New Toyota Japan Ad with Topless Model

[JpnDude]

A racy new Japanese ad campaign launched for the 2012 Toyota Auris, or Corolla as it’s known in some markets, has been causing a commotion for boldly challenging convention — and probably not in the way you would think.

The commercial ends with the campaign’s tagline “Turn Your Rear to Common Sense” (常識にお尻を向けろ).

Perhaps NSFW:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVwJrAr7GkY

[Chicagojeff]

What was odd was.. if it's a commercial for the japanese market.. why not a japanese model?

And.. was she just very flat chested.. or was that suppose to be a dude who fooled you? Gotta go back and look at the film again..

[Manduck]

Pretty sure that chick's a dude.

[Musicat]

Originally Posted by Manduck

Pretty sure that chick's a dude.

Yeah, bulges in all the wrong places.

http://www.queerty.com/watch-androgy...a-ad-20120823/

[Frylock]

Originally Posted by Chicagojeff

What was odd was.. if it's a commercial for the japanese market.. why not a japanese model?

Why would a japanese market make a non-japanese model surprising? Ever seen an American commercial with a non-American model in it?

[bldysabba]

Dunno about anyone else, but that ad makes me want to not buy the car. It also gives me a sick feeling in my stomach, although that may be just my hangover.

[JpnDude]

The campaign tagline, “Turn Your Rear to Common Sense”, isn't very appealing either.

[AK84]

Ok, there is no breasts and then there is ridiculous. This ad......ridiculous.

[MostlyClueless]

Lame. "Look how edgy we are! We sure tricked you! Buy our car!"

Yes, there'll be the usual 'but it has people talking about it, so it must work!'- argument, but right here I'm not buying it.

For an actually good and appropriate campaign: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/ar...-lingerie.html

[WordMan]

Bwa-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha!!!!!

Lordy, that was silly.

It will get people talking, but not about the car. And I am not sure what demo they are targeting.

[Czarcasm]

It loses something in the translation. The car is supposed to be stylish...but not for everyone.

[CalMeacham]

So....is the car available as a Convertible?

[Tapioca Dextrin]

Dude sure didn't look like a lady to me

[simster]

to be fair - the OP said "topless model" without reference to gender.

[Musicat]

Originally Posted by Tapioca Dextrin

Dude sure didn't look like a lady to me

Not even from the rear?

[Tapioca Dextrin]

He had legs, but didn't know how to use them.

[Son of a Rich]

Yuck.

[planetcory]

Originally Posted by Musicat

Not even from the rear?

I noticed the bulge from the rear. But still didn't make the connection that it was a dude until the end. Just thought she was rather... bulgy down there.

[pulykamell]

I didn't notice the bulge, but I did think for a commercial focusing on someone's ass, that's not a particularly fine example of one. I wasn't 100% sure if it was a guy at the end, either. I thought maybe it was one of those waifish models.

[Bryan Ekers]

Originally Posted by pulykamell

I didn't notice the bulge, but I did think for a commercial focusing on someone's ass, that's not a particularly fine example of one. I wasn't 100% sure if it was a guy at the end, either. I thought maybe it was one of those waifish models.

Waifs can be men. Well, male, anyway.

[fumster]

What kind of tranny in that car?

[Bryan Ekers]

MANual, I assume.

[fumster]

Originally Posted by Bryan Ekers

MANual, I assume.

Stick shift?

[tdn]

Originally Posted by MostlyClueless

Yes, there'll be the usual 'but it has people talking about it, so it must work!'- argument, but right here I'm not buying it.

Well, it was a ballsy move.

[Rachellelogram]

Assuredly a dude. But a very pretty dude. Very. :D

[Esox Lucius]

Originally Posted by Chicagojeff

And.. was she just very flat chested.. or was that suppose to be a dude who fooled you? Gotta go back and look at the film again..

It's a clever optical illusion. Look closely and you'll see a car in the background.

Originally Posted by JpnDude

The campaign tagline, “Turn Your Rear to Common Sense”, isn't very appealing either.

You have to admit that they were thinking outside the box.

[Joey P]

Here's a very short behind the scenes/interview type thing at the shoot.

[Gatopescado]

Thats Nuts!

[Exapno Mapcase]

"Austin Powers: That ain't no woman! It's a man, man!"

But perhaps not a man's man. Or a gentleman's gentleman. Not even a girly girl.

[Little Nemo]

So I guess Toyota's message is you should always check under the hood?

[simster]

Originally Posted by Little Nemo

So I guess Toyota's message is you should always check under the hood?

I'm thinking its more 'bait and switch' and while it might look good leaving, its going to piss you off when you get close enough to look at it.

(not that I was, but face it - if you were expecting one thing, and you get handed something else entirely, even while you may be happy with what you got, it wasn't what you ordered)

[Barking Dog]

Originally Posted by Frylock

Why would a japanese market make a non-japanese model surprising? Ever seen an American commercial with a non-American model in it?

I don't know. What's a non-american model look like? What's an american model look like for that matter? We are what you'd call, a non-homogenous culture, after all. Unlike, say, Japan for instance.

[Bryan Ekers]

Their next commercial will be an endorsement by Eddie Murphy.

[ministryman]

Originally Posted by Czarcasm

It loses something in the translation. The car is supposed to be stylish...but not for everyone.

Just like the dude.....

They probably should have played "Dude Looks like a Lady" in the background....

[Intergalactic Gladiator]

The model is pretty good looking, but is not really my type.

[BigT]

Originally Posted by Frylock

Why would a japanese market make a non-japanese model surprising? Ever seen an American commercial with a non-American model in it?

While I'm sure I've seen models from other countries in American ads, there's really no way for me to tell since all sorts of ethnicities live in America. Japan is mostly, well, Japanese people.

In fact, from the tag line in the OP "and probably not in the way you would think," I thought the debate was going to be about using an obviously foreign model. Japan is widely rumored to be rather xenophobic.

(I say "rumored" to allow more knowledgeable Dopers to chime in, like maybe even the OP.)

[Zebra]

But the radio only plays this song.

[Stink Fish Pot]

This is odd in so many ways.

I will admit I missed the man thing until he turned aeound the first time. When you watch it the second time you can clearly see his man-junk in the trunk (he should have even selling volkswagons) in the pouch of his man-ties.

It was like a 30 second crying game. I wouldn't buy the car because of that ad. And it has no homophobic reasons for me... I just feel like they are being duplicitous about the commercial, leaving me with a bad impression of this vehicle in general and Toyota specifically.

I watched that 5 minute scenes behind the commercial, and it's not even an american. It's an Israeli. Not that that makes any difference to us Americans. Everyone basically pops up here.

Has there been any reaction to it in japan, good or bad? I thought Japan had a pretty conservative culture.

[DKW]

The really sad thing is, I would've had the exact same reaction if it was a woman...i.e., "whatever".

I do not and never have hypersexualized female breasts. I find "topless" one of the most useless words in the English language. I have absolutely no idea why the nipple's visibility makes all the difference in the universe, and I'm especially baffled as to why the female nipple gets this treatment but the male nipple, which looks exactly the same...doesn't register at all. (I seriously doubt that lactation has anything to do with it.) I find ANY equivalency whatsoever with any amount of genitalia, male or female, to be utter lunacy.

Total body. Up and down, front and back. Watch any Playboy video. It's not a mystery.

As for the ad...well, nothing I didn't already know. Japan has a thing for weird commercials. And androgynous dudes; they're the ones who invented visual kei, remember? Don't think it's gonna help sell cars, but you never know.

[Lamia]

Originally Posted by Chicagojeff

What was odd was.. if it's a commercial for the japanese market.. why not a japanese model?

It's not unusual for Japanese ads to feature Western models. When I was living there (nearly 10 years ago, so things may be different now) then it was my impression that most ads on Japanese TV had Asian models/actors, but it was common enough to see non-Asians. It's not like the Japanese aren't used to seeing white people in the media; they get a lot of American movies and TV shows over there.

[Pushkin]

I don't get it, are we supposed to think that this is an estate car from the rear, but then we look up front and it's not?

[Exapno Mapcase]

Originally Posted by DKW

I have absolutely no idea why the nipple's visibility makes all the difference in the universe

It ain't the nipple, dude. It's what the nipple is sitting on.

[Lamia]

Originally Posted by Stink Fish Pot

Has there been any reaction to it in japan, good or bad? I thought Japan had a pretty conservative culture.

Japanese culture is both more and less conservative than that of the US, depending on what exactly one is talking about. For instance, I was living in Japan at the time of Janet Jackson's Superbowl "wardrobe malfunction", and the Japanese people I knew thought it was hilarious that Americans were shocked or offended by this.

I have no idea how this particular ad is going over in Japan, but Japan does have a long tradition of cross-dressing in entertainment (ranging from traditional kabuki theater to nightclub performers) so the gender-bending aspect of this commercial probably isn't in and of itself seen as especially shocking. The model's skimpy costume might be a different story, I don't know.

ETA: For what it's worth, while I don't think a commercial like this would air on US television, I remember at least one far weirder gender-bending ad that did. I can't recall what it was for -- a soft drink? a car? -- but there was a 20-something "dude" character who had a magic device that made the things around him more awesome. He turned his car into a cooler car, then turned his dude buddy into a sexy woman and drove off with her. The transformation actually took place on screen, with the friend reacting with horror to the breasts sprouting on his chest and yelling for his friend to stop. It was pretty disturbing.

[Locrian]

Yep. It's a guy. ** shudders **

[Princhester]

The woman who turned out to be a man thing was briefly entertaining. I guess it was a car ad. I don't know for what brand. I couldn't tell you which model.

[Musicat]

Originally Posted by Princhester

The woman who turned out to be a man thing was briefly entertaining. I guess it was a car ad. I don't know for what brand. I couldn't tell you which model.

I can. It was a male model.

[John DiFool]

Originally Posted by Manduck

Pretty sure that chick's a dude.

Amusing poster/post content combination.

[alindallas]

Originally Posted by CalMeacham

So....is the car available as a Convertible?

I think it's a "crossover". o.0

[Stink Fish Pot]

Originally Posted by alindallas

I think it's a "crossover". o.0

End the thread.

[clairobscur]

Since the OP hinted at a surprise, I expected it as soon as the add began.


Nice. I like me some androgyny.