Saturday May 26, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

AKB48 get a new look for men's suit commercial

Entertainment Jan. 31, 2012 - 06:00AM JST ( 42 )

TOKYO —

Popular idol group AKB48 are currently appearing a new TV commercial campaign for men’s suit maker Haruyama.

The commercial, titled “Handsome Men’s Slim,” features Yuko Oshima, Minami Takahashi, Mai Watanabe and nine other members of the group dressed in men’s suits and sporting men’s hairstyles. The commercial was filmed last December in Tokyo.

Takahashi commented, “It was the first time I’ve put my hair up like that. We will show you the cool and mature side of AKB.”

The commercial will air from Wednesday.

Japan Today

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42 Comments

0

some14someJan. 31, 2012 - 07:10AM JST

Good, hope rival company Aoyama will find better group to sell their world wide size clothes !
1

whiskeysourJan. 31, 2012 - 07:12AM JST

They look more like men than they're counterparts. hehehehehe
1

SerranoJan. 31, 2012 - 07:31AM JST

This is the one AKB48 look I do not approve of.

whiskeysour - Har!
5

bibleblackJan. 31, 2012 - 08:00AM JST

well... at least it isn't SMAP.
8

DentShopJan. 31, 2012 - 08:17AM JST

Bravo. There is nothing these girls cant sell. I am in complete awe of their owners who are nothing less than geniuses.

Why arent these babes being used to fix the North Korean situation? If anyone can do it - it is AKB.
8

namabiru4meJan. 31, 2012 - 08:19AM JST

Surprisingly, they look like many of the "men" I see everyday.
2

gyouzaJan. 31, 2012 - 08:38AM JST

Why arent these babes being used to fix the North Korean situation? If anyone can do it - it is AKB.

Send them to the frontline? Hmmm.

Two got expelled from the group yesterday, alledgedly for breaking the rules of no "realtionships" with men. Haven't seen that story break here yet - for once it isn't them selling something!
3

papigiulioJan. 31, 2012 - 08:42AM JST

Looks like that Takarazuka stuff. I prefer them in their usual skimpy outfits.
0

my2senseJan. 31, 2012 - 08:45AM JST

I would settle for one George Clooney or Brad Pitt but even they would like dorks in a tight fitted off the rack J suit.
-2

MaboDofuIsSpicyJan. 31, 2012 - 09:08AM JST

They looked sexy in that commercial.
3

genji17Jan. 31, 2012 - 09:42AM JST

Why is everything on the island represented by cross dressing?
3

tmarieJan. 31, 2012 - 09:49AM JST

What exactly does AKB have to do with men's suits??
3

AliasisJan. 31, 2012 - 09:52AM JST

Thank goodness I know about AKB wearing suits for a commercial! If this had slipped by me, I just don't know how I would've lived my life.
4

AylerJan. 31, 2012 - 10:41AM JST

what's next? Smap selling panty liners?
6

smithinjapanJan. 31, 2012 - 10:41AM JST

“It was the first time I’ve put my hair up like that. We will show you the cool and mature side of AKB.”

Ummm, no it won't.
1

combinibentoJan. 31, 2012 - 11:04AM JST

How many more years of a run does AKB48 have? Unfortunately I reckon another decade or so... Technically Morning Musume is still ongoing although they've been around since 1997... More to the point, I find it hard to believe that there exists a man who is both (a) an AKB48 fan and (b) old enough for responsibilities which require the wearing of a suit.
3

Ben_JackinoffJan. 31, 2012 - 11:11AM JST

I was hoping against hope to see AKB48 in a commercial setting and my wish came true today. I realize they are generally serious musicians who shy away from the world of commercialism, but I can't think of a better way to break into the world of advertising than for them to wear suits. Why, just seeing them wearing these suits encouraged me to go out and buy several of them. Sadly, I was hoping to see the young ladies at the shop and they were not there in person. Maybe next time.
1

anglootakuJan. 31, 2012 - 11:29AM JST

mmm bad image..from kawaii look to salaryman..
3

ExportExpertJan. 31, 2012 - 11:57AM JST

Anyone else sick of AKBoring 48, being over used in everything possible.

Please change the channel.
0

herefornowJan. 31, 2012 - 12:13PM JST

Yup, I for one would like to buy a suit that looks good on a girl. Says a lot about the men's physiques in Japan. Or maybe lack thereof.
2

deepstar6Jan. 31, 2012 - 12:22PM JST

Takahashi commented, “It was the first time I’ve put my hair up like that.

So do you wear men's suit all the time?
1

HategoboJan. 31, 2012 - 12:45PM JST

Is it possible that someone can arrange for AKB48 to promote Japans most incompetent Fugu restaurant to give us all a respite from their saturation of the media with their puerile adverising campaign?
-3

kiss1969Jan. 31, 2012 - 01:23PM JST

if you don't like it, change the channel. if the article bores you, don't read it! you don't have to... I'm a big fan of women selling anything. Go girls!
2

cactusJackJan. 31, 2012 - 01:45PM JST

Suit Up!
1

deepstar6Jan. 31, 2012 - 01:54PM JST

@kiss1969 Those women are not selling anything to you. They are making yen.
0

lostrune2Jan. 31, 2012 - 02:59PM JST

See, without their legs, they don't look all that, haha.
0

deepstar6Jan. 31, 2012 - 03:31PM JST

Yeah, just the legs...right.
-1

NetNinjaJan. 31, 2012 - 04:04PM JST

I agree. They are nothing without their legs. They do look like men.

Now if the suit fits.....then the women in this country need to go to work. I hope this message is misunderstood by the general public as a call to women to start pulling their weight instead of freeloading on working class men.
0

deepstar6Jan. 31, 2012 - 05:18PM JST

The commercial, titled “Handsome Men’s Slim,” features Yuko Oshima, Minami Takahashi, Mai Watanabe and nine other members of the group dressed in men’s suits and sporting men’s hairstyles.

The title sounds like a title for tobacco's ad.

I wonder what are they (HARUYAMA CO) trying to promote here? Men to become slim to fit in to their suits or women to start wearing men's suits.

Aargh... Muzukashi ~ .... wakaranai ~
2

calm downJan. 31, 2012 - 05:23PM JST

That picture is just begging for the caption 'Men,get into these pants '
1

TokyoGasJan. 31, 2012 - 06:55PM JST

So they pulled the old Takarazuka women playing a man. Who wants to bet that we will see a fashion trend of young women wearing men's suits. You heard it hear first!
0

KingBasilJan. 31, 2012 - 06:55PM JST

I will also want to see less of AKB48 here just as soon as something happens. That something is when the sex negative neo-moralist tools stop freaking out over them. When they tone down the rhetoric and just accept that AKB48 is not causing anyone any problems in the real world, that is the day I too hope for less AKB48 news. Until then, I am enjoying the pain of those languishing in their ridiculous moral panic about this group. More please, hopefully next time dressed as females.
1

oberstJan. 31, 2012 - 07:47PM JST

ye all got your wish................... This is nothing but a test marketing to see if ALL BOYS AKB48 will fly !!
-3

lrodriguezsosaJan. 31, 2012 - 08:06PM JST

It's just a girl band. Quite popular. I'm beginning to dig it. A lot.
2

ExportExpertJan. 31, 2012 - 11:43PM JST

lrodriguezsosa

It's just a girl band. Quite popular. I'm beginning to dig it. A lot.

They are not a band, to be a band they would need to play instruments, this lot have no talent and could not play instruments, they sing and dance that does not qualify them as being a band, it does qualify them as being a group though.
3

KariHarukaFeb. 01, 2012 - 04:38AM JST

In mens business suits? Get them back in the school uniforms now!
0

nisegaijinFeb. 01, 2012 - 08:27AM JST

disgusting! i will never wear a suit again!
0

Elbuda MexicanoFeb. 01, 2012 - 01:02PM JST

Sorry, even the enhanced picture is way too small, but just as well I guess, this kind of ruins my image of AKB48.
0

Elbuda MexicanoFeb. 01, 2012 - 01:03PM JST

Export, guess what, they are learning to play many musical instruments, guitars, drums etc..saw it on tv the other day, quite impressive!
0

KingBasilFeb. 01, 2012 - 08:29PM JST

Its funny that for some this group represents a dangerous lack of morality. Yet the whole band is so wrapped in a contractual moral straight-jacket that two just "resigned" (read spiritual honor killing) for having daring to have real live boyfriends. To be fair though, they are essentially no more or less slutty or chaste than any other female performers in the world. They just have a different mix that perplexes most foreigners viewing them through their own cultural lens.

But I would say the whole country leans toward sexual repression, and the simple fact that these girls can be contractually bound to have no love life is a major leap that direction, while the fact that they show some leg or danced in lingerie in one lousy video is but a baby step backward. How can you compare what is seen on TV or on stage to what is forbidden or repressed in reality? Its a bit like the movie THX1138 where you can consume all the porn you want but real sex is against the law. Both Japan and AKB48 seem to be not too far off from that crazy world.
0

CapnSinbadFeb. 02, 2012 - 02:08PM JST

This is one of the most unappealing ads I have ever seen: chicks dress up in guys' suits to influence young J-men to buy the suits. Pathetic. What is the message here: "Buy our suits which fit women better than they fit men ?"
-1

DaijobootsFeb. 10, 2012 - 03:59AM JST

Minami Takahashi

Yeah she can wear a suit but the latest look of the leader of AKB's A team is more interesting. Shukan Bunshun have a two-page spread in their edition out now reporting that Minami's 44 year-old mother (divorced) was recently arrested and fined 500,000 yen for having relations several times with a 15 year-old boy (a student at the same school as Minami's younger brother).