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4 articles

東京ガス | 母の推し活 | 2023

A Mom Shines Through Her Fandom, and Gas Barely Gets a Mention / TOKYO GAS "Mom's Fan Life"

There are a few ad series I look forward to every year, wondering "what will they do this time" — and Tokyo Gas's brand ads are one of them. Their "Family Bonds" series, running since 2008, has delivered one gut-punch after another straight to the Japanese heart, starting with the famous "Lunchbox Email" spot. I admire their work. The 2023 entry, "Mom's Fan Life," tells in 90 seconds the story of a mother who falls for a K-pop idol thirty years younger than her and watches her life open up as a result. It became a huge hit, racking up over 5 million views on Twitter within three days. This time, though, I found myself thinking "it's good, but..."

In This Case, the Target Must Be the Parents / CALORIEMATE "Yume no Senaka" (The Back of Dreams)

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カロリーメイト | 夢の背中 | 2016

In This Case, the Target Must Be the Parents / CALORIEMATE "Yume no Senaka" (The Back of Dreams)

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."

The Real Olympic Sponsor Wasn't the Athletes — It Was the Moms / P&G "Thank You, Mom – Best Job"

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P&G | Thank You, Mom – Best Job | 2012

The Real Olympic Sponsor Wasn't the Athletes — It Was the Moms / P&G "Thank You, Mom – Best Job"

At the 2012 London Olympics, P&G called itself the "Proud Sponsor of Moms" — the official sponsor of mothers everywhere.

Email, Before Email Existed / Tokyo Gas "Family Bonds: Lunchbox Emails"

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東京ガス | 家族の絆・お弁当メール | 2010

Email, Before Email Existed / Tokyo Gas "Family Bonds: Lunchbox Emails"

It's only 90 seconds long, but I cried right on the spot. I happened to catch it on TV, lucky enough to see it from the very beginning, and the tears just came. "The lunch a mother makes" is already powerful material on its own, and this ad dresses it up in something very modern: "email." To a son who barely talks anymore, the lunch his mother makes every single day becomes a one-way, but very real, "message."