Saturday, February 18, 2023

Asian no Juicy

Image courtesy
of McDonalds Japan
Maybe it is the way of any long standing group or musician that their music is going to be repurposed for an advertisement... so "Asia no Junshin" is now "Asia no Juicy" to be the pitch song for McDonald's new sandwiches.* 

Is it silly?  Yes...

Does it make me a little sad?  Not much.

Is the song actually pretty faithful to the original?  Surprisingly... yes.

Replacing Ami and Yumi are Nanase Nishino and Marie Iitoyo. Nanase is a model, actress, TV personality and former member of Nogizaka46.  Marie is an actress and model.  No idea is the are actually singing, but the vocal delivery sounds very Puffy.

Truth is anything Puffy can do to stay in Japanese pop culture is a good thing as they are kinda in maintenance mode at this point.**  If it is hucking McDonalds sandwiches, that's fine.

Honestly I think it is much more common in Japan to see musicians and artists pitching brands with their songs.  If you YouTube Zard's ads, you are going to be watching for a solid half hour of commercials.  Likewise Puffy is no stranger to this from Toyota to Pizza Hut.

Here is the long version:

 


Here is the short version:



No idea if anyone actually reads this blog any more.  But  if folks are still around, comment.  I do want to hear from you.

* Truth be told the sandwiches are all probably delicious.  Japanese McDonalds is really good.  

** One below average album in a decade...