Japanese Ads
Japanese TV has some truly unique ads. The Western celebrity is always popular, but poking fun at such people gets tired after a while. Besides, the field of Japanese ads is both wide and varied. Below are some of our favourites:
This ad is for Anabuki a construction company specialising in mansions (Japanese residental high-rises). Anabu-kin-chan is Little Red Riding Hood. The company's name is similar, hence the ad. I have no idea what the enlarged breasts and testicles have to do with anything, but this is Japanese TV, and sense often takes a back seat.
This is our favourite ad here, ever since it started screening in August 2002. The daughter wants to buy the dog. "Out of the question," says dad, until he, too, sees the dog. It's for Aiful, a Japanese loan company. Bonus didn't come through? Can't afford the dog? Take a loan! Credit companies are doing brisk business in Japan at the moment.
The second ad in the series started airing in February 2003. The protaginists from the previous instalment return. The dad's bought the dog, and wouldn't it look just daaaarling in this doggy tuxedo?
Another loan company, this one features a group of scantily-dressed women dancing. There's not even the slightest effort to relate this to the loan company at all.
The third big loan company drumming for business at the moment. It features a cute young woman, cheerfully manning the phones in the call centre, before singing the company jingle, "Hajime de no Acomu!" (Acom for the first time).
"How are you?"
"I'm fine... brew! He he he!"
A classic if you've ever taught English here in Japan.
Dakara is a sports-type drink, similar to Pocari Sweat. The ads are truly bizarre, and feature white marble statues of a boy urinating into a pond. The statues talk to each other, and then usually start pissing. I don't think you'd get it on Australian TV, but Japanese people don't seem to have a drama with bodily functions on TV.
Sekiseui House is a housing construction company. The ads are ok, but its the way they pronounce the name of the company as 'Sexy House' that's the kicker.
Aargh! If there's an ad I hate more than this one, I don't know what it is! Gogo Tea has THE most annoying ads on Japanese TV, featuring teen pop idol Aya Matsura doing a retarded little dance while she's pouring a glass of ocha. She pauses to take a drink, and then "Aaah!"
Japan has some strangely-shaped cars, but the Cube takes the cake. It's a station wagon that is totally square, but the big claim is how much room it is. Hence the ad, "Cube My Room". Which doesn't make sense, and is annoying from a grammatical perspective, but also endearing that Nissan, despite being a massive company with worldwide resources, can't find someone with enough English to put a verb in that sentence. Not that anyone here would notice...
Scene: a massive office, with only 2 people - a busy executive and a harried, young secretary - at opposite ends at the room. He calls her on his phone, "Bring the report!" It takes her 10 seconds to run to his end of the office. She gives him the report, and is halfway back to her desk when her phone rings. She looks back to see the executive calling with another request.
andrewandkathleen was meant to be a place to chuck our photos and diaries of our time in Japan. Since then it's transformed into a way of letting our friends and family know what we've been up to!
We've been together since high school, married since 2005. We've travelled and lived in different cities and different countries and are now trying to work out whether we're settling down or having a rest!
