876 articles · page 8 of 19
サントリーオールド | 娘の相手 | 2009
Jun Kunimura says, "I could've punched him, you know." That one line says everything. Before meeting his daughter's boyfriend, the father quietly leaves the room without saying much. When his daughter follows him out, he mutters that single line - and it's packed with so much deep love, resignation, and quiet approval all at once. I was completely won over.
Google Chrome | The Web Is What You Make of It | 2011
On 5/21/2011, this commercial aired live during Saturday Night Live. Lady Gaga running across the Brooklyn Bridge, fans dancing and singing their hearts out, filling the whole screen. That raw energy grabbed me and wouldn't let go.
Nike | 動かしつづける。自分を。未来を。 / The Future Isn't Waiting. | 2020
In November (11) 2020, all of Japan held its breath for two minutes. The film believed that the urge to play sports could lightly blow away garbage like discrimination. I've watched it ten times. "A standard masterpiece" feels like the right phrase for it, but that makes me wonder: what's the difference between a standard masterpiece and one that isn't standard at all?
JINS | はじめてのJINS | 2015
Just three seconds. But those three seconds are incredible. Yui Aoi's expression from 0:15 to 0:18 is simply irresistible.
サガミオリジナル | LOVE DISTANCE | 2016
A couple in a long-distance relationship start running toward each other from opposite sides of the screen. A number starting at 1.2 billion millimeters keeps shrinking as they get closer. I never imagined that the number it ends on, 0.02, could hit this hard.
カロリーメイト | 夢の背中 | 2016
This CALORIEMATE commercial cheering on students taking entrance exams follows a year in the life of a son grinding through a second attempt at university entrance exams, from the mother's point of view—from the day he decides to repeat the year to the day of the exam itself. Niiro Murakami, who shaved off his long hair for the role, plays the son, while Misuzu Kanno plays the mother who watches over him with quiet warmth. The soundtrack features Ryota Fujimaki's own cover of Remioromen's song "March 9th."
アコム | むじんくん チャント星人シリーズ | 1996
In 1996, a commercial appeared where aliens in a UFO would say "Want to stop by Earth?" and come down to borrow money from Acom. This series, which swept the nation with its catchy "La-la-la, Mujin-kun♪" phrase, was a shocking piece of work that turned the heavy subject of consumer loans into something light and casual with its sci-fi style.
PlayStation | Play Face | 2009
Emotion shows on your face. That's basically what the word "expression" means, so it's obvious - but this campaign captured that obvious truth head-on. The faces of people playing a game. That's it. But that's everything.
サントリー | 恋は、遠い日の花火ではない | 1994
This line was born in 1994, in the weary air that settled over Japan after the bubble economy burst. It appeared in a commercial starring Kyozo Nagatsuka and Yuko Tanaka—but in the end, it was this copy alone that stuck with people, far more than the renewal message "OLD is NEW" it was meant to carry. I happened to witness that very phenomenon.
NTTドコモ | ポケベル「はじめる」 | 1996
In 1996, a 15-year-old girl lying on an octopus slide in a park, humming a little tune, appeared on TVs across Japan. "I got a pager for my birthday," she said in a sweet, slightly lisping voice. Her name was Ryoko Hirosue, and this commercial turned her into an instant star.
湖池屋 | ジャガッツ 主婦と犯人 | 2016
You know that scene from crime dramas where they rewind the security camera footage to check the culprit's face? That's exactly what happens here. But what's caught on screen is a group of housewives talking about a product. Every time the tape rewinds, they repeat the same line: "Koikeya's Jagatz—these ridges are what make it so tasty." Just 15 seconds long, but it's an invention.
マルコメ | 料亭の味 カップみそ汁 夜食篇 | 2015
The third animated commercial in the "Ryotei no Aji" series came out in February 2015. A daughter on edge from exam prep, and a father who's lost the knack for talking to her. So late one night, he quietly puts together a midnight snack for her. That's the whole story. And somehow that's exactly what makes it so moving.
adidas | I GOT THIS | 2016
Nana Eikura's trained body is godlike without any exaggeration, and the film makes you want to start training yourself, whether you like it or not.
au | SYNC YELL | 2015
There was no time to wonder how much of this was set up and how much was real, because the tears were already coming early on.
WestJet | Christmas Miracle: Real-time Giving | 2013
It looks like it's using some amazing technology, but the real secret is just a live camera and 175 people doing the legwork. Here's what makes WestJet's Christmas campaign work so well.
ライオン | タイムスリップ家族 | 2011
A family photo taken in 1991, and the same family in 2011. Lined up across time, in the same place, from the same angle.
Burger King | Whopper Lust | 2017
Just watching a Whopper spin around, over and over. Watch for 5 minutes, get one free coupon. 10 minutes, two. 15 minutes, three.
John Lewis Insurance | Tiny Dancer | 2015
A girl who's a bit chubby, wears glasses, and isn't even that good at ballet dances through the whole house. That's all it takes to win millions of hearts.
江崎グリコ | オトナグリコ アーモンドピーク | 2015
This ad turns a pitch competition between ad agencies into the ad itself. Nanako Matsushima and Satoshi Tsumabuki play creative directors from rival agencies, fighting over Glico's business, in this behind-the-scenes story. You get a peek into the industry (surely exaggerated quite a bit), and that alone makes it fun to watch.
サッポロビール | 冬物語 | 1995
Don't you get the feeling there used to be a lot more commercials showing off good winter vibes like this? This is Sapporo's Fuyu Monogatari from 1995. Set to Cousin's "Fuyu no Fantasy," it shows young people spending time on a rooftop in winter.
UQ mobile | 紀香の誕生日 | 2017
The moment Norika showed up on screen, I went "huh?"—and then about two seconds later it hit me with a full "whoa!" I'd been watching the UQ Three Sisters series because I love Mikako Tabe, so having Fujiwara Norika suddenly turn up was a real shock. This feels like one of those ideas that must have felt amazing the second someone thought of it.
カロリーメイト | Mate | 2016
There are friends, all born in 1991, who shave their heads, run, show each other their backs as they go, and laugh — and just that is already a complete piece of film. There's a series like that.
Nike | LAST | 2015
The camera keeps moving backward the whole time. It's graceful, but there's something otherworldly about it too. Set to Aretha Franklin's "Every Little Bit Hurts," that same shot just keeps going.
Erste Group | #believeinyourself | 2018
A minute-and-a-half video you'll want to watch alone on a cold night. Henry the hedgehog quietly gets to you.
SUUMO | ココロの声ストーリー | 2016
At the big turning points in life, a crowd of different selves inside you pop up and start arguing with each other. This SUUMO piece makes those inner voices visible.
Lynx | 24-7 – Because you never know when | 2017
It's not just rewind. A man walks back the way he came, putting his clothes back on as he goes. Somewhere in the middle, it clicks — "oh, I see" — and your brain gets a little chill. There are plenty of ways to show love at first sight, but the ones that give you that lightbulb moment hit hardest.
GEICO | Unskippable | 2016
YouTube ads get skipped after five seconds. 96% of people hit that button. But when a voice tells you "This ad has already ended, so it can't be skipped," your finger stops.
Apple | Macの向こうから — まだこの世界にない物語を | 2020
They made an entire 30-second commercial out of nothing but scenes of anime characters sitting down at their Macs. And get this — some of those Macs have logos that are clearly not the real Apple logo, turned into a heart or a pear instead, yet Apple included them anyway. That kind of generosity really shows the brand's sheer confidence.
ソフトバンク | プロポーズ | 2016
How do you capture a marriage proposal, one of life's big climactic moments? The chemistry between two distinctive actors, Mikako Ichikawa and Ryo Kase, creates an atmosphere that sticks with you in an odd way.
リクルート | 卒おめ | 2016
This is one of those classic ads I find myself watching again every year around this time. It captures that particular spring when high school seniors are finishing up, set to a wonderful Chatmonchy song, and every time I watch it, something about it hits me right in the chest.
PlayStation | できないことが、できるって、最高だ。 | 2016
"It's the best feeling, doing what you couldn't do before." This tagline gets turned into a long-form celebration of life itself. I don't think it got much buzz, but I honestly think it's pretty amazing.
プロバイダーZERO | Don't Spend Money!! | 2000
It's Steve Buscemi. That alone tells you they were swinging for the fences.
マルコメ | 世界初カワイイ味噌汁 原宿味（Definition of Japanese Kawaii） | 2016
Packaging miso soup as "kawaii" sounds like a strange combination, but somehow it works. In 2016, Marukome launched a new product aimed at young people: the "world's first" cute instant miso soup. The promotional film made for it was done with insane levels of commitment, and it ended up winning Gold at ADFEST 2017.
東京ディズニーリゾート | Where dreams come true 夢はつづく | 2015
You see a lot of commercials these days that fast-forward through someone's whole life, but this Disney one really stuck with me. It's all animation, and the fact that it manages to capture one woman's entire life in just 30 seconds is enough to bring tears to your eyes.
Old Spice | Odor Blocker Body Wash | 2017
It's Premium Friday, so I figure now's a good time to grin at something wonderfully ridiculous.
日清食品カップヌードル | OBAKA's大学に春が来た！ | 2016
"If you try something, people mock you. If you fail, people pile on." In an era like that, Beat Takeshi stood frozen as a bronze statue of the university president, while Sachiko Kobayashi, Mutsugoro, Mari Yaguchi, and Takashi Niigaki served as the professors at the newly opened "OBAKA's UNIVERSITY." People said there probably aren't many companies in Japan that could greenlight a commercial idea like this — and no wonder. The moment I saw it, I had to take my hat off.
Honda | UNI-CUB | 2016
Right around the time everyone started making drone-shot music videos, this one came in and knocked everyone flat with how polished it was. Five and a half minutes, and I watched the whole thing without skipping once.
ペディグリー | SelfieSTIX | 2018
You want to take a selfie with your dog, but your dog just won't look at the camera. Pedigree decided to seriously solve this small, everyday problem.
Canal+ | Never underestimate the power of a great story | 2020
A long, long setup leading to one big, bold payoff — it feels so satisfying.
Brother | Next time label it | 2017
This is the over-the-top "what if you didn't have it" style of ad: show what happens without labels. You can tell where the chaos is headed the moment it starts, but it's still a lot of fun to watch.
セキスイハイム | かみさま | 2015
"When will the Tokai earthquake actually hit... what year, what month, what day! God, please tell us!" It's the kind of question anyone living in the Tokai region has probably wondered about at some point—and this ad turns it into a full-blown comedy sketch. And somehow, the product being sold is houses.
キングソフト | WPS Cloud「働き方を自由にする」篇 | 2022
A man with two faces: special agent and office worker. While carrying out a mission to rescue a hostage from a burning, collapsing building, he gets a call from a coworker at his IT company, and right there on the spot he finishes editing a document using WPS Cloud. The sheer amount packed into 30 seconds is incredible.
サントリー | BOSS セブン 世界を敵に篇 | 1999
This ad is from 1999. Watching it again, you can't help wondering what Uno Kanda is up to these days — but more than that, this commercial takes nitpicking to an almost legendary scale and turns it into pure entertainment.
ACジャパン（公共広告機構） | IMAGINATION／WHALE（黒い絵） | 2016
Almost the entire film is made up of footage that leaves you feeling uneasy, and then, right at the very end, your whole perspective flips. It feels like watching a team on the verge of a crushing defeat suddenly turn the game around with one stunningly brilliant move. This is a masterpiece that hasn't aged a bit—if anything, it feels like it's only grown heavier with time.
コンタクトのアイシティ | 透明人間 | 1999
In 1999, an ad with absolutely wild energy hit Japanese TV. It's 60 seconds of glasses-wearing guys who get their hands on an invisibility drug and go streaking through the city, completely naked. There's a suppository, floating glasses, and more ridiculous details than you can count — yet somehow it's hilarious, and somehow it makes perfect sense. A true classic.
Apple | Someday At Christmas | 2015
90 seconds just isn't enough. Honestly, I wish I could watch and listen to this for three hours straight. At this point, it's gone beyond what you'd normally call a commercial.
NIKE | JASARI (NIKEiD) - If you were a boy | 2015
Made in Japan, but you'd never guess it. A spot that's NIKE through and through.
日清食品 | カップヌードル麻婆・五目 | 1995
The second you hear "asabaa," your brain just goes "huh?" A female employee misreads "mapo" as "asabaa," confidently adds that it comes with a refined grandma, her boss explodes in anger, and reality snaps back. All packed into just 15 seconds.