富士フイルム アスタリフト | 列車のふたり ナノテクノロジー | 2023
The Moment a Story Takes Hold, Aboard a Train / Fujifilm "ASTALIFT"
What happens when you bring a story into a cosmetics commercial? This ad feels like an experiment in just that. Aoi Miyazaki, disguised in a trench coat, sunglasses, and a blonde wig, jumps onto a train. Masaki Okada, claiming he's "come from the future," launches into an endless explanation of nanotechnology. Seiko Matsuda's "Red Sweet Pea" plays in the background, and in an atmosphere that can't quite decide if it's serious or comic, the two set off on a strange journey together.
The problem
ASTALIFT's actual customer base skews older. Since Seiko Matsuda appeared in the brand's ads before, "Red Sweet Pea" isn't just background music—it's also a nod to that history. Most cosmetics ads are built around product function and a beautiful aesthetic world, but this one brings in something extra: story.
The insight
The tagline "Expect tomorrow" carries a message of not overpromising, while still asking people to genuinely hope. It doesn't feel like Shiseido, but it has a bit of that Kanebo "I HOPE" quality—very much Fujifilm's own way of speaking. Having Okada say "I've come from the future" makes it easy to see that he's playing the role of ASTALIFT, or Fujifilm itself.
The idea
In the closed-off space of a train, a woman with an air of mystery and a man from the future meet by chance. You expect mystery or romance, but all the man talks about is nanotechnology. The tone stays poised between serious and comic, leaving plenty of room for what comes next.
What happened
The ad began airing in August (month 8) of 2023, and was followed by a series of sequels—the "Power of Red" chapter, the "Liposome" chapter, the "Nano Multi Shot" chapter, and the "Ceramide" chapter—turning it into an ongoing series.
Afterthought
This is a 1000% series kind of thing. Just as promised, the train journey kept going—Akemi Masuda showed up as a cabin attendant, Noritoshi Furuichi barged in as a mysterious passenger, and the strange world just kept expanding. Whether the power of story actually worked is something each viewer has to decide for themselves, but I, for one, found myself hoping. I can't wait to see what the next stop brings—and the one after that.
