Just like Darth Vader’s cameo in a series cell phone ads, Yoda recently starred in a Japanese commercial for Nissin’s Cup Noodles — speaking English, no less. Of course, they had to subtitle him, but it would seem the Jedi master wants Japan to recover from its recent tragedies as much as anyone else; the commercial ends with him wishing the force be with the entire nation, kind of a sweet little gesture on Lucas’ part. I wasn’t aware you could use the force to boil water, though. Also, the line “Boil Japan.” looks a bit strange out of context. Oh well, it’s still kind of cool.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 17, 2010 in Japanese TV
Both of these quirky ramen commercials are from a 1998 campaign for Nissin. The first spot where the two ladies magically acquire cat ears stars Kikuti Momoko and Miyuki — and of course I love how the second advert makes a Marilyn Monroe reference: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 5, 2010 in Japanese TV
Yes this Nissin ramen commercial starts out quite normally, but then it quickly travels from the Swiss alps to the Twilight Zone. So like little Miss Muffet our ski bunny is in the middle of a forest enjoying her warm but somewhat lackluster noodles: And then suddenly behind the trees appear two Kamen Rider villains, one with a pepper grinder head and the other with a cheese head. These two villains of lackluster instant noodles then attack her meal by zapping it with extra delicious flavor. Our heroine then goes on to enjoy her Milk Seafood Noodles as if nothing abnormal had occurred. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 28, 2010 in Japanese TV
The old vegetarian admonishment is “never eat anything with a face” — so of course looking at these very kawaii veggies heading to their doom makes me feel a tad guilty. This spot was done for Acecook which makes a wide assortment of ramen. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Dec 8, 2009 in Japanese TV
Those poor Ban Ban nuts: They sing, they dance and then they get crushed up to be sprinkled over ramen! Although I was happy to see the the Bam Ban in the middle escaped the destruction of the marketing department of Acecook.
I’ve often read about many unusually specialized museums in Japan such as the Towel Museum. One of the better known ones that I’ve actually been to is the Shinyokohama Raumen Museum. I’ve noticed various Blogs and Village Voice restaurant critics have called a Ramusement Park, though I’m pretty sure it’s a case of a witty phrase made up by some blogger and cut and pasted around on the net. Hey, convince me otherwise. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 6, 2009 in Animation
Mobile Suit Gundam fanboys can now enjoy Char Aznable’s Spicy Curry Noodles from Nissin Foods which features a special reusable glass cup which features the infamous red Zaku suit. The instant soup is also colored red and features spicy and red peppers contrasted with just a hint of cheddar cheese flavor. Nissin is also selling refill sets, although my guess is that most Gundam fans won’t dare open the package. Here are some other shots of the product: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 3, 2009 in Japanese TV
There’s something slightly violent lurching under this ever so moe commercial for Sapporo Ichiban instant noodles. From my crude translation my understanding is that these instant bowls of wonder come in three varieties: ramen, miso and udon.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jan 23, 2009 in Japanese TV
My guess is that this spot os from the 80s judging by the wear-and-tear of the video tape and the colorful art direction. The commercial is for Chinese styled Yakisoba fried noodles but what sells the spot is the rambunctious children singing along with the music.
Nothing goes together better than ramen and fanboys! There are two things that are great about this re-useable noodle cup which is made out of ceramic: First it’s good for the environment (although perhaps not as good for your diet) but it also allows a budget conscience fanboy to buy ramen in bulk and pinch pennies even further which can be spent on better things like comic books.
