Japan Marketing News

Japanese films defy the odds and take two Academy Awards

Breaking news:  it appears that for the first time a Japanese film has won the Academy Award for the Best Foreign Film*. Okuribito（おくりびと), whose English title is Departures, won out over better-known and more heavily favorited productions like The Class, and Waltz with Bashir. The movie, written by Kundo Koyama and directed by Yojiro Taketa (滝田洋二郎), tells the story of a former professional cellist who returns to his hometown to look for a job and discovers he has a special gift for undertaking.

In the animated short film category, Japan took away a second statuette for La Maison en Petits Cubes (つみきのいえ), a 12-minute tale of an elderly man who, while reminiscing about days gone by, adds blocks to his house to keep out rising floodwaters. The film was written and directed by Kunio Kato (加藤久仁生). It was the first time Japan won an Oscar for this category, as well.

* This is the first time a Japanese film has earned an Academy "Award of Merit" for this category. Previous Japanese productions have won "special" or "honorary" awards. Ref

Japan Coca-Cola seeks MAX attention with (un)canny canned coffee ad

I nearly got double-take whiplash from this poster series that was splashed all over Tokyo's Shibuya Station the other day (click for a larger view). Advertising MAX, a canned coffee brand from Coca-Cola Japan, the poster, roughly translated, screams "Totally super sweet coffee [that] gives you energy to the MAX".

I'd love to peek inside the creative/art directors' heads to see what else is lurking in there besides  fragments of Superman and R. Crumb.

Sony launches P with great train advertising

According to Walter Mossberger, who reviewed Sony's newest mini notebook, the VAIO P, for the Wall Street Journal, the device disappoints on performance.

"Vaio P is mainly undone because it comes with Vista Home Premium, the edition of Windows that is sluggish and a memory hog. . . And the Vista problem is made worse by the processor inside the machine, which is an especially slow version of the Intel Atom chip often used in netbooks.. . .[In tests], programs launched painfully slowly, delays were common and start-up and reboot times were glacial. . .Video playback was choppy. . ."

But the posters SONY has been using to announce the launch in Japan are eye-catching and effective.

Who wouldn't want a sexy little computer you can carry around in your back pocket?

Tully's Japan provides a little taste of romance

Just in case you don't expect to experience any romance on your own this Valentine's Day in Japan, you can always drop by Tully's for a taste of this seasonal indulgence: Tully's Romance Strawberry Mocha.

Japanese package design: Calpis Ginger Zero

This new zero-calorie soda from Japanese beverage company Calpis adds ginger flavoring to the brand's traditional yogurty base. The sophisticated package really pops and got me to easily part with 150 yen. Unfortunately, the design is more satisfying than the beverage itself, which is lightweight and nearly tasteless. Given the creamy background and the swirling hurricane graphic, I had been hoping for something along the lines of a crispy cream soda. Maybe next time.

Japan POP: vending machine

Mechanical/moving POP are seen widely throughout Japan. Here's a typical example of one from a soft drink vending machine.

Sugarless sake

As this large-scale subway poster from Japan sake maker Gekkeikan shows, even the nation's most traditional beverages are now available in sugarless alternatives.