Japan is known around the world for its eccentricity. The bizarre antics of Japanese TV shows like Takeshi’s Castle and Gaki no Tsukai can intrigue anyone who’s not acquainted with the Japanese TV industry that believes in doing everything with maximum effort and enthusiasm. Watch enough of their shows on YouTube and you’d soon realize that their commercials aren’t any different either. The whole point of their ads is to obviously grab your attention.
Japanese commercials are impossible to ignore. Some of them are so funny that they have to be on our #FunnyFriday blog. So, here we are with 5 funny Japanese commercials that will make you want to visit the country right away.
1. Nissin Curry Noodles: Globalization
This commercial from Nissin Curry Noodles turns language learning into an epic war movie and you are in for a solid dose of laughter if you have turned on the subtitles😂
The ad shows a company making English its official language. The employees struggle to cope with the change and their efforts to learn the language are collectively showcased as a war between them and their new supervisor, who’s a native English speaker. I’d advise you to turn on the subtitles even if you understand the language😂
2. Monster Hunter: World
As I told you above, Japanese commercials are full of enthusiasm, and this ad by Monster Hunter: World is a prime example of that.
This commercial for Monster Hunter: World on the PS4 shows a man depicting a variety of monsters from the game with eerie accuracy. He also shouts the names of all monsters as he mimics their pose. Despite the high similarity with which he mimics the monsters, you can’t help yourself from laughing at the man’s antics.
3. Dekavita C: Super Mario
Dekavita C is a popular energy drink from Suntory and what better way to market it than showing the relentless suffering of Mario and his friends stuck inside a video game?
The characters are seen to be fulfilling the demands of a player in multiple games like tennis and football, only getting a chance to catch their breath when she closes the DS. Obviously, the only way they could keep up with this high energy level was through the Dekavita C drink. It seems like the man in the Monster Hunter commercial also drank the Dekavita C drink to attain a high level of energy.
4. Calbee Potato Chips: Return of the Calbee Dog
This dog in this Calbee Chips commercial has a history. It first appeared in 2007 and has since reappeared multiple times in weirdly funny advertisements like this one.
The commercial shows the dog trying to cheer up a girl who’s sad about her limited jumping abilities. The dog eggs her on to mimic other things like a plane, a bird, and a fish. And just then an alien spaceship surfaces overhead and the dog returns transformed into an alien! Come again, please! Does that make any sense to you?? It surely went past my head. But the commercial looks funny though, just don’t try to apply any logic to it.
5. Boss Coffee: Alien Teacher
This commercial by Boss Coffee features Tommy Lee Jones pretending to be an alien and speaking Japanese.
While the students are taken aback by Jones' incredibly stern attitude, the audience certainly gets a hearty laugh out of seeing the actor shave a boy’s head right from the middle of his scalp with a piece of chalk and burning a duster with rays emitting from his eyes.😂 When the parents complain about Jones’ overtly strict nature to the headmaster, the two sip a coffee together to forget about the “undue” criticism from parents.
Bottom Line
Japanese commercials are loud, short, and impactful. Often it’s hard to figure out what the commercial is trying to advertise. However, that’s precisely why these ads come out so funny. Regardless of whether or not you can make any sense of these commercials, you can definitely have a good laugh after watching these commercials.
We’ll be back with more funny commercials for you next week. Till then, stay tuned.