So it might be my slow dinosaur style brain (and yes the second one I store at the bast of my spine is there to keep my feet moving "left foot right foot, left foot, right foot" sung in a Randy Newmen Apocalypse style) but its taken me this long to realise that most of the awful/genius (what a fine line it is) Japanese adverts I featured on my blog last month (see here for the actual genius Nic Cage advert and others) came from one source, Japander. So yes its taken me this long to actually look at the site and find some absolute gems, David and Victoria Beckham scrabbling around to advertise anything they can (it's not that they spend it on food for Victoria (unless cabbagge soup prices have skyrocketed in England (as a side note my friend tried this diet and said they stank after a while so heaven knows what the Beckhams mansion must be like...anyhoo) ) James coburn (who I consider one of the coolest men...EVER (next to Lee Marvin of course) speaking LARK cigarettes (and what is Lark saying?? oh yes I give you cancer) Edward Furlong appears in possibly the weirdest adve......wait Edward Furlong!!! hmmm okay Japanese advertisers must be desperate for people that day.
However to be fair to celebs, if someone offered you a bucket or rather several buckets of cash (not yen of course the markets down on that one) to advertise coffee, or instant noodles or any other pickled object so yeah okay the Ringo starr one is pretty bad, still wouldn't you take it?
Even Japanese celebrities star in so many commercials its crazy, often you'd flick the channel to see the same person attempting to flog you coffee, new homes, even occasionally things you might actually need and then on to a programme pretending to enjoy the various food stuff they've just been served (there are sooo many food programmes on Japanese TV). But more understandable when you realise that being a celebrity in Japanese only lasts about a year, after which most will never be heard of again'; there toys will be marked down, their books pulped and their videos taped over. H.G the one note comedian, leather s&M gear wearing YAHOOO Shouter was last years favourite and a perfect example, you couldn't go anywhere without his sun glasses and leather peaked cape wearing face beaming/leering at you from a billboard, or on TV on one of the many many mannnnnnnnnnny cooking programmes, or even wrestling in Japans S.W.X and is now relegated to the lower reaches of celebrity circles with my teachers and kids already moved onto the next comedian/singer/actor and then the next.
So its amazing or rather impressive when Japanese celebraties live past their expected "celebratyself" life; Beat Takeshi is probably the poster boy for these people, starting life as one of the many stand up comedians he's evolved into kind of the ultimate Renaissance man, film director, actor intellectual so much so his programme last year on the Japanese state system was the one thing all the teachers watched over christmas, and on TV right now he's showing a programme about an elephant who can paint pictures...
But then any man who can go from making these programmes to works of beauty like Hana-B and Zatoichi has got be respected.
Even Japanese celebrities star in so many commercials its crazy, often you'd flick the channel to see the same person attempting to flog you coffee, new homes, even occasionally things you might actually need and then on to a programme pretending to enjoy the various food stuff they've just been served (there are sooo many food programmes on Japanese TV). But more understandable when you realise that being a celebrity in Japanese only lasts about a year, after which most will never be heard of again'; there toys will be marked down, their books pulped and their videos taped over. H.G the one note comedian, leather s&M gear wearing YAHOOO Shouter was last years favourite and a perfect example, you couldn't go anywhere without his sun glasses and leather peaked cape wearing face beaming/leering at you from a billboard, or on TV on one of the many many mannnnnnnnnnny cooking programmes, or even wrestling in Japans S.W.X and is now relegated to the lower reaches of celebrity circles with my teachers and kids already moved onto the next comedian/singer/actor and then the next.
So its amazing or rather impressive when Japanese celebraties live past their expected "celebratyself" life; Beat Takeshi is probably the poster boy for these people, starting life as one of the many stand up comedians he's evolved into kind of the ultimate Renaissance man, film director, actor intellectual so much so his programme last year on the Japanese state system was the one thing all the teachers watched over christmas, and on TV right now he's showing a programme about an elephant who can paint pictures...
But then any man who can go from making these programmes to works of beauty like Hana-B and Zatoichi has got be respected.
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