Poor moviestars! Times are hard! What do the likes of Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, and Cameron Diaz do in between filming major blockbuster movies? Do they work? Do they live off the royalties from the last movie?
Well, looks like the poor dears actually have to WORK! The poor dears must be short of cash.
How does an actor do this?
Well, may as well act! But in what? They tend not to do commercials. Which they beleve will damage their image back in the US. However, they will take the coin on offer from Japanese companies! The belief is that they can get away with it since the ad will be on Japanese TV, and wont really travel much beyond that because, well, only the Japanese really speak Japanese!
This does lead to some wonderful commercials.
The biggest at the moment are a series of commercials run by the Telcoms company Softbank (Cellphones, finance, baseball team...). They are currently running a series which includes Brad Pitt working as a Sumo wrestlers PA (The wrestler is Mushashimaru, a former Yokozuna)
This video includes both current videos.
That is not the only series! Here is a taste of some of his previous work for Softbank!
They are all getting in on the act! Softbank is spending the most on using Hollywood stars, Cameron Diaz has got in on the act too, with a series of very bubbly, bouncy commercials!
Yes. That is a gratuitous shot of her backside!
Moving on. Disney tried to launch a range of cellphones in the US, only for them to crash and burn. Ah well, never one to give up, they realised that they would work in Japan! A combination of technology, and Mickey Mouse! Automatically appealing because the Japanese love technology, and love Mickey Mouse because he is cute!
Cue Hillary Duff.
Lets move on to my favourite.
Coffee.
Or Boss Coffee. Not to miss a trick, Boss Coffee wanted their own Hollywood star, and landed Tommy Lee Jones! The point behind the commercial is that he is an alien, landed in Japan, and trying to fit in! Kinda apt, really, its a bit like me! I'm an alien, in Japan, trying to fit in!
But its not just the stars that get in on the act. Keifer Sutherland ended up doing a series of commercials in Japan, based on his ever-popular tv series, "24." A smash hit here in Japan!
Richard Gere as well decided to take the Yen on offer, with this nice little number for the male "estetique" chain, Dandy House. Basically, male beautician chain, with massage.
The most stars, however, have been to Japan to promote cars. Including a smattering of British stars! Including the ever-popular and ever-green Mr Bean!
Ewan McGregor decided to hook up with Toyota to promote their MPV, The Alphard.
It is also worth noting that Ewan has also starred in Japan promoting an English language school, and Roots, another brand of coffee!
I could go on, and on, and on! Instead, I will just put up a list. If you want, you can go and hunt them on Youtube!
Paul Newman : Nissan Skyline (1982)
Harrison Ford : Honda Legend (1993)
Dennis Hopper : Toyota Celica (1994)
Anthony Hopkins : Honda Avancier (As Hannibal)
Jean Reno : Honda Orthia, and Toyota Alphard
George Clooney : Honda Odyssey, Toyota Mark II
Kyle McClaughlin and Antonio Banderas both for the Subaru Forester
Bruce Willis, Rod Stewart, Mel Gibson, Kevin Costner, and J-Lo have all been in commercials for Subaru's Legacy
Leonardo DiCaprio : Honda Prius
Michael J Fox : Honda Integra
And currently, my employer, Geos, has an agreement to use the stars from Dreamworks! So, recently, we have featured Shrek, and now, we are featuring the stars from the Aliens v Monsters movie!
And all of thses dont even begin to scratch the surface of Hollywoods love affair with Japanese tv commerical money!
I will try to bring more of these as and when I find them!
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