During a day trip to any surrounding city, be it Kyoto, Osaka, or Nara, it is quite evident that Japan embraces the outside world. From the moment I leave the Seminar House I lose count on how many times I pass by Tommy Lee Jones. Not literally of course, but if you don’t know what I mean, you need to go out more! Jones is a spokesperson for Boss Coffee and supposedly fits the profile maybe because he looks like the guy on the can. But when I asked the Japanese students at Kansai Gaidai who the guy was, recognizable on all boss coffee vending machine…no one could put a name to the face. There are also a variety of TV commercials where Jones is an alien in disguise and observes the human race making notes on the behaviour and such of the Japanese and after a long days work he rewards himself with a Boss Coffee! I assume this idea is slightly related to M.I.B (Men in Black).
Many Japanese businesses create cute mascots to promote their products. The biggest competitor of this cute phenomenon is that of a foreign face. Many American actors and musical artists advertise for Japanese mass consumer products. This strikes me as odd especially if the products they are endorsing aren’t even use outside of Japan. Take Cameron Diaz for example. She has teamed up with SoftBank. In all of the commercials Diaz is shown talking and walking down the street surrounded by other foreigners. So, she seemingly doesn’t even have to leave the country to shoot a commercial that airs in Japan!
Softbank renamed their company from Vodafone and has introduced a new concept to the cellphone craze—zero yen plan. The article "Cameron Diaz presses all the right buttons for SoftBank" by Asia Media, explains that SoftBank commercials differ from other phone companies because they omit dialogue or a catch phrase. Diaz is simply nothing more than an over paid blond with a pretty smile.
As illustrated in the film The Japanese Version, it is apparent that when walking along any street in Japan, not matter how remote, it is not that difficult to see global influences around you! I often here the claim that everything in Japan is uniquely Japanese, yet the all of the “must have” products are ironically advertised by foreigners. So why are they so fascinated in American culture? I think it goes without saying (but I’ll spell it out anyway)…everyone wants what they can’t have.
1 comment:
I like your first photo because you have to examine it closely to see how it illustrates your text. Too bad you couldn't have done a similar thing with your second photo. YouTube clips are helpful and fun. Japan has a long history of using foreign talent in TV commercials (as was illustrated in "The Japanese Version" film). The Softbank ads (Softbank bought out Vodofone in Japan) I believe are an example of viral advertising - there is no real message rather we are supposed to be wowed by the CM and then talk with others about it to figure out what it is.
P.S. Congrats on the Halloween costume contest. Maybe somebody might want to use your beaver character in a TV commercial...
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