Friday, January 05, 2007

The power of advertising

I love this country. I really do, but sometimes I see things here which kind of take me a moment to wrap my brain around. I come from a country where cigarette advertising is banned and the imagery I see here worries me a lot. I've found kids' drinks in vending machines outside liquor stores and then I go and see these beauties next to a school...

"Hey kids, don't listen to what those doctors tell you; smoking is really cool. We have many new flavours and colours for you to try: chocolate, coconut, rose petals...

...and death!"

The January sales are just as hectic here as any other country. Bonus points to anyone that tells me the significance of wild boars on their heads!

6 comments:

QUASAR9 said...

lol! Karaoke - Got 2006 back
Look forward to the 2007 photos

QUASAR9 said...

So, how mad are the Japanese kids

Are they all mad shopaholics
Shop till you drop - a Mantra
Create Wealth - buy throw aways

The cigs - I think it just shows different culture's have a different take - Smoking Kills?
Oh well must do that - lol!

QUASAR9 said...

And are people (everybody)
really obsessed with gadgets
mobile - dolls - toys - gimmicks

Or is that a section of society -
you know like Marylin Manson fans, or country & western fans in the US

samuraifingers said...

Wowsers!

I can't wait to come to the land of "Mr. Sparkera" (the "fish bulb homer, from Hokaido - the simpsons)

But in all seriousness - do I need a power converter over there for my western gadgets?

Thanks for the heads up!!!

karaoke queen said...

Ooooh ooooh! I know I know!! Its the year of the boar. And of course the first thing that you need to do in the new year is go shopping. Yes, Japanese people are obsessed with it. Everyones hobby is 'going to shopping'. Even men, and not just electronic stores. The whole country is has a serious thing for it.

JNM, you will need a convertor. However, Japan is pretty close to North America. You won't fry anything here, but it might be a little underpowered. For example, my hairdryer works OK here. But you should get a convertor for any important electronic gadgets - for example anything that needs to be charged - or they will end up not working well after a little while. If you have a laptop, it should automatically convert. Plugs are north american style (yah) but have no ground. So just the basic 2 prong style. You will probably need to buy a power bar here if you need a grounding prong. Hope that helps.

LadyHAHA said...

hahahahahaha! I LOVE the cigarettes! don't go blamin'them when you get lung cancer! They straight up told yo ass ON THE BOX.