on beauty, it's now much more relevant as a powerful medium.
Japanese cosmetic giant, Kao, released a shampoo series called Asience two years ago. Asience's message is similar to TSUBAKI's, but except for focusing on the beauty of Japanese women, Asience gives nods to Asian women in general. This campaign actually preceded TSUBAKI's, and airs in multiple Asian countries. It also carries the ambitious goal of marketing to an entire continent and aims to bring countries together under the umbrella of "Asian Beauty."
To do so, Asience hires continent-wide famous actresses or models to front the campaign. The first one to debut in Japan was the version starring Zhang Ziyi, of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fame.
Although I admire the message behind the campaign, and think its really important to unite different Asian cultures, I'm not particularly fond of the way Asience executed the ads. In terms of art direction, Asience comes across as a lot more cheesier than TSUBAKI. I mean, the fireworks at the end of the ad kind of say it all.
The latest Japanese ad features Korean movie star, Jun Ji Hyun, who found fame in Asia after starring in, My Sassy Girl, which is now considered a classic among Asian cinema fans.
Compared to TSUBAKI, the ad didn't reach much commercial success within Japan. However, the boldness of Kao to bring in Chinese and Korean stars to front their campaign locally is worth a great pat on the back, especially when politics between these countries still run high with tension.
Japanese cosmetic giant, Kao, released a shampoo series called Asience two years ago. Asience's message is similar to TSUBAKI's, but except for focusing on the beauty of Japanese women, Asience gives nods to Asian women in general. This campaign actually preceded TSUBAKI's, and airs in multiple Asian countries. It also carries the ambitious goal of marketing to an entire continent and aims to bring countries together under the umbrella of "Asian Beauty."
To do so, Asience hires continent-wide famous actresses or models to front the campaign. The first one to debut in Japan was the version starring Zhang Ziyi, of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fame.
Although I admire the message behind the campaign, and think its really important to unite different Asian cultures, I'm not particularly fond of the way Asience executed the ads. In terms of art direction, Asience comes across as a lot more cheesier than TSUBAKI. I mean, the fireworks at the end of the ad kind of say it all.
The latest Japanese ad features Korean movie star, Jun Ji Hyun, who found fame in Asia after starring in, My Sassy Girl, which is now considered a classic among Asian cinema fans.
Compared to TSUBAKI, the ad didn't reach much commercial success within Japan. However, the boldness of Kao to bring in Chinese and Korean stars to front their campaign locally is worth a great pat on the back, especially when politics between these countries still run high with tension.
Hi-Chew's Chewy High
Morinaga's Hi-Chew candies are soft taffy candy that resemble American Starbursts. Except they're better. And way more addictive.
A few years ago, as Hi-Chew's sales were in a slump, it went through an image overhaul and began to make ads under the "Eat Hi-Chew, Be Happy" (Kucchara Hapi Hapi Hi-Chew) campaign. This campaign marked a very different approach for the company--mainly using popular celebrities in the weirdest situations with talking pieces of candy.
When I mean weirdest situations, I do mean weirdest:
The first two feature Ayumi Hamasaki, whom I previously blogged about in the Panasonic post. She no longer endorses them, and was replaced by another popular singer in 2005. Here's his latest commercial:
The ad is to promote a new line of Hi-Chew candies that now come with little flavor bubbles. It stars Tsuyoshi Domoto, one half of the pop boyband duo, KinKi Kids (try not to read much into their name; KinKi is name of their hometown).
A few years ago, as Hi-Chew's sales were in a slump, it went through an image overhaul and began to make ads under the "Eat Hi-Chew, Be Happy" (Kucchara Hapi Hapi Hi-Chew) campaign. This campaign marked a very different approach for the company--mainly using popular celebrities in the weirdest situations with talking pieces of candy.
When I mean weirdest situations, I do mean weirdest:
The first two feature Ayumi Hamasaki, whom I previously blogged about in the Panasonic post. She no longer endorses them, and was replaced by another popular singer in 2005. Here's his latest commercial:
Basically, the main character is about to enter a public bath with his "Hi-Chew" friend, when he points at him in disgust saying "Your skin is full of little bubbles!" The candy retorts that his skin isn't any better, and the two end up doing this lovely dance in the middle of the galaxy.
The ad is to promote a new line of Hi-Chew candies that now come with little flavor bubbles. It stars Tsuyoshi Domoto, one half of the pop boyband duo, KinKi Kids (try not to read much into their name; KinKi is name of their hometown).
All Hail King Dentsu
Dentsu Inc., is undeniably the King of Advertising in Japan.
With a monopoly over 60% of the industry, it regularly churns out many funny and impressionable ads, many which have been mentioned in this blog. Out of the Top 10 Ads of 2007, Dentsu is responsible for five of them. It also posts an annual revenue sales of about one billion yen.
Some of the ads Dentsu has created include the SoftBank campaigns, Dakara, Boss, DoCoMo 2.0, etc. Because of its phenomenal success, it's also one of the most popular and hardest company to enter as an employee.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Sony Colored Stories
Continuing the exploration of Japan's obsession with the "mega-ad-campaign," I recall an earlier Sony commercial from 2003 that garnered lots of attention thanks to it's two stars.
The two actors, Shibasaki Kou and Odagiri Joe, play a couple who's love is concreted by the magical Sony MD Walkman, which was just released at the time.
Cringing yet? The ads are just as cheesy as they sound. But at the same time, it leaves the fan girl in me giggling. And the MDs are purty.
The campaign was based on four consecutively released clips, titled "Red," "Blue," "Silver" stories with an additional "Soundgate" special edition. Have a look:
Red Story:
Blue Story:
Soundgate Edition:
The two actors, Shibasaki Kou and Odagiri Joe, play a couple who's love is concreted by the magical Sony MD Walkman, which was just released at the time.
Cringing yet? The ads are just as cheesy as they sound. But at the same time, it leaves the fan girl in me giggling. And the MDs are purty.
The campaign was based on four consecutively released clips, titled "Red," "Blue," "Silver" stories with an additional "Soundgate" special edition. Have a look:
Red Story:
Blue Story:
Soundgate Edition:
Many Faces of Shibuya 109 (pt. II)
I previously posted an entry introducing one of Tokyo's most famous buildings, Shibuya 109.
Besides of its architectural uniqueness and billboard, it is also where a late 90s fashion trend, known as the gyaru or ganguro fashion began. If these terms aren't familiar to you, maybe these images are:
This type of gyaru style is one of Shibuya 109's characteristics, which became a staple of Tokyo fashion as a result of increasing pro-Western and pro-African American mindsets. Since the gyaru trend considerably died down since the turn of the millennium, it's increasingly hard to find girls fully decked out and made up like the black-face painted girls above. But their styles of fashion still remain similar and are unmistakably Shibuya.
Shops in 109 are all concentrated on this particular type of fashion. Think flashy, sexy, and colorful clothing inspired by cheesy trance/techno music. It's obvious that the store fronts in 109 themselves are equally flashy and overwhelming. Here's a clip from a tourist walking around a floor:
Even the two Japanese tour guides who lead the camera can be heard saying, "Too much..."
If you concentrate, you can probably hear a high-pitched, nasal voice repeat the phrase irrashaimase!(translation: "Welcome!") over and over.
This is a type of shop advertising shopkeepers in Japan use to try and differentiate themselves from competitors. While it started this way, now this kind of high-pitched welcome is a staple in Japanese stores all over Tokyo, not only in Shibuya.
The sound of these shopkeepers aren't only funny to foreigners, but even to local Japanese. It helped launch the career of a current "it-comedian," Yanagihara Kanako. Her debut gag was based on these Shibuya 109 storekeepers, and immediately became a hit. Below is a clip of her actually performing her gag in front of real Shibuya 109 store clerks.
Besides of its architectural uniqueness and billboard, it is also where a late 90s fashion trend, known as the gyaru or ganguro fashion began. If these terms aren't familiar to you, maybe these images are:
This type of gyaru style is one of Shibuya 109's characteristics, which became a staple of Tokyo fashion as a result of increasing pro-Western and pro-African American mindsets. Since the gyaru trend considerably died down since the turn of the millennium, it's increasingly hard to find girls fully decked out and made up like the black-face painted girls above. But their styles of fashion still remain similar and are unmistakably Shibuya.
Shops in 109 are all concentrated on this particular type of fashion. Think flashy, sexy, and colorful clothing inspired by cheesy trance/techno music. It's obvious that the store fronts in 109 themselves are equally flashy and overwhelming. Here's a clip from a tourist walking around a floor:
Even the two Japanese tour guides who lead the camera can be heard saying, "Too much..."
If you concentrate, you can probably hear a high-pitched, nasal voice repeat the phrase irrashaimase!(translation: "Welcome!") over and over.
This is a type of shop advertising shopkeepers in Japan use to try and differentiate themselves from competitors. While it started this way, now this kind of high-pitched welcome is a staple in Japanese stores all over Tokyo, not only in Shibuya.
The sound of these shopkeepers aren't only funny to foreigners, but even to local Japanese. It helped launch the career of a current "it-comedian," Yanagihara Kanako. Her debut gag was based on these Shibuya 109 storekeepers, and immediately became a hit. Below is a clip of her actually performing her gag in front of real Shibuya 109 store clerks.
The Great Gatsby
Here is Japan's never aging-pop idol, Kimura Takuya, fronting the hair gel brand, Gatsby.
Wow, he's even prettier than I....
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