Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Vodafone campaign



Vodafone is coming up with strong incentives to win over new customers in its new campaign promoting its latest handset, the 803 T by Toshiba. New customers who purchase the handset will receive a free pair of Bose headphones, to be used with the integrated MP3 player. And for those who have no idea what music they might want to listen to, Vodafone has set up this blog.

Friday, October 21, 2005

Real Simple



Nikkei Business Publications has launched a new magazine with Real Simple Japan (the Japanese version of the US magazine Real Simple) which will show Japanese consumer ways to unclutter their everyday life.

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Playstation spots



Sony is touring Tokyo with a number of minibuses offering Playstation Spots where users can bring along their PSP and check out the multiplayer and gamesharing features. Between October 24 to November 3 Playstation Spots will be also set up at various major train stations.

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Seven Eleven Bank



The former IY Bank has been bought by the convenience store operator Seven Eleven and is currently being relaunched as Sevenbank. It offers ATMs at all Seven Eleven branches in Japan and - unlike the large banks - charges no fees for using ATMs during the day on weekends and holidays.

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Autumn beers



One thing to look forward to every year - as soon as fall arrives, Japanese breweries start releasing their special autumn beers in colorful cans evoking autumn leaves, such as Kirin Akiaji ("taste of fall"). I nicked the idea, and so this blog will appear in autumn colors for the next few weeks.

Retro tea



Nice retro ad by Nittoh for its tea brand "Daily Club". You can download it here.

Sunday, October 16, 2005

New Asahi Beer




The customization trend seems to have reached the beer market. After Suntory with its four variations of its brew Malts (using a different spring water for each), Asahi has now released another beer that comes in four different flavors with Kobo Number. Each contains a different kind of yeast (hence the number), which gives the beer a different taste. Asahi is letting customers decide which taste they find best with an online survey.

Saturday, October 15, 2005

Tokyo Motor Show 2005



The posters for this years Tokyo Motor Show pick up one of the major trends of recent years - the revival of traditional Japanese style and aesthetics - with its calligraphy-inspired design. At the Tokyo Motor Show 2003, Nissan was the first to introduce cars with distinctly Japanese names such as the Fuga, and this trend will probably continue this year.

Friday, October 14, 2005

SUICA Penguin



The SUICA penguin has started appearing in these cute ads at major train stations.



Japan Railways has also introduced vending machines which accept SUICA cards for payment at Tokyo station.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

MUJI



The new MUJI ad campaign is a huge disappointment when compared to the campaign created by Kenya Hara for the brand. I wonder if the Maglite campaign (below right) was not in fact "inspired" by Hara's stunning visuals (below left).

Thursday, October 06, 2005

MUJI



The Observer features a long article on the history of Muji and the differences between the brand's appearance in Japan and its overseas stores.

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

The Tu-ka story continues...



Tu-ka seems to have found out who the actual buyers of their cellphone for seniors Tu-ka S are - the text reads "I would have never gotten round to owning a mobile phone if I had not received this present!"

Monday, October 03, 2005

Frisk goes MP3



Japanese companies have recently discovered MP3 players as prizes for competions and lotteries, and Frisk has come up with a rather stylish one featuring even the original (?)iPod earphones.

Sunday, October 02, 2005

Eat Run



The food company Sazeriya has come up with a new concept for a fastfood restaurant offering "cheap and fresh" food under the intriguing brandname Eat Run