I do so love Japanese commercials.

[Rowne]

I can't help but think that there has to be something strange in the water over there ... that or there's something mixed into their air filtration systems or food.  Perhaps their television stations are legally allowed to use subliminal messages, which would explain why I find them so irrationally amusing.

Still, since the days of Sega ads (how I miss thee, Segata Sanshiro ... and the Chu-Chu Rocket advert was grand, too), I haven't really seen a Japanese advert that's made me chuckle.  Today I came across one, primarily because I was curious about the supposedly official Final Fantasy XIII "potion" drink (which according to Greg Dean tastes like ten thousand asses).

They're completely off their nuts, aren't they?  And I respect that.  I do.

[Aridas]

They've come up with worse, I think...

[insanekaosx]

Haha, I've been looking for a link to that since I first saw it.... then lsot the link >>

Good stuff I almost went to the.... auction I think it was at Anime Boston because one of the prizes had a bottle of that

And yes, they have worse. They have commercials I came back home from and couldn't even DESCRIBE!

[Aridas]

I just notised that insanekaosx has FF (the number) posts right now, in a topic sort of related to FF (the game)

[Rowne]

Aridas: No doubt.

Still, very few of the really bad ones actually rise even a snicker out of me, they're just too obvious and dull.  This though was two Japanese dorks living out their (final?) fantasy on national television and that, in particular, amuses me greatly.

It's not Segata Sanshiro but it'll do.

insanekaosx: If it really does taste as Greg Dean claims, then you should consider yourself lucky.  Sometimes, things in Japan (and even America, from what I've seen) sell purely on the marketing value alone, rather than the quality of the goods.

After all, almost every self-respecting gamer would buy at least one soda named "Potion".

I wouldn't drink mine though.  I'd introduce it to radioactive source before putting it in cold storage for ten years.  Then I'd get someone else to drink it.

----

Thanks to a friend of mine on the IM networks, I've been introduced to another advert that's made me laugh.

Cha-Cha!

Pocky fans have likely seen that nonsense, though.

... this is going to turn into a "post the best Japanese adverts you've ever seen" thread, isn't it?

I've derailed my own thread.  Ohnoes.

[Sid]

To re-rail your thread a bit:
I've also read about "Potion" on Kotaku a while ago. They pretty much echoed what Greg thinks about it, even though they were somewhat more thorough (posting quote since the direct link doesn't work somehow, sorry for the resulting long post)

It's about 10:30 p.m. and I just cracked the seal on my Final Fantasy XII potion. I'm feeling relatively healthy and all symptoms of my weekend flu have disappeared. Here goes.

Hmmm, the "potion" smells like some wicked mixture of mouthwash, cough syrup and Gatorade. I'm not feeling good about this.

Wow, I have no idea how to explain what this tastes like. Drinking bubble gum? Ooooh, every sip is different, that one was very tart. Flat 7-Up? Rancid lemonade? Why the hell do I keep drinking this?

It feels like the four or five sips of potion have actually coated my mouth with a thin layer of rancid. It's like instant cotton mouth... maybe they should have called it Rancid Cotton Mouth instead of Potion.

Ewwwww, man. I just chugged half the bottle. It made me shudder, shudder. Like when you drink spoiled milk or are half way through a swig of beer and something bumps into your lips. (Don't ask).

Having recently spent the day vomiting, I can say the taste is familiar.

Holy God, I just figured out why it's called Potion, it magically replenishes itself with bile. Actually, it does sort of taste like bile. I can't believe I'm only like a tenth of the way into the bottle.

I'm gonna go run and get some ice, maybe it will be better cold. Chilled bile.

Just poured out half of the bottle over three ice cubes resting in a tumbler. The stuff is actually tinted blue. I'm going to let it sit for a bit and get cold.

Maybe I'm not supposed to be drinking this. Could it be just for display?

Checking...

Nope, it's consumable. I checked with Ashcraft. If they find me dead tomorrow with a bloated black tongue sticking out from between my lips blame him.

He says that's what Genki drinks all taste like. Hmmm, I wonder if Genki is Japanese for bile?

OK, now I'm just stalling. Back to the drink. It appears to be sufficiently cold.

Tinkle, tinkle.

Tastes like cold bile. Lol. Just kidding, it's a bit better. Taste a little bit like acrid Gatorade.

OK, I've emptied the bottle into the tumbler. I'm just going to kill it. Whooo, I hate when a taste actually makes me lose control of my facial muscles for a second or two. Couldn't make it all the way through the glass, but almost there.

I just asked Ashcraft what's in Potion. Maybe I should have asked him that before I cracked open the bottle. Ohh, he blogged it. One sec. Hmm, can't find it, our search engine really sucks.

Uh oh, my stomach is gurgling.

Must finish drink.

Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle.

And done.

Yeah, that was no good.

I'll let you know if I grow wings or learn to spell.

Update: It's almost 12 hours later and my stomach is still gurgling and my heart racing. Yeah, it's definitely an energy drink. On the plus side, it still feels like my mouth was coated in rancid milk. Yum.

(And Segata Sanshiro had the BEST theme song EVER.)

[Rowne]

... that could practically be classed as biological warfare.

Also, everything about Segata Sanshiro is the best of what it is.  That man is a legend and Sega were genius for making him such a cultural icon.  I miss Sega, back when Sega were cool.

[KarlOmega1]

I guess this is a good place to mention this then:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpJHAxa-N80

[RJ]

Read this: http://community.livejournal.com/societyofsoap/1237.html#cutid2

Equally as strange are Japanese commercials. Many commercials are guaranteed to have at least one of three things: a cute mascot or animal, a popular Japanese celebrity, or a Caucasian person. Many commercials also feature colorful backgrounds, and random Japanese people acting like lunatics.

[Rowne]

It's so true.

Though I think the reason I've come to love Japanese ads so much is because long ago, back in the 80's and the 90's of the UK, we had ads that were just as bad.

We'd have crazed Scottish men dancing about a house screaming that there was a moose, loose, aboot this hoose, an even more nutty fellow dancing around a very pretty garden with a veg dinner to promote a brand of gravy and penguins that liked to defy gravity and walk along cielings, just to explain to us why beer was great.

Then British advertising suddenly became more sober and I lost interest.  When adverts stop trying to be completely bonzo and actually start trying to sell me their horrid goods, I lose interest.

There's still the occasional British ad that catches my attention though and amuses me, like that advert featuring a dancing transformer.

[Zina]

I honestly think the Japanese know what they're doing when it comes to advertising. Weird and insane commercials certainly help you remember what the product they're selling is.
I noticed that the weirder commercials tended to be for drinks, such as different cold green tea drinks, energy drinks or coffee. Probably because there were so many different brands and options for the everyday consumer(no really. In any given convience store, you have about 20 choices of cold green tea) that they have to go to extremes to outshine the competition. Some offered TOYS that came with the bottle and some had some of the most insane commercials I had ever seen. And then the next day I would go to a convience store and see the the product and think "Oh HEY. The commercial for that was WHACKY. I have to try it." No really. They got my drinking Fanta because they commercials for it were just THAT insane.
Oh Japan. You crazy kids.

[LigerJet]

FANTA FANTA!  Do you wanna Fanta?

[insanekaosx]

FANTA FANTA!  Do you wanna Fanta?

FANTA FANTA, WANNA FANTA?

trust me, I should know. They had that damned ad playing in Anarchy Online on free accounts ><

[LigerJet]

That sounds horrible!

[Roureem Egas]

I've seen the ad only once, and I still remember it. Damn Fanta.

[Zedd]

Why do the japanese transformers toy comericals have more action??