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Japanese “nose-gargling” advertisement attracts attention on Tokyo’s trains

Passengers say they’ve been trying to hold in their laughter after laying eyes on this unforgettable image.

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Pokémon Strike Back in Basel, Chase Trainers with Giant Pokéballs

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“Flying Sumo Wrestler” performs sumo moves mid-air while hurtling towards earth at high speed

Can a skydiving sumo wrestler complete the ring-entering ceremony mid-air with a “gyoji” sumo referee by his side?

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Shinjuku’s giant Godzilla statue gets a new addition, reminds us that fresh breath matters

Everyone’s favourite tokusatsu titan has a very important message for the people of Shinjuku this week.

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Emotional video explores the gap between ideals and reality for working mothers in Japan【Video】

Get out the tissues because this short ad will make you appreciate family bonds all over again.

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Merchant shipping posters invoke romance and wonder of Japan’s Meiji, Taisho and Showa eras

There was a time when sumo wrestlers and kimono-clad ladies made shipping companies look beautiful.

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Beep beep! Trucks cruising Tokyo and Osaka to promote easy bowel movements this Enema Day

On and around 19 January, trucks will be hitting the streets to raise awareness of the health benefits of enemas. You’ll be able to recognize them by the cute female drivers who appear to be constantly pooping…

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Singapore retailer a contender for “Worst Ad Campaign Ever” title after Black Friday rape gaffe

A retailer in Singapore swung and completely missed with their advertisement that was trying to catch some of the Black Friday shopping buzz.

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Poignant video about inner beauty is an unlikely ad for a beauty clinic 【Video】

At first glance, it looks like a trailer for a new movie or even a documentary about the pressures of beauty, popularity and social media. But in what is one of the most elaborate video commercials we’ve come across in a while, one beauty clinic in Thailand has gone to extreme lengths to advertise its services. Playing on the vulnerability of today’s millennials and modern societal pressures of beauty, they have produced a 14-minute short film which is as compelling as it is a disturbing.
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7-Eleven issues statement over the discontinued Olympic emblem, and their oden

With the Tokyo Olympic Committee (TOC) officially cutting ties with Kenjiro Sano’s much maligned emblem, one obvious question is on everyone’s lips: What does this mean for that oden poster made by the 7-Eleven in Musashikoganei, Tokyo?

Some of you may recall that this particular franchise had made a poster promoting their oden sale which bore a striking resemblance to the former Olympic emblem. After a request was made to the TOC, they had denied the poster’s commercial use and likeness to their intellectual property. However, now that the emblem will no longer be used, is the poster back in play?

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Panasonic develops data communication using an ordinary light and smartphone

There are many ways that data is transferred these days, be it fiber optic cables, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 4G-LTE, and a whole slew of other brand names and acronyms the meanings of which I don’t care to learn.

Now Panasonic has come up with a way to send and receive data that’s easy for everyone to understand: light. Actually it uses light emitting diodes (LED) to be exact, but that’s about as technical as this explanation needs to get, I promise.

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“Stock we should never have ordered”: This Japanese store’s pricing posters are way too honest

Employees at the campus co-op store at Nihon Joshi Daigaku may work at Japan’s oldest private women’s university, but when it comes to making their special offer displays, their attitude is anything but old-fashioned. Their witty, super-honest pricing displays regularly have the Japanese Twitterverse in stitches.

Join us after the jump for six of the best!

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South Korean lock maker goes (very) hands-on to prove the strength of his product 【Video】

Back in my university days, my creative writing tutors were always keep to hammer home the message of “show, don’t tell”. Rather than explaining everything for the reader and holding their hand the entire way, they taught us, it’s better to simply present your fictional world, characters and dialogue and let the reader experience them firsthand.

Though the end goal maybe slightly different, the same principle can be applied to advertising. Living in a world where we as consumers are constantly being told that product X is better than product Y, or assured that the purchase of item Z will somehow enrich our lives, it’s genuinely refreshing to see a company dispense with words and simply show us that the thing they’re selling works. Like this chap from South Korea who went decidedly hands-on with a window-locking system his company makes to prove its durability and efficiency…

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Meanwhile, in Japan: Puzzle game Candy Crush hires girl’s nails as advertising space

Japan knows a thing or two about human billboards. And now, from the PR company that brought the world adverts stuck to girls’ thighs on the condition that the girls wear short skirts and knee-high socks, comes a brand new marketing idea: Candy Crush are sponsoring this girl’s fingernails, with a wacky, candy-based design that’s as bold and colourful as the game itself.

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Anything is fair game for advertisement trucks in Tokyo

If you spend some time walking around the Shibuya, Shinjuku, or Ikebukuro districts of Tokyo, at some point you’re bound to spot a lavishly decorated truck blasting music from its speakers. These “ad trucks” as they’re known in Japanese are just what they sound  like – gigantic, mobile billboards with no purpose other than to drive around promoting the latest music and products. While these trucks do raise some legitimate environmental concerns, there’s no denying that this eye-catching (and deafening) marketing strategy is an effective way to grab everyone’s attention. Keep reading after the jump to view some photographic examples of ad trucks in action. You might be surprised by some of the wacky and suggestive things they can get away with!

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Samsung’s naughty ad: When autocorrect strikes back

Typographers and moral crusader beware! A risqué Samsung billboard promoting their Galaxy 3 notepad has been, ahem, erected in four countries, leaving the South Korean company with a potentially embarrassing public relations mess. The offending ad must have been designed by someone who forgot to turn off the autocorrect feature before editing, making for an unintentionally hilarious billboard. Click below to find out what the racy sign says!

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Imuraya brags about the stiffness of their sweet bean bars…“Watch your teeth!”

Imuraya Confectionary is a Japanese sweets company that specializes in the sale of adzuki (sweetened red bean) products. They pride themselves on sticking to traditional Japanese flavors and sticking to their strange marketing strategies just as hard.

Recently, Imuraya made a pair of official Twitter posts cautioning people against the stiffness of their top-selling Adzuki Bar! This frozen slab of bean paste is a summer favorite across Japan, but according to Imuraya’s own assertions, they can crack your teeth!

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Okinawa Prefecture Cancels Plan to Use Young Women’s Thighs as Advertising Space


The Okinawa Convention and Visitors Bureau (OCVB) along with the prefectural government have cancelled their plans to use space on women’s bare thighs for marketing the islands as a graduation trip destination to students outside the prefecture. Citing criticism, the two bodies stated January 24, “Placing temporary tattoo-like stickers on the thighs of young women to advertise Okinawa is not in line with prefecture’s brand image.”
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The Nihlistic Bus Schedule Advertisements of Tsukuba, Now in English!

Think back to the last time you saw an advertisement for a bus schedule.  Difficult isn’t it? Even on the off chance you have seen one before, it probably wasn’t so attention-grabbing as to stick in your memory.

It’s not like bus schedules need advertising anyway.  Either you use one or you don’t, no amount of persuading will likely change that.

Nevertheless, Tsukuba Tekken, a travel and rail association affiliated with Tsukuba University in Japan, has for years been designing quirky advertisements for their on-campus bus schedules.

Displayed in limited locations around the university, these posters have become a local legend both for their mystery and unorthodox content. So sit back and enjoy these advertisements translated into English.

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“A Computer Thinner than a ¥1 Coin!!!” Toshiba’s Way with Words Raises Eyebrows Across the Internet

Picture the scene- a businessman walks on to the set of reality TV show Dragon’s Den (which, would you believe, originated in Japan as Manē no Tora?). He sets a briefcase down on a black leather stool, adjusts his necktie and, staring the affluent entrepreneurs straight in the eye, confidently proclaims:

“Dragons, I am here today to present to you a marvel of modern technology. The pinnacle of human engineering. Never before has humankind witnessed such a feat of industry. I am about to present to you… a notebook computer thinner than a single one yen coin!”

The dragons look at one-another in awed silence. All five of them lean forward in their seats.

“Thinner than a coin?? That’s incredible!” splutters one of the millionaires, his hungry eyes flashing.

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