Anime in Japanese Advertising – 4 Impactful Examples

By Kana Kono

Japanese animation, or anime, is loved worldwide. With Ghibli films, and anime series such as Naruto, Attack on Titan and many others making international headlines, Japan is renowned for its animation industry. As anime increases in popularity worldwide, it continues to lead the way for Japan to export its culture to the world, and continues to bear a large presence in Japanese advertising.

As more and more people continue to watch and enjoy anime, many companies have realised the commercial opportunities that anime characters hold for them. With this revelation, there are increasing numbers of commercials featuring anime characters in Japan today. However, it is not only in Japanese advertising that we see anime-based commercials – foreign companies are beginning to catch on as well.

Last year, internationally renowned Italian fashion brand Gucci came out with an advertisement for its “Flora” perfume, starring an animated version of Miley Cyrus in a style similar to that of Japanese anime. Japanese animator Terumi Nishii (the chief animation director and character designer for ‘JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable’) designed this anime-version of Miley Cyrus, and it gained a lot of traction and admiration for its cuteness and novelty, proving a highly effective marketing strategy. Gucci has even collaborated with Doraemon – a popular Japanese children’s anime character – to feature on their products. Anime has clearly proven its place as an important marketing tool in Japanese advertising, and international companies are picking up on this.