20 years on and still rocking it! Kinki Kids has more in store for their 20th anniversary. Catch the duo in their newest commercial for jewelry brand Bijoude featuring their new song “The Red Light”. This new single is  part of the various activities and releases lined up in celebration of their 20th anniversary.

 This time, the song was provided by Kubota Toshinobu, who celebrated his 30th anniversary last year. He said, “Now that KinKi Kids is passing their 20th anniversary, I wanted them to sing this kind of song. I could just picture the two of them singing it while I was writing it.” The result is a hard soul tune firmly rooted in Toshinobu Kubota’s world.

Just before the anniversary of their debut on 7/21, this song is ideal for the start of a new era of KinKi Kids, and features a groove unlike anything they’ve done before, perfect for commemorating the occasion. “The Red Light” will be released on July 12.

Watch their latest CM with a preview of “The Red Light” below.

“The Red Light” TRACKLIST

[First-run edition A]
・Tri-fold 6-page
・KinKi Kids 20th Anniversary promotion ID enclosed
(CD)
1. The Red Light
Lyrics: 久保田利伸, 森大輔/Music: 久保田利伸/Arrangement: 森大輔
2. The Red Light – Backing Track –

(DVD)
“The Red Light” – Music Video & Making Of – (about 10 minutes of footage are planned)

[First-run edition B]
・Half-fold 4-page
・KinKi Kids 20th Anniversary promotion ID enclosed
(CD)
1. The Red Light
2. 僕だけの椅子 (Boku Dake no Isu)
Lyrics/Music/Arrangement: 井手コウジ

(DVD)
Behind the Scenes -MTV Unplugged:KinKi Kids- (about 10 minutes of footage are planned)

[Regular edition]
・Tri-fold 6-page
・KinKi Kids 20th Anniversary promotion ID enclosed (first press only)
(CD)
1. The Red Light
2. Shiny
Lyrics and Music: 堂島孝平/Arrangement: CHOKKAKU/Chorus arrangement: 佐々木久美
3. Million Secrets Of Love
Lyrics: 井手コウジ/Music: invisible manners/Arrangement: 井手コウジ

(via J-net)

Last night it was announced that popular rock band BUMP OF CHICKEN would be providing the latest CM song for Nissin’s “Cup Noodles” brand.  This track, titled “Kinen Satsuei”, is a gentle mid-tempo number which combines a faint electronic beat and some vocal echos with singer Motoo Fujiwara’s idiosyncratic voice.

The commercial itself is based on the popular Studio Ghibli film “Kiki’s Delivery Service”, reimagining the movie’s main characters Kiki and Tombo as a pair of high school students in modern Japan.  After several classic high school moments, Kiki takes Tombo to a point high above the city below, where she finally confesses her love to him.

While no release date has been set for “Kinen Satsuei”, you’ll be able to view the CM, as well as a trailer which features several sketches related to the campaign below.

(via natalie)

A new song “White Cube” from CM jingle producer Yasutaka Nakata has been revealed through a new Nissin promotional video.

Focusing on the concept of “good design” the video promotes Nissin’s Cup Noodle Chili Tomato variety and the addition of the new cube-shaped ingredient: “white mystery meat“. It follows a strong visual aesthetic of minimalism with a limited color palette of white, red and green and refers back to the cubic and porous qualities of the new meat product.

“I’m elated to be part of such a fun CF,” Nakata commented. “I think music should be exciting, so I’d like to continue making enjoyable work in the future.“

Details of a “White Cube” release will be announced at a later date.

Rola has been appointed to appear in a new set of nationwide CMs with popular food processing company acecook.

The Bengali beauty is responsible for promoting their brand of instant yakisoba noodles, promising that in just 5 minutes you can enjoy a filling and delicious meal or snack. Rola claims that the noodles are very sweet and scrumptious, promising that you have never eaten such amazing instant noodles before. The highlight of the CM is the “Rola Dance” and the cute jingle that Rola sings herself. The choreography for the dance was created by “Furitsukekagyou air:man”, a group very famous for their work in commercials.  In this year alone they have participated in the creation of over 30 CMs.

This is one of the many endorsement deals Rola currently has on her plate, last year she came in 2nd place during the annual “CM King/Queen” ranking. It’s safe to say her top 5 position is already secured for this year.

Watch the full CM, as well as the making-of, below the jump!

Making of

(via sponichi)

Issei Takahasi has been selected as the spokesperson for Kirin Beer’s alcoholic beverage “ICEBOX”. In the CM he’s joined by fellow actor Kenta Hamano.

Clocking in at one minute and 48 seconds long, it can arguably be described as a short MV instead. The CM takes place in a swanky looking club where Issei and Kenta are jamming out. Issei is on the harmonica while Kenta is playing the trombone. The supporting band in the CM is actually Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, a very influential ska and jazz band who was without a doubt helped shape the modern Japanese music scene. Their many collaborations include Shiina Ringo, PUFFY, Kyoko Koizumi, and Tamio Okuda. At the end of the performance Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchesstra and Kenta all watch in awe as Issei enjoys a refreshing sip of “ICEBOX”. A short 30 second version which will most likely be used for national television features Issei and Kenta, after taking a sip it transitions to them performing with Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra.

Both Issei and Kenta commented on how much fun it was to film the CM, both of them are also big fans of Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra. Issei has actually played the harmonica as a hobby for quite a long time, so he was happy that he could showcase his skills to the public. Kenta also plays the trombone, but as a profession too! He’s a member of the group Sakerock who also features popular actor Gen Hoshino. Besides trombone Kenta performs scat singing for the band.

Issei is currently enjoying success as one of the top actors in Japan. His next project is the film “Uso wo Aisuru Onna” where he will be co-starring with Masami Nagasawa. Kenta will be appearing in the highly anticipated “Tokyo Ghoul” film where he will play the role of Enji Koma.

Watch the full version of Kirin’s “ICEBOX” CM, as well as the 30 second version below!

(natalie)

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A couple of weeks ago we reported on BUMP OF CHICKEN‘s collaboration with Nissin‘s “Cup Noodles” brand, which saw them provide the backing track for the company’s “Kiki’s Delivery Service” themed commercial.  Today the band made the surprise announcement that it would be releasing this song, titled “Kinen Satsuei”, on all Japanese digital storefronts starting immediately.

In support of this sudden release, the group have also published a special lyric video for the song to their Youtube channel.  This video pairs well with the electronic-influenced track, making use of a series of 3-dimensional cubes which are displayed in an array of different configurations, sometimes with images contained within.

You’ll find the rather unique lyric video for “Kinen Satsuei” just beneath the jump.

(via natalie)

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Pop-rock band Mr.Children are currently in the midst of celebrating their 25th year in the music industry and have recently announced the latest part of these festivities.  The group have partnered with phone carrier NTT Docomo to produce a special commercial fitting for the occasion, one which not only looks back on the past, but also faces resolutely towards the future.

The CM stars actor Issei Takahashi and actress Haru Kuroki, telling a story that first began in a summer 25 years ago.  It of course also makes use of Mr.Children’s music, containing snippets of their debut single “Kimi ga Ita Natsu”, popular ballad “365 Nichi”, and the demo of a new, as yet untitled song which doesn’t even have any official lyrics yet.

You can find the preview for this anniversary commercial below, with the full version set to start airing next week on July 18th.  In addition, you can also look forward to the release of Mr.Children’s upcoming single “himawari“, which will be available the following week starting on July 26th.

(via natalie)

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Nihon Monitor has released their celebrity ranking for the most CM deals of 2017 thus far. Last year, Arashi member Aiba Masaki came in first place for the third year in a row, tying with professional tennis player Kei Nishikori. Actress Yo Yoshida came in first place for the female category. The full ranking for last year can be seen here.

It looks like this might be Aiba’s 4th year in a row with the CM King title! A few of Aiba’s high profile CM deals include Mercedes Benz, Japan Airlines, and Kirin Beer. Also coming in first place is Kei Nishikori. The tennis player made history by becoming the only male Japanese tennis player ever to be ranked within the top 10 in singles competition. Naturally, this milestone caused Kei to become a sensation in the Japanese sports world. Kei has appeared in CMs for Land Rover, Jaguar, Japan Airlines, and UNIQLO.

For the female category actress Suzu Hirose came in fist place. At only 19 years old Suzu is poised to become Japan’s next top actress, last year she came in 2nd place working with 12 companies. This year she has already surpassed that by working with 14. Some of the companies Suzu has appeared in CMs for include Shiseido, Square Enix, Softbank Mobile, and Universal Studios Japan.

The full ranking can be seen below.

The results are based on the following survey:

No. of companies that appointed each talent and has appeared in TV CMs.
Study period: January 1- June 30, 2016
Target station: NTV / TV Asahi / TBS / TV Tokyo / Fuji TV

Male Category

1. 10 CMs

Aiba Masaki (Arashi)
Kei Nishikori

2. 9 CMs

Jun Matsumoto (Arashi)
Kenichi Endo

3. 8 CMs

Sho Sakurai (Arashi)
DAIGO
Kazunari Ninomiya (Arashi)

4. 7 CMs

Ichiro
Tomoya Nagase (TOKIO)
Masaki Suda
Kento Yamazaki
Toori Matsuzaka
Hidetoshi Nishijima

Female Category

1. 14 CMs

Suzu Hirose

2. 10 CMs

Yo Yoshida
Rola
Aya Ueto
Mitsuki Takahata
Kasumi Arimura
Haruka Ayase

3. 9 CMs

Aoi Miyazaki

4. 8 CMs

Satomi Ishihara
Haruna Kawaguchi
Haru
Riho Yoshioka
Yui Aragaki
Emi Takei
Nanao
Mirei Kiritani

5. 7 CMs

Matsuko Deluxe
Masami Nagasawa
Nozomi Sasaki
Keiko Kitagawa
Kyoko Fukada
Mizuki Yamamoto
Tsubasa Honda

(via Nihon Monitor)

The post Aiba Masaki, Kei Nishikori, & Suzu Hirose are the CM Kings/Queen for 1st Half of 2017 appeared first on ARAMA! JAPAN.

Earlier this week, Electro-pop trio Perfume announced they their plans to release a new single on August 30. Titled “If you wanna,” it will be the group’s 24th single overall.

The song will be used as part of the advertising campaign from Sunstar’s oral care and body product line Ora2, which gives three different settings their line of products could be useful. A-Chan shows off the “CITY” taking public transportation, Kashiyuka is in charge of “TRAVEL” with her suitcase, while Nocchi becomes an office lady for the “OFFICE” segment.

The CM’s visual aesthetic takes on a flip-book approach, carefully planning out each member’s motions for 19 frames of each of their 2 second individual scenes.

Check out the new CM below to hear a snippet of “If you wanna“!

Perfume’s 24th single “If you wanna” will be released on August 30 with coupling track “Everyday” which is being used as the image song for the latest line of Panasonic washing machines.

The post Perfume Preview New Single “If you wanna” in Ora2 CM appeared first on ARAMA! JAPAN.

Comedy rock group GOLDEN BOMBER have been recruited to star in a brand new CM for “ICE BOX”.  Titled “Summer Beach”, it will first air during the television series “World Wide Look! TV Special Investigator”.

This is the second time the group will be collaborating with Morinaga’s ICE BOX drink. Back in April 2012, lead singer Sho Kiryuin shared on his official blog that the band would be releasing a new song called “ICE BOX” which would be used for the drinks summer CM campaign. The silly CM was a hit for the group and ended up becoming one of the more memorable CMs aired that year. Five years the later the boys are back for another campaign, trying to prove that “ICE BOX” is indeed the ultimate summer drink. 

Throughout the 30 second CM the members partake in typical summer beach activities such as volleyball, swimming, and sprinting across the beach. GOLDEN BOMBER’s drummer Kenji Darvish encouraged fans to constantly watch the CM over and over again so the image is burned into their eyes, which when will then probably make you want to purchase an “ICE BOX”! Bass player Jun Utahiroba had a similar comment, saying that he hopes the CM tends #1 in Japan.

“ICE BOX” is a quite unique beverage. There’s no liquid, the “drink” consists of small flavored ice chunks. It has became a very popular treat due to Japan’s extremely hot and humid summers. Watch the full 30 second “ICE BOX” CM below, as well as GOLDEN BOMBER’s original version from 2012.

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Elegant connoisseurs Kano Sisters have been selected to appear in the new CM for Comic Toranoana. Founded in 1996, Comic Toranoana has 15 locations all over Japan. It’s a dojin store which specializes in selling manga related goods, along with amateur self-published works which include manga, novels, fan guides, art collections, music, anime and video games.

Over the years the majority of Kano Sisters “fanbase” mainly consisted of older women, attaining much success publishing various beauty and exercise books/DVDs. However, they have strangely started to get a rather large following within the Otaku community. Over the weekend the sisters attended Comiket, an iconic dojinshi fair which promotes a very DIY approach to selling your own self-published works.

It was met with a bit of controversy when the following day the sisters attended a press conference for the CM. Some netizens accused the sisters of attending Comiket solely to promote their upcoming CM, which clashes with the “grassroots” culture of the fair. The duo responded on their blog where they swiftly dismissed the allegations. Furthermore other netizens pointed out that they had already previously attended the last Comiket event held in December 2016, showing a natural interest in the fair.

Further spreading their Otaku influence, the sisters appeared as guests on “Hikakin Games“, who is one of the most popular Japanese gaming YouTube personalities. During their episode the sisters played the mobile game “OTHELLONIA“. In under 3 weeks the video is just shy of hitting over 1.9 million hits.

Watch the Kano Sisters CM for Comic Toranoana below!

(via t-site)

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American talent Dante Carver seems to have gotten himself into quite the mishap. Not only has it been revealed that he has had an affair, but the woman whom he had an affair with is now pregnant.

On August 2010, Carver married former model Akiko Matsumoto. Their official wedding ceremony was held the following year in April 2011 and the couple have two young children together aged 5 and 3. The trouble started last year when Carver started to fool around with a woman in her 20s. They became antiquated over the summer and she is not affiliated with the entertainment industry, she works at a sports shop. His mistress is now pregnant and is said to be giving birth in the “near future”

Naturally Carver’s wife is furious at the entire situation, upon her learning of the incident it’s been said that he sought refuge at his parents house. A divorce between Carver and Matsumoto is expected to happen but not immediately, seeing as Carver is doing his best to avoid the conflict entirely.  His agency tried to damage control the situation by claiming that the couples relationship had already “broken down” years ago, and that divorce talks were happening as early as 2015.

His “sloppy” behavior has apparently been well known among entertainment officials, however this scandal takes things to another level. Previously Carver’s biggest “scandal” was probably when he was caught driving with an expired international driving permit.

Carver achieved nationwide fame in Japan for his Softbank CMs where first he played the “Yoso Guy” and then Aya Ueto’s older brother as part of the fictional “White Family”. In 2008 he was crowned the most popular male actor in a CM by the public, breaking Takuya Kimura’s streak who had previously won the award 8 years in a row.

It’s currently unknown if he will be dropped from Softbank and his other promotional contracts, but he will have to face a considerable amount of penalty moving forward.

(excite &  livedoor)

The post Dante Carver revealed to have had an affair, his mistress is now pregnant appeared first on ARAMA! JAPAN.

Jessica “JJ” Rabone is the little sister of talent Becky, and has her eyes set on the Japanese entertainment industry! She recently just earned a very high profile endorsement deal with the beverage company Minute Maid.

The bright and colorful adverts and CM show off Jessica’s impressive dance skills, while she does everyday tasks like housekeeping and heading to work at the office. Multiple short videos were created for social media, and then all of them were combined to create a 60 second version. She’s in charge of promoting the new 100% fruit drink Minute Maid Once a Day Multi Vitamin. A brand new twitter account was created by Minute Maid just for this new campaign, and has already garnered thousands of retweets since it began to tweet 3 days ago.

Rabone began dancing at the age of 17 as a way to find herself, and carve out her own path instead of just being known as “Becky’s sister”.  In 2013 she won a battle at the worlds biggest street dancing event JUSTE DEBOUT NYC  held in New York City. In 2015 she was successfully picked as one of the finalists in the American dance competition show So You Think You Can Dance? 

During Rabone’s “SYTUCD” audition she recalled that she tried to follow her sisters path at a much younger age, but due to her name, voice, and looks agencies could easily tell she was related to Becky without her initially revealing it. Instead of helping her, the relation to Becky actually hindered her attempts at entering the industry. Once she was coldly told by an agent “You know we don’t need two Becky’s in the industry, we already have one”.

Earlier in the year Rabone appeared with Becky on the FUJI TV variety show Moshimono Futari. The two then did a photoshoot together for Numero Tokyo a couple months later. This Minute Maid campaign marks Rabone’s first major solo project within the Japanese Entertainment scene. Despite Rabone’s foray into her sisters “territory”, dancing is still an integral part of her life as seen in the CM. She still works as a dancer and holds workshops as well as private lessons.

Minute Maid Once a Day Multi Vitamin can be purchased from Japanese stores nationwide.

(via oricon)

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Check out the newest song from Sandaime J Soul Brothers titled “J.S.B. HAPPINESS”. A special movie for Ezaki glico’s “Pocky”, “Sandaime J Soul Brothers × Pocky PROJECT: THE Sharehappi Special Movie” was released featuring a performance of their latest song in front of 800 fans. On the day of filming, the group’s appearance has been kept as a secret, and they were met with a huge cheer when they appeared on a round red stage in the center of the hall.

This special movie is a documentary about the backstage of the performance through which members and people of different generations were connected by songs!

This special movie will be edited to a CM version, scheduled to be aired from October 31.

(via LDH, Mantan-web)

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On the night of November 13th, cell phone company NTT docomo premiered an ad starring Namie Amuro on Shibuya Scramble’s LED screens. The ad features Namie rocking styles from the 90s, 2000s, the early 2010s, and the present.

Announced last month on her official facebook page, the ad is in collaboration with NTT Docomo who have partnered with the singer to both celebrate her 25th anniversary and to promote her record-breaking compilation album “Finally”. The company has also recently debuted a brand new portion of their website solely dedicated to the collaboration which features brand new promotional images of the singer.

Check out the ad and more below!

sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

The post Namie Amuro stars in docomo CM celebrating her 25th Anniversary appeared first on ARAMA! JAPAN.

Idol group Nogizaka46 have transformed into mouse girls for a brand new laptop CM, appropriately titled the Mouse laptop.

The five main members selected for the CM are Erika Ikuta, Rina Ikoma, Asuka Saito, Mai Shiraishi, and Nanase Nishino. The five mouse girls form a rock band and sing about the laptops major selling point, providing free 24 hour support for any issue regarding the laptop. The director of the CM praised Saito, who played the drums. She did a completely perfect performance on the first try, not having to re-shoot any of her scenes.

The CM will begin to air on television starting on November 20th. In celebration of the laptop’s release and the airing of the CM, a special appreciation campaign was created for people who purchase the laptop. Up until December 31st buyers will receive a special limited edition t-shirt with a drawing of the Nogizaka46 mouse band. Further details on the promotion will be revealed on the Mouse x Nogizaka46 collaboration website, which will be updated on November 20th.

Watch the full CM and some bts footage below the jump.

(via Natalie)

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Talent and model Haruna Kojima has bagged herself a brand new endorsement deal with the retail giant Uniqlo.

Since graduating from AKB48 in April 2017 Kojima continued to grow her personal brand, being one of the most influential Japanese female celebrities on Instagram. Her official website serves as a lifestyle/wellness blog of sorts, where she gives tips and recommendations on fashion, make up, and other various beauty products.

Kojima flew down to the heart of New York city to film the CM and take photos for the campaign. The CM begins with a almost naked Koijima getting out of bed and starting her day by putting on Uniqlo’s wireless bra, from their “LifeWear” collection. She puts on a grey shawl then dramatically gazes into the camera.

At an event promoting her new campaign, Kojima praised the comfort and support of the bra, while still adding how important it was that it still makes the wearer feel sexy and confident. Wearing actual items from “LifeWear” to the event, she also showed off how no panty lines were exposed despite wearing skin tight white jeans.

She went on to play a good spokesperson by saying “If you wear a Uniqlo bra, happiness will come!“. The full CM, BTS footage, and photos from the event can be seen below. 

(photos via Nosh)

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