サントリー ペプシコーラ | イチローダンス | 2002
"Ichiro" really did become "ICHIRO" / Suntory Pepsi Cola "Ichiro"
The finest product of Japanese baseball crossed the ocean in 2001, and the next year he was first in All-Star voting, won the batting title, the stolen base title, and MVP—so perfect it was almost anticlimactic. Riding that wave of success, this commercial started airing in February 2002. Brian Setzer's rockabilly blasts at full volume while Americans dance wildly, imitating Ichiro's famous batting routine.
The problem
In 2002, Suntory built its Pepsi brand campaign around the theme "CHANGE the WORLD," featuring Ichiro as "the man who changed the world." The "Ichiro Dance" series, which began airing in February, depicted fever breaking out in various places because of Ichiro's success.
The insight
When this commercial played on TV, it felt like something straight out of America, reverse-imported as is—and Ichiro had become enough of a presence to make that believable. The creators must have been going for exactly that effect, and honestly, it made me happy.
The idea
Brian Setzer himself was a fan of Ichiro, and he wrote the song "PEP PEP PEPSI" specifically for this commercial. It opens at Safeco Field, showing footage of Ichiro playing, the Mariner Moose, and dancers imitating Ichiro's batting routine. With overwhelming flash and energy, it captured the "phenomenon" happening in America.
What happened
It won the ACC Silver Award in the TV commercial category at the 42nd ACC CM Festival.
Afterthought
Even now, 15 years later, whenever I happen to hear Brian Setzer, this commercial instantly comes to mind. And I think: Ichiro really did become "ICHIRO" back then. Come to think of it, Pepsiman was made the same way too—it brings back memories.
