One of the more random aspects of life in Japan is seeing famous Hollywood actors appear in TV commercials, Lost in Translation style, like Brad Pitt hawking Edwin brand jeans or “Roots” canned coffee, or Quentin Tarantino showing up in a Softbank ad with the lovely Aya Ueto and the dog “Otosan”. The making of Japanese TV commercials with American stars can get quite involved, like the series of “24” shorts in which Jack Bauer battles terrorists in Tokyo then eats Calorie Mate, or the Georgia Coffee commercials which follow Dale Cooper as he solves a new mystery in Twin Peaks. Tommy Lee Jones has played a space alien living in Tokyo to observe human society for more than a decade now, and makes a good living at it — supposedly he gets a cool $1.5 million for each 30 second TV spot. This week George Cloony is appearing in an ad for a new “beer” by Kirin — I put that in quotes since it’s legally not beer but 発泡酒 happou-shu, a low-malt beer-like beverage that’s taxed at a lower rate than true beer. Back in the day, I’d watch TV commercials with Dennis Hopper playing with a rubber ducky in a bath and say, gee, wouldn’t it be nice if people outside Japan to see these? Thankfully YouTube showed up, making it possible to watch most of these bizarre TV commercials from Japan.
Some famous faces in Japanese TV commercials.
