"Japanese ninja, samurai and courtesans star in new Red Bull ad set in Edo period"

Fun video - enjoy. No product endorsement intended.

Source: Japan Today, 9/20/17. https://japantoday.com/category/entertainment/japanese-ninja-samurai-and-courtesans-star-in-new-red-bull-ad-set-in-edo-period

The solutions to all of your modern First World problems...

Some fun globalization stuff... No product endorsement intended. First the problem:

Then the problem solvers:

And then see the product in action!



Choku Fish web page: http://www.choku.dk/

Funny/Weird Japan-related Videos

"Can you spot what’s odd about this Japanese classroom?"

From Japan Today, October 23, 2015

So what about this commercial? It looks so normal at first; it’s just a bunch of high school girls hanging out in a classroom, playing a guitar, reading, whatever. But then, right in the middle, something happens. Watch it for yourself and see if you can figure it out before the reveal.

...

In the end this was a SHISEIDO makeup commercial, and they finish with the tagline “anyone can be cute.” Hear that guys? There’s nothing wrong with a little exfoliation/moisturization in your life.



Source: http://www.japantoday.com/category/lifestyle/view/can-you-spot-whats-odd-about-this-japanese-classroom

"Oita lures travelers with wonderful montage of synchronized hot spring bathing"

From Japan Today, October 24, 2015

For prefectures to separate themselves from the rest and showcase what makes them special, they have to do something grand. In Oita Prefecture, this means presenting their world-famous hot springs with a synchronized swimming team in what can only be known as “synchronized bathing”.

Oita is one of the nine prefectures that make up the island of Kyushu and is most famous in Japan for its diversified selection of natural hot springs, or onsen. People around the country travel to Oita and soak in water that is heated by volcanic activity. To show off a number of their its best onsen, Oita recruited the help of a professional synchronized swim team. You’ve definitely never seen hot springs enjoyed quite like this.

The women travel all over the prefecture, stopping at all styles and kinds of hot springs. This includes a visit to Oita’s famous sand baths and mud baths in Beppu.



Source: http://www.japantoday.com/category/travel/view/oita-lures-travelers-with-wonderful-montage-of-synchronized-hot-spring-bathing

"Wells Fargo Commercial: Learning Sign Language" and once again I'm not sure how to feel about this...

There's so much going on in this commercial I can't seem to get my head around it. The buzz seems to be centered on the portrayal of lesbian moms as ordinary and not so much about the use of sign language.

"An Entire Town Secretly Learned Sign Language To Surprise Their Deaf Neighbor" // I'm not sure how to feel about this...

A former student (Thanks, Emily!) sent me a link to a BuzzFeed photo story about an ad campaign for a video call center for deaf people in Turkey. They set up a deaf man to encounter various people who would greet him in sign language. At the end he finds out it is all for the purpose of an advertisement. Watch the video and read the text from BuzzFeed below.

Muaharrem is a young deaf man from Istanbul, and his sister, Ozlem, teamed up with a production crew recently to give him one hell of an amazing day.

The Leo Burnett ad firm and Samsung organized the huge stunt for an ad campaign. They spent a month setting up cameras around his neighborhood…

…and teaching his neighbors sign language.

In the ad, Ozlem takes Muaharrem out and about on what he thinks is a normal day. That is, until the guy behind the counter of a local shop greets him with sign language.

Then he goes outside and ANOTHER guy signs at him.

By this point he’s starting to get a little weirded out.

He bumps into a woman who signs an apology at him.

Muaharrem and Ozlem get in a cab. The driver signs "hello."

This is the face of a very, very confused man.

The cab then drops them off in a public square where Muaharrem's neighbors greet him.

And the production crew reveals the whole thing was part of an advertisement for Samsung Turkey's new video call center for the hearing impaired.

And he, obviously, loses it, because advertisement or not, it is one of the sweetest things ever.

A Samsung spokesperson confirmed to BuzzFeed that everything you see in the ad is genuine. Hooray!

Link: http://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesthis/an-entire-town-secretly-learned-sign-language-to-surprise-th#.cwL42mzEv

I'm not sure how to feel about this ad campaign. It is good that it will expose sign language to people not familiar with it (but how much does an audience with no experience with sign language learn from the commercial?) and it's good that there is a new video relay service for deaf people in Turkey. Hopefully the new service will help provide more than one "day without barriers" for Muaharrem and other deaf people. I suppose for the service to survive it must advertise like any other business. Here in Japan there have been several businesses for an exclusive deaf clientele that simply were unable to survive. The deaf benefit from the technology and services that hearing people use. For example, remember this Apple iPhone commercial?



And remember this iPod Shuffle commercial (in ASL)?



So maybe I shouldn't be so sensitive. Advertisements use anything and everything to get people to buy their products. Perhaps using sign language is a small step towards language equality? And at least these ads use real deaf people (or a real interpreter in the iPod CM) and real sign language as opposed to other so-called deaf/sign language productions on Japanese TV.

What do you think?

Japanese "Finger Logo"

Here's some fodder for Body/Comm - a cute girl using gestures in a TV commercial. Photo and text borrowed from Japan Today.

AKB48 member Tomomi Itano, 19, popularly called Tomo-chan by fans, takes part in a promotional event for wireless mobile operator EMobile’s new commercial, “Finger Logo,” in Tokyo on Wednesday. The new commercial, which airs from Saturday, features Itano dancing to her new single “Wanna be now” and making an “E” and “M”’ (for EMobile) pose with her fingers. The pose, which is repeatedly used during the commercial, was “difficult to master,” Itano said.

I wonder how she would do with sign language... And here's the commercial:



Link to commercial video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljQYEHGXvuE

Link to making the commercial video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyZnZ_odg4M

Link to the photo/story at Japan Today: http://www.japantoday.com/category/picture-of-the-day/view/tomobile

"Apple CM iPhone4「恋人」" w/ Japanese Sign Language

Here is a clip of an iPhone commercial that features deaf people doing Japanese Sign Language. I had heard about it for a few weeks but only found it today on YouTube. Pretty cool. There is an American commercail that features a little bit of ASL at the end of it as well. Good technology that both deaf and hearing people can utilize. 

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlQcN9dZJr4

Link to American iPhone commercial (with a little bit of ASL at the end):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yatSAEqNL7k

Hands Can Do Incredible Things - Hands-Only CPR

Myra at the Hawaii VAOJ office recently sent me a link to a web page entitled "Learn Sarver Heart Center's Continuous Chest Compression CPR." I was reminded about the link after my uncle was rushed to the emergency room last night because of heart problems (he is fine now and expected to leave the hospital tomorrow). Today I saw the above commercial on TV. Hands can do incredible things whether it be communicate important messages or save someone's life. After spending some time in America, I realize more than ever how important it is that we all look out for each other. Health care in the U.S. is messed up to say the least. Power to the People. Let's retake our health and live a joyous life.

Link to Learn Sarver Heart Center's Continuous Chest Compression CPR:
http://medicine.arizona.edu/spotlight/learn-sarver-heart-centers-continuous-chest-compression-cpr

Trippy Cat Food Commerical (or, what do they put in Friskies?)

I think cat owners understand... For those of you that don't, check out the article at Slate:

Psychedelic Cat Food
Why is the new Friskies ad so trippy?
By Seth Stevenson
http://www.slate.com/id/2249121/

For an even more psychedelic version of the commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En4tpKt_x7g

Mugi-chan says yoroshiku...

Walking Advertisement?

T-shirts with company logos and famous brand clothes with their conspicuously located labels/tags have long served as walking advertisements, substitutes for the old fashioned walking sign board. But what is being advertised in this photo? Is this student standing on the bus serving as a willing walking ad for the Golden Arches?

McDonald's in Japan has had some interesting connections with fashion, as can be seen from their commercials.



McDonald's also has connections with pop culture as well. Here's Ronald McDonald doing para para...



Here he is doing a more modern song and dance...



Does this really make anybody feel hungry?

McDonald's is certainly associated with youth culture in Japan.

If McDonald's really has anything to do with the jeans the student on the bus is wearing, I wonder how they control the message. Do they limit the size of the jeans? Would super-size jeans sprouting the Golden Arches really serve as a good advertisement?

McDonald's also serves as an interesting example of globalization. Is McDonald's really American anymore? What is Ronald McDonald doing dancing para para and eating teriyaki burgers and moon viewing burgers? For more on this globalization aspect, check out a post on the subject by one of my students (link). Do American students wear the Golden Arches on their backsides? If so, what message is being sent?

How America Sees Japan: Sumo Car Wash

(As seen at Tokyomango...)