サントリー BOSS | ヘッドライト・テールライト | 2015
At the end of the year on this planet, Miyuki Nakajima hits you right in the heart / Suntory BOSS "Headlight, Taillight"
Less weirdness, more love — that's what I felt watching this commercial when it aired at the end of 2015. The Alien Jones series started out as a bit of an odd concept, but it's been quietly turning into "the way things just are," and honestly, I'm starting to think it's heading toward becoming a truly moving epic. I'm looking forward to it. Really looking forward to it.
The problem
Suntory BOSS's "Alien Jones Investigates Earth" series has been running since 2006 — a real long-runner. In the fall and winter of 2015, the theme was "Song & BOSS," with commercials built around Miyuki Nakajima's famous songs "Jidai," "Kassai," and "Koibito mo Nureru Machikado." This "Headlight, Taillight" installment was the fourth in that run. Just like those beloved songs, the idea is that BOSS should be loved across generations and across time. It's a project that quietly looks back on a year in the lives of working people, at that special moment when the year is ending.
The insight
This time they chose long-distance truck drivers. People often say to them, "You just drive stuff and come back, right?" — a comment that stings their pride. Each driver carries their own private struggles: not having enough time with his daughter, wondering whether to take over his mother's farm. Miyuki Nakajima's song "Headlight, Taillight" was the ending theme for NHK's documentary series Project X, a song that likens life's long, hard days to a journey. That worldview overlaps perfectly with the lives of these long-distance drivers.
The idea
Alien Jones himself becomes a truck driver, and as he drives, the commercial shows flashback scenes from the lives of three drivers — played by Koji Imada, Atsushi Tsutsumishita, and Oniyakko Tsubaki. On a winter night, Miyuki Nakajima's song plays on the car radio. Then Jones winks up at the night sky, and a shooting star appears. Seeing it, the three drivers' faces light up. At the end, Jones says, "Have a good New Year," and the commercial closes with the line: "At the end of the year on this planet, Miyuki Nakajima hits you right in the heart."
What happened
The commercial began airing nationwide on December 11, 2015 (12/11). As a year-end special, it struck a chord with viewers, with many saying it left them feeling warm inside. In 2019, about three years later, a sequel called "Headlight, Taillight 2019" was made, featuring Yuichi Kimura and depicting the same theme.
Afterthought
I think it's wonderful when someone can take an ordinary, everyday reality and turn it into entertainment that really lands. That small gift of a shooting star — Alien Jones' tasteful touch turns the ache of the first half into a single ray of hope. It really hits me again how much nerve it takes for Suntory to keep this series going for so long. The one with Morimitsu Takami (oh wait, that one's also Miyuki Nakajima) got me a little choked up without even meaning to. Bit by bit, the weirdness is fading and the lovable part is growing bigger, and it feels like it's heading toward becoming a truly moving epic. I can't wait to see where it goes.
