Jolie-Pitt Love
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Stars Shine Again in Japan Ads
Booming Firms Dust Off Their Yen for A-Listers
Washington Post
January 14, 2007
TOKYO -- Forget the rising stock market or fifth straight year of economic growth. The latest sign of Japan Inc.'s comeback is Cameron Diaz in a slinky black dress gabbing on a phone and strutting to the tune of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" on Japanese television. But this is no film trailer or wacky guest appearance -- it's a 30-second commercial for a cellular telephone company.
And Diaz is hardly alone. As the decade-long recession drifts into memory here, the "Only in Japan" celebrity commercial is enjoying a sudden comeback -- with Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Scarlett Johansson and Kiefer Sutherland among the American stars coming back down to earth in Japan to peddle everything from dairy products to power bars.
Diaz and Pitt began plugging Tokyo-based telecommunications giant SoftBank Mobile Corp. in October, after the company splurged on the duo to promote its entrance into Japan's cellphone market.
In one of Diaz's three saucy spots, all of which were filmed in Los Angeles, she saunters down a Latin-flavored street with a thin cellphone tucked into the back of her tight jeans. Pitt, whose spots were filmed on location in India, does a walk-and-talk turn while appearing to be nervously avoiding someone (perhaps his American fans?).
Japanese companies insist that investing in top stars results in big dividends. Cosmetics giant Shiseido Co. hired Jolie for a series of commercials for a line of lipsticks. Shoichiro Terashi, a Shiseido marketing specialist, said the Jolie campaign marked the first time the company has hired a high-priced Hollywood celebrity for one of its spots. But since the ads began running last year, sales of the new line have bested even its highest projections.
"Our surveys showed that people in Japan think that Angelina Jolie has the most beautiful mouth in the world," Terashi said. "For a company selling lipstick, that's worth a great deal."(more)
See clips of Brad's commercial here.
Here's a pic of Brad's print ad for Softbank. Thanx to Pittimpressions :)
Washington Post
January 14, 2007
TOKYO -- Forget the rising stock market or fifth straight year of economic growth. The latest sign of Japan Inc.'s comeback is Cameron Diaz in a slinky black dress gabbing on a phone and strutting to the tune of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" on Japanese television. But this is no film trailer or wacky guest appearance -- it's a 30-second commercial for a cellular telephone company.
And Diaz is hardly alone. As the decade-long recession drifts into memory here, the "Only in Japan" celebrity commercial is enjoying a sudden comeback -- with Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Scarlett Johansson and Kiefer Sutherland among the American stars coming back down to earth in Japan to peddle everything from dairy products to power bars.
Diaz and Pitt began plugging Tokyo-based telecommunications giant SoftBank Mobile Corp. in October, after the company splurged on the duo to promote its entrance into Japan's cellphone market.
In one of Diaz's three saucy spots, all of which were filmed in Los Angeles, she saunters down a Latin-flavored street with a thin cellphone tucked into the back of her tight jeans. Pitt, whose spots were filmed on location in India, does a walk-and-talk turn while appearing to be nervously avoiding someone (perhaps his American fans?).
Japanese companies insist that investing in top stars results in big dividends. Cosmetics giant Shiseido Co. hired Jolie for a series of commercials for a line of lipsticks. Shoichiro Terashi, a Shiseido marketing specialist, said the Jolie campaign marked the first time the company has hired a high-priced Hollywood celebrity for one of its spots. But since the ads began running last year, sales of the new line have bested even its highest projections.
"Our surveys showed that people in Japan think that Angelina Jolie has the most beautiful mouth in the world," Terashi said. "For a company selling lipstick, that's worth a great deal."(more)
See clips of Brad's commercial here.
Here's a pic of Brad's print ad for Softbank. Thanx to Pittimpressions :)
