English Gum Commercial Analysis

[Insert what point I am trying to make] In a 2010 commercial for Meiji’s XYLISH Gum, an anonymous white woman poses as Japanese singer and fashion model, Kimura Kaela, the spokesperson for XYLISH gum. The woman is dressed as the singer in metallic pink disco leggings and dramatic bangs and stands still, with one hand on her hip and with a pack of XYLISH gum in the other. She introduces herself as Kimura Kaela and stumbles over her words while reciting the Japanese script. A disclaimer in fine print appears at the bottom of the screen saying that due to various circumstances, they were required to go with a gaijin for this commercial. There is an intentional absurdity and awkwardness to the clip since this white woman is clearly not Kimura Kaela. This commercial renders the ‘fake’ Kimura Kaela as cute and incompetent, and,

These representations of western women in commercials is an indication of the admiration and allure of western beauty in Japan. For example, most young Japanese women today have their naturally black hair dyed light browns or blond; it is much rarer now in Japan to see a young woman with her natural hair color. There has also been a common notion among Japanese women that white women are more stylish. [Insert Stat]

Lipton’s 2012 ad campaign for Limone Iced Lemon Tea features Victoria’s Secret model, Miranda Kerr, as a waitress scantily clad in a frilled, yellow mini dress. With one bare leg up on an ottoman, she sings in Japanese about how delicious Lipton Limone is. As she takes a sip of the bottle of tea, she sighs, “oishii” (“tasty”). It would be very unlikely for a Japanese woman to be featured in such an exposing outfit in a television ad. [Perhaps clarify about how this is exclusive to ads.. AKB48 might dispute this assertion] This sexy portrayal may be thought to be an opposition to Western tendencies to eroticize the Oriental woman. [Include an example of this