Hollywood celebrities have been thwart the Pacific to make commercials in Japan for decade . It ’s a quick , well-heeled way for celebs to make a Pearl Sydenstricker Buck without harming their reps back in the States , thanks to secrecy clauses that prevent Nipponese companies from bring out the endorsements .
But with the success of YouTube and like sites , many of these commercials are now available worldwide on the Web . The spots make for hilarious viewing , and you may be sure the stars are laughing all the style to the bank .
1. Arnold Schwarzenegger
If Arnold Schwarzenegger is to be believed , inhaling a cupful of Nissin instant noodles will cater you with enough strength to drop really heavily - looking bronze potentiometer back and forth with informality . Or , you could mellow away your stress with a can of Hop ’s Beer . Or solicit into your superhero - worthy power with a jounce of Vfuyy energy drink . The bodybuilder / actor / regulator of California certify these Japanese product in commercial spots from the 1990s .
2. Nicolas Cage
mayhap it happened while filmingLeaving Las Vegas . . . or maybeHoneymoon in Vegas . Either mode , at some point , Nicolas Cage was bit by the gambling germ , so much so that he felt the demand to shill for Sankyo , the manufacturer of pachinko machine . exchangeable to slot machines , the devices can be found in casino across Japan . Ads from the former 1990s boast a crazy - eyed Cage so obsessed by his pachinko fever that he ’s have trouble run day to sidereal day !
3. Cameron Diaz
There ’s something about Aeon English Schools that made Cameron Diaz need to sing their praises . Aeon , a private institute with more than 300 schools in Japan , has also received a boost from Celine Dion , Ewan McGregor , and Mariah Carey . In the Diaz spots ( which aired in 2000 and 2001 ) , the champagne star ofCharlie ’s AngelsandThere ’s Something About Marylooks fresh - faced and guiltless as she repeats the news " believe " over and over in front of a serial of different background . Aeon bill featuring Diaz ’s mug were also poultice around Nipponese metropolis during the same time .
4. Harrison Ford
What do hiking near a volcano , dining at asushirestaurant , sitting in a steam elbow room , and jetting around on an airliner have in unwashed ? They all go nifty with Kirin beer , according to Harrison Ford . The man who turned both Han Solo and Indiana Jones into home names bring his countenance to this refreshing lager in at least five unlike telly commercials , plus a print ad , during the mid-1990s .
5. Anne Hathaway
The Princess Diaries , a tale of an surly duckling turned royal stunner , made its way into Nipponese movie theater in 2002 . Shortly later on , the film ’s wizard , Anne Hathaway , made her elbow room into Japanese sustenance room via commercial message for the Lux line of hair and peach products . Hathaway joins a lofty list of Lux lovelies , which includes Catherine Zeta - Jones , Penelope Cruz , and Charlize Theron . Hathaway ’s spots craft on her princess repp , with the actress dressed in aerial white and appearing to float through life as weightless as her styling hair gel .
6. Jodie Foster
Jodie Foster appear to opt her movie role carefully , opting for jumpy function that goad audience sensibilities : The Silence of the Lambs , The Accused , andPanic Room , to name a few . Her commercial résumé is a little less selective . From the mid-1990s to 2000 , Foster pitched Keri ravisher products , Pasona temp agency , Mt. Rainier iced coffee , and Honda , all the while smile like she had n’t a care in the world . Clarice Starling , we hardly recognize ye .
7. Bruce Willis
AfterMoonlighting , but before the Demi Moore split , Bruce Willis pass a caboodle of time in the Far East . In the early 1990s , the man who gave us fourDie Hardfilms and lots of movies with numbers game in their deed of conveyance ( The Fifth Element , The Sixth Sense , The Whole Nine Yards ) pitched Maki jewellery stores , Georgia coffee swallow , Eneos gas post , Subaru , and Post drinking water in a can .
8. Madonna
Madonna is no stranger to endorsement , having appear in Gap , H&M , and Versace ads in the United States . In Japan , the material girl could be see stop up Shochu Timothy Miles Bindon Rice drinkable in ads that guide in 1995 and 1996 . The spots show Madge slaying both a elephantine dragon and an malign wizard before bask a glass of the drink and announcing , " I ’m vestal . " Okay . . . if you say so !
9. Britney Spears
There are many sides to Britney Spears – pop star , mom , Paris Hilton ’s BFF , and funnily enough , the font of Go - Go Tea . Brit appeared in ads for the ice teatime drinkable dressed as a 1960s go - go girl , terminated with white patent of invention leather boots and some grampus saltation moves . The ads lam until early 2003 , when the singer was " not a girl , not yet a cleaning lady . "
10. Sharon Stone
Many Americans were n’t introduced to Sharon Stone until 1992’sBasic Instinct . But Nipponese audiences drive a coup d’oeil of the before long - to - be A - list actor in the late 1980s when she appeared in ads for Vernal cosmetics . Dressed in a grey-haired business suit , a brunet Stone looked sharp but offer not a pinch of the upcoming sultry , villainous purpose that would forever seal her place in cinematic history .
11. Ashley Judd
Ashley Judd is thrilled to be drive a Honda Primo , and she can barely turn back her exuberance in the 2000 commercial message that has her coining the phrase " Hondaful life sentence . " The actor , famed for function inDe - LovelyandKiss the Girlsand ill-famed for her home bicker with baby , Wynonna , and mom , Naomi , sports a bouncy , light-haired ' do and catches the eye of everyone in these bubbly pip .
12. Richard Gere
It ’s not cheap to be a Buddhistic humanist , and Richard Gere is a splendidly generous one . Perhaps that ’s why he seem in advertizing for such entities as Mt. Rainier coffee drinks , Tokyo Towers real estate ontogeny , and Dandy House wear . The thespian has appeared in Dandy House commercial as recently as December 2006 .
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS :
Helen Davies , Marjorie Dorfman , Mary Fons , Deborah Hawkins , Martin Hintz , Linnea Lundgren , David Priess , Julia Clark Robinson , Paul Seaburn , Heidi Stevens , and Steve Theunissen
