Well, what do you know? The Pepsi Nex Zero commercial is now officially a series. I caught a glimpse of episode 1 while flipping through channels tonight. So for the sake of following up on my last blog, here is the second TV ad:
I never thought I’d say that about a TV ad, but I can’t wait for the next one!
…Although, if I think about it, I guess I’ve always been looking forward new Boss Coffee ads too (of which you can find a compilation here).
I’m back from 2 weeks without virtually any sleep, but I feel great. I got a lot of things done during that time. Work is back to normal. My semester is over. I find myself with a surprising amount of free time!
So today, I’m officially ending the hiatus my blog was on. I will do that by introducing a Pepsi Nex Zero commercial that has been getting many people to wish for a movie adaptation.
Let’s take a look at the 60-second version:
You can watch all cuts here.
It takes a modern look at the tale of Momotaro, the Peach boy. See this page if you want to get yourself acquainted with the story, or this Wikipedia page for a quick rundown.
The commercial features actor Shun Oguri as the hero of this eponymous tale. As of yet, the people portraying the dog, monkey and pheasant have not been revealed. Quite a lot of virtual ink has been spilt on the Internet discussing just who could be playing those 3 characters, ranging from popular idols to fashion models. The fact that Shun Oguri is such a high profile actor has definitely been giving people high hopes.
By the way, just so we’re clear: there are no plans to make it into a feature length movie. Although, from the title “Episode Zero,” we can maybe expect a follow-up ad. Then again, it’s entirely possible that the title merely comes from the name of the product and that there will be no further episode.
I decide to appreciate it for what it is: a very slick piece of art. I love the stylized version of the animals and Momotaro’s gritty look. The soundtrack is a song called Same Ol’ by The Heavy, and fits very well the universe proposed in the commercial. And the scenes on the boat with the sunset in the background are exquisite!
The question remains, though, as to whether this Momotaro offered rice cakes to his partners to recruit them. I can’t imagine any of these incarnations going for rice cakes! Hahaha!
I was watching TV today, trying very hard to be unproductive, but TV was so boring that I ended up doing my homework! I did find this gem though:
Gotta love those sweaters!
We all have a show we feel ashamed of liking. A guilty pleasure of television, if you will. Mine is a show airing on Monday nights on Nippon Television called 月曜から夜ふかし (Getsuyokara Yofukashi / Staying up Late from Monday), with the English subtitle “Monday Lateshow”. The show is hosted by Shingo Murakami of Kanjani Eight and Matsuko Deluxe. It basically introduces absurd topics and tidbits through dry-witted news reports followed by deliberation in studio by the two hosts.
Japanese caption says “Really?”
Yesterday, they talked about how much toilet paper is used on average by people of the different Japanese prefectures, focusing of course on the two extremes. And as always, it was ridiculous! Don’t misunderstand me, though, I love this show but I must admit it is utterly silly.
According to the segment, people in Okinawa Prefecture use about 2 meters of toilet paper in one swipe to wipe themselves after going No. 2. That’s 2 meters each swipe! And they don’t fold-and-reuse either.
I myself have heard a person in the next stall unroll toilet paper like there was no tomorrow. By ear, I’d say he used about a quarter of a roll in one pull. Easily. It’s not a regular occurence by all means, but it left a strong impression on me. Just as people waste tons of paper in offices, so do they not seem to care about toilet paper. And don’t get me started on the water wasted by Japanese toilets! I will give the benefit of the doubt to the washlet function as it does at least save paper, but the amount of water flushed is just ridiculous. I’ll admit that in Japan (at least in Yokohama), on top of clean water consumption, you also have to pay for the amount of waste water returned by your pipes. But it still seems like a lot of waste to me (no pun intended). Back home, I put a large object in the toilet tank to cheat the valve and make it believe water has completely filled the tank, so that each flush uses less water.
Then again, on the other hand, people in Oita Prefecture use on average 3 or 4 squares of toilet paper for a No. 2, which to me sounds like not enough! So who knows, maybe I’m the one who’s wasting precious resources…
One thing that I have been told more than once by Japanese people living in Canada is that commercials are boring on Canadian TV. I always found that quite a funny comment to make. I mean, I’ll be the first to admit that back home, I change channels as soon as commercials start. So I never saw the point of such comments… Until I got to Japan and watched TV!
Commercials are anything but boring here. Well, some are but in general, they are pretty entertaining. I think many people are familiar with the ones featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tommy Lee Jones or more recently Jean Reno, Orlando Bloom or Leonardo DiCaprio. If not, definitely check them out. Especially the Boss Coffee series with Tommy Lee Jones and the Toyota~Doraemon series with Jean Reno! They’re worth a look.
Today, I’m going to introduce one that’s on TV recently (not featuring foreign actors, though). It’s a commercial for the Move by Daihatsu about the ‘smart assist’ function that includes false start control and can help avoid collisions under 15 km/h. The commercial is basically about how the car compensates for mistakes by the driver: in this case, if you suddenly press on the accelerator pedal from a parked state, the car won’t budge. But it’s funny in its form and in the acting.
First, it takes place in a court room where they’re using absurd testimonies like in those bad soap operas! Then, the self-confidence with which the lawyer makes his case is priceless. “If you step on the tiger’s tail, you’re done for. But look how nothing happen when you activate ‘smart assist’.” And that fierce look the ‘tiger’ gives at the end! Like saying “you can’t beat our case!”
Let’s watch it here. (The movie is in the upper right corner.)
And there’s a whole series with these characters and this concept. They’re all pretty funny!
News and My Life 