Some unsolicited advice for PUFFY and their US staff

This is a post I've wanted to write for a couple years now, though I've never been quite sure where to even start. The takedowns of the "Kuchibiru Motion" videos on YouTube last week, though, kind of forced me into action. Somebody needs to finally say something about the way Puffy is being promoted in the west. (And having a long weekend with the wife at work has finally given me some free time to do it.)

I have no idea if Puffy's management or their record label(s) read, or have read, this blog. But it seems like some unsolicited advice is in order. I'm writing this not just as a fan, but as someone who's helped market more than $1 billion worth of products, and helped create brands (Rockstar Games, the Grand Theft Auto series) that are now worth billions more. I know good (and bad) marketing when I see it.

First, a little history of Puffy's entry into the US for those of you out there not connected with the band and who may not remember or know all of it. They debuted here at SXSW 2000, playing as part of a night of "Japanese All Stars" at the yearly music and arts festival. From what I've read elsewhere and heard from those who were there, the show was well-received. They were signed to Epic Records, a major label subsidiary of Sony Music. I'm not sure of the actual arrangement, but indie label Bar/None Records was in the mix as well. Their first US CD release was Spike, quickly followed by An Illustrated History as Epic and Bar/None made a fairly major push in the US for a Japanese band. These releases were supported by the "Rolling Debut Revue" tour in 2002, Puffy's first nationwide North American tour. At that point, they were in their "indie rock" phase and beginning to cultivate a college-age crowd.

Puffy on 2002's "Rolling Debut Revue" tour

After that, things get a little weird. They released Nice in the US in 2003, more or less concurrently with the Japanese release - though with a different cover (as with Spike). I've always thought this was strange, as the Japanese cover actually has a style that seems more in tune with the US fans they were trying to attract at the time, and this was a Bar/None release:

The John Lennon-inspired US cover of Nice


And the much more indie-rock original Japanese cover
(If you can't read it, Ami's shirt says "Hi-Standard", a Japanese punk band)

In 2004, they were recruited by Sam Register to star in the cartoon "Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi", which seemed to take a chunk of their time, sidetracking them a little from their music. They released an album in Japan in 2004, 59, which never made it over to the US. Instead, we got the Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi soundtrack, another "greatest hits" compilation only 2 years after An Illustrated History. (My guess: Bar/None was initially going to handle Puffy in the US, but had the rug pulled out from under them by Epic. Bar/None released An Illustrated History; Epic released Hi Hi.) It's worth noting that 59 is probably their weakest album, with only six "original" songs, one of which is a Jellyfish cover. That may have figured into Epic's decision not to release it here. (To be totally fair, Ami had also recently become a mother, so I really don't fault them for being a little preoccupied with things other than music.)

59 - the "lost" album for US fans

With the cartoon still going strong and Puffy touring in the US to support Hi Hi, their relationship with Epic abruptly ended, taking with it all that marketing muscle that only major labels can provide. I don't have the story on who dumped whom, but they were then signed to the small niche label Tofu Records, an upstart specializing in localizing J-pop and J-rock acts for the US market. It seemed like a good fit initially, but the marketing budgets had obviously shrunk in the transition, and Tofu was a young company that wasn't entirely stable. Moreover, it seemed to pigeonhole Puffy as "J-pop"; Puffy's status on Epic and Bar/None had given them more of a global status combined with real indie street cred.

Meanwhile, Puffy lip-sync'd their way through the girlie-girl "Friends Forever" during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2005, in what the Cartoon Network probably thought was a marketing coup for "Hi Hi". It was quite excruciating for me to watch, and probably for other US fans over the age of 9 as well, especially having seen how amazing they can be at a proper live show just a few months before.


"Hi Hi" was quietly cancelled in 2006, having started out strongly but never really catching on with the college hipster crowd that Cartoon Network (and Puffy?) had only half-jokingly said they secretly hoped would adopt it as a cult favorite. The little kids that proved its main audience turned fickle and faded fast. In the span of 2 years, Puffy's American presence had gone from a major label artist with an exotic Japan cool factor, the promise of a new TV show and a seemingly bright future, to a niche label artist with no TV show and an audience that thought they were childrens' cartoon characters.

But Tofu Records did initially do some good things. They released Splurge in the US with the same cover as its Japanese release (a Puffy first), they tried to get it college radio airplay, they faithfully maintained Puffy's MySpace page, they uploaded interviews and promotional videos to YouTube and featured a long text interview on their own web site. They seemed to intentionally avoid any link to the "Hi Hi" cartoon.

But after the initial push, Tofu as a whole seemed to drop off the face of the Earth. Their web site was gutted in March of 2007 and has not been updated since. Hit & Fun, Puffy's Japanese "best of" album, has not been released here. In fact, there's been no word on any further US Puffy releases.

That brings us more or less up to date. At this point, there's a lot of confusion in the US fan community as to what Puffy's status here actually is. This is no way to promote a band. The shame of it is that Puffy could have had (and probably can still have) a long and successful career here, assuming that's what they want and assuming they're willing to do what's necessary (e.g. touring, photo ops, etc). They seem to have done their part, but they've been let down nearly every step of the way by their management and record label(s), who don't always seem to have a clear idea what sort of demographic they should be going after here, or how to reach them.

At this point, after several months of growing cobwebs, both their English-language official site and their MySpace page are being updated again - though seemingly by Japan staff, not US. There is no US news at all, at least not yet. Meanwhile, what little US promotion they're getting through fans is often being stifled, ie. the aforementioned takedowns of Kuchibiru Motion videos on YouTube. Here's a little tip, guys: when fans are doing their best to promote your artist, it's probably not a great idea to try and stop them. Maybe in Japan you can exercise that level of control, but this is the wild west. We do things a little differently here. Taking down a bunch of promotional videos just gets you less promotion.

Here's my advice to Puffy the band, their management and their record label, whoever that ends up being in the US:

PUFFY: Don't do whatever your management tells you. I know they made you superstars in Japan, but you probably know the US better than they do at this point. Think everything through and weigh the pros and cons. You need to cultivate an audience, which is difficult in such a large country. That means staying consistent, and not looking like an indie rock band one day and a lip-syncing kid's show the next. And it means a long-term commitment from you - remember that your record label is only after short-term profit. I know your career in Japan took off on day one, but that's not the way it usually works here. Be patient. Don't look for short-term gains at the expense of long-term success.

HIT&RUN: The US is a lot different from Japan. Things that are considered cute in Japan are often just considered dumb by many people here. The act that Puffy sometimes puts on in Japan is neither necessary nor really helpful here. Let them be real. It's much more about the music in the United States. At this point, you're starting with nearly a blank slate again - probably a new record label, no TV show, not a huge fan base. Take the opportunity to refresh their image here, and give us the real Puffy.

I don't know whether it's you guys or Sony that's updating the English-language web sites again, but that's a good start in reopening the lines of communication with the fans. Please give us some word on what their status is here, though. Put an end to the wondering.

RECORD LABEL: I'll summarize first. Puffy's audience is neither 7 years old, nor exclusively girls. Take a good look at who goes to their concerts:

Click on that photo. Study it. This one too:

These are Puffy fans. This is the demographic you should be catering to. This is who Puffy appeals to.

Epic was doing it right at first, before the cartoon persona took over. But Puffy is a band that could hit it big with the right song, provided it's in English. Why not try for a home run? "Security Blanket" is that kind of song; get it playing on the K-Rocks across the country. If that doesn't work, keep hammering colleges. Keep hammering YouTube. Make Puffy accessible. Get the fans involved and encourage them to evangelize. Start a Facebook group and keep it updated. Make sure you're hitting the right demographic. Puffy was starting to build an audience in 2002-2003; go back and look at what they were doing at that point.

Release all of Puffy's back catalog here. Update the covers to some of the early releases if you feel the need to. And it's gotta be said again, release a DVD. People need to see what the live Puffy experience is all about. That's always what convinces any of their fans that they're for real.

Do us all a favor too and fix the US web site. It's excruciatingly slow even on a fast computer. (Clear your cache and load it fresh.) This is your primary interface with Puffy's US fans - you really can't allow it to be such a monster. (UPDATE: This one is done!)

Lastly, I have a feeling this is going to be my most controversial statement (and dealing with it a real long shot), but I think the name "Puffy AmiYumi" is a problem. Stand up to Sean Combs - especially as he's now going by "Diddy" - and take back the name that is rightfully Puffy's. Think about it from the point of view of a true newbie (and we are talking about expanding past the existing fan base here). If you're an American unfamiliar with Puffy AmiYumi's music, you're either going to associate them with a cartoon or you're going to have a hard time even pronouncing the name properly. Same deal with radio - you're never gonna get on commercial radio with that name. Push through a change back to Puffy. Ami and Yumi won't care, their fans will be happy and you'll have a better and more marketable name going forward.

There's obviously a language barrier here that's just never going to be fully overcome. I'm not saying I think Puffy could be the next U2. But they could be the next Donnas or Go-Gos or Bangles; these are (or were) female-led rock bands with long careers supported by a loyal fan base (of both men and women) that occasionally scored top-40 hits.

Well! This was certainly cathartic, and a nice time-killer on a boring holiday morning. But I do hope to see Puffy better-promoted in the US. I think their music does appeal to a broad range of people here; they just need a little more street cred and a little more marketing savvy in order to get their message across properly.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know in the comments. Or send me an email and we'll chat.