Boil Japan

Here are some ads from Japan for Nissin Cup Noodle, featuring Yoda and Gundam:

Tokyo in slow motion... and then one in fast motion

Here is a fantastic slow-mo film of Tokyo:

TOKYO SLO-MODE from alex lee on Vimeo.

A nice touch: Music is Flying Lotus feat. Sir Thom Yorke.

Here is a super-amped up, fast-paced 15-second commercial from Japan for Dole bananas:

The xylophone phone

Some in the blogosphere are incorrectly calling this commercial from Japan for the NTT Docomo a "Rube Goldberg machine."  This Japanese commercial is pretty impressive but it does not have the multitude of moving parts that most Rube Goldberg machines have.

It is a pretty long commercial.  Almost three minutes, but there were no cuts or special effects CGI-ed in.  What was shot was a genuine wooden ball rolling down a xylophone ramp set up in a way so it plays Bach.  There are some "Rube-Goldberg-like" moments when additional xylophone ramps played faster notes in the song, but for the most part this commercial is fairly calm compared to typical Rube-Goldberg machines.  The forest shots are stunning, and the nature setting brings it back to the idea of the wood shell for the SH-08C phone.

Genki Sudo's Modern Civilization

Not neccesarily an advert... this is the new music video from Genki Sudo and the World Order:

"Machine Civilization" was written to help Japanese relief efforts.

World Order still continues to impress me with their simple yet stunning choreography.  Their timing is impeccable in creating some interesting visual tricks.

*Interestingly, one of the World Order dancers is holding a Dell Streak. 

It was only a matter of time... a flash-mob commercial

First off, I love the whole "we-dance-in-slow-motion-in-this-fast-paced-business-world" execution.  

Perhaps this is a cultural thing.  Like how Japanese people prefer television programming where the commentators and actors "break," whereas "breaking" is seen as unprofessional in the US.  But here is a flash-mob style commercial from Japan.  Another major sexy thing about this commercial is poppin and lockin in a suit... talk about hot.  Men [listen closely now...] it is an automatic 50 points if you are in a suit, and if you can dance like crazy... [oh baby].  The choregraphy is amazing, but I guess I miss the elements that make flash-mob videos great in the US... the audience reaction.

Everyone in the background seems really nonplussed that a suited army is waltzing by the Midtown Tower in downtown Tokyo.  There are a few lookie-loos, but for the most part all these great dance sequences are happening in mostly non-populated areas so we miss all those wtf expressions on passerbys.  Which again, may be a more cultural thing... or not an emphasis of the campaign, considering I don't speak Japanese and I don't know what is being said in the song.

Another great touch, [there are a few] at the end when they place their mobile over their hearts.  Because we are tethered to these devices... we need our mobiles to live.  Perhaps that sounds dramatic, but there are times when I fell asleep with my mobile in my hand.  My iPhone is always with me wherever I go.  But I will say, this is a rather large device.  It won't fit in my skinny jeans... so I will stick to my iPhone. 

Man... I'd really like a translation of this commercial.