Well, hello there, Mr Shirtless in the city

“Sexy comes standard,” aka Sumo moe sells cars!

I hate cars, but I love this sexy ad!

Wentz is in his undies in Ginza

Walking in Ginza, I looked up and saw this BVD underwear ad. Wow, that guy looks like my favorite dim-witted but adorable Japanese talent, Wentz. Oh, that is Wentz!

I love how his pale thighs are adding to the vulgarization of this once sophisticated shopping district.

Big love for Doritos, in a sauna

Another user-generated Doritos Superbowl ad entry. I am certain that chips, fear, and desire can lead to love!

Softbank is bringing fun back to family

Softbank, one of Japan’s large mobile telephone companies, has a long-running ad series with an unusual family: an elegant mother, her husband who is a white dog (with the voice of Kitaoji Kinya), and two children, one of whom is African American.

The best thing about this series is that no explanation is given for the inter-species and inter-racial nature of the family.

Thanks to Kathryn of Project Me I learned about the latest ad in which kimono-clad grandma, the mother of the white dog, introduces her new husband, a very handsome and very young man, also wearing kimono. He’s played by Shota Matsuda.

Sex & the City, Part II, Now in Ginza Ad

So are you preparing yourself for this cinematic soft candy? I think of the four ladies as my ara-fi (アラフィ, around 50 years old) senpai. I am of course curious about the ladies’ encounters with Arab men and camels. I love how it’s opening quickly in Tokyo. Photo taken in Ginza.

Narimiya Hiroki ad

Narimiya Hiroki is very sexy. In this ad, you can see him evolve from Neanderthal to Japanese idol. The image to the far right is perhaps too processed. I think I prefer him in the second-to-last stage. Do you prefer Narimiya-kun rough or doll-like? I know, most of you will prefer these images of Narimiya-kun naked on a bed.

Please name this celebrity!

Ok, fan girls. Please help me out. Who is this barely legal looking actor/model/singer who’s hawking Panasonic’s technology wonder of a wet-and-dry electric razor? I figure one of my readers will surely know.

I love how lurid the campaign is: the image is saturated with water drops, his hair damp and immaculate, his skin eerily unmarked by age or imperfection. But mostly I love how he welcomes our attention. Perhaps he needs it ^^

ps: There’s also a video version of this ad in the Tokyo Metro. I hope no one gets so distracted they fall into the tracks. . .

Smappa: Mega host club with Lohas twist

Kabukicho is now full of ads for this new (?) host club called Smappa!, which seems a blatant rip-off of SMAP, the boy band now entering middle-age. The Smappa ad for Shun-kun above hilariously promises 夜のロハス, night-time lohas.

Lohas means Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability, and applies to a 30 something female demographic. What has made hairspray and men’s make-up sustainable? I think actually, like the club name, it is a blatant attempt to connect with larger pop culture themes (like a bad porn title that mimics a Hollywood blockbuster).

From their incredibly complete Smappa! website, I have borrowed these staff images. Scroll to the bottom to see their onsen/ryoukan holiday. These boys are well-documented. Check their Smappa website for more!

Buddhist Training: Tourism, Sadism or Both?

This poster advertising a Buddhist Training camp and the Keio rail line is another only in Japan image. On the surface, it advertises the pleasure of attending Aescetic Training (sadhana) Experience Camp (修行体験合宿, shugyou taiken gasshuku). Above where I cropped the image, a speech bubble beckons with the words, “It’s so cold. My mind and body feel so refreshed.”

A lot of foreigners imagine Buddhism to be a benign philosophy about the world and human’s place within it. What is often overlooked abroad is the intense physical discipline that makes a daddy monk and two young acolytes freezing in the river a worthy image for a rail line seeking to boost ridership to a distant temple. The line between spirituality and perversion is thin indeed.