Michael John Grist

Hollywood actors often do ads in Japan that they would never do back in the US. I don’t know why really, though I suspect it’s because that kind of ’selling out’ in America is more likely to negatively impact their status than it would here.

A few years back they had David and Posh Beckham in small cars saying- ‘my beautiful small’ at us. Brad Pitt has done low-key advertising for Edwin jeans for as long as I’ve seen Edwin jeans. Back when 24 was huge Kiefer Sutherland reprised Jack Bauer to sell Calorie Mate energy drink.

Below are a few instances of Hollywood, Japan I’ve gathered recently.

That’s Arnie on the Fukutoshin line, grinning at me and telling me to come to California.

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After my review of Bean and Beer Pretz last week I decided the snack-cocktail combo-review should continue, so this week I bring you: Pepsi Blue Hawaii and Brazilian Pudding Pocky!

This snack-cocktail should be aided by the fact that Blue Hawaii actually IS a cocktail, or takes the name of a cocktail. Pepsi, I salute you. There’s been kids beer, dogs beer, now let’s soft-drink-ize the cocktails.

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Beer and beans go hand in hand in Japan. In bean season (spring) you can’t go to an izakaya (bar/restaurant) without having eidamame (spring beans) thrust upon you along with your nama beeru (fresh beer). It’s no burden however, because chilled half-boiled lightly salted beans go very well with beer, the one complementing the other.

So why not make snacks that equally complement each other, available not only in the spring, but year round? Or at least for as long as the product life-cycle in Japan’s fast-paced novelty foods market.

With that in mind, Glico brings us Beer Pretz (els)-

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