Japan cm of the week - Momoiro Clover Z Pepsi

Click here for this week's commercial. [ Note: I usually embed the commercials but this one looks so much better on Pepsi's page. Make sure to switch it to high def. ]


This is it, the beginning of the end.

For AKB48 that is, maybe.

This is a Pepsi Black commercial featuring Momoiro Clover Z (ももいろクローバーZ), the idol group that IMO is about to dethrone the queens of advertising, variety TV and music rankings in short order. And it's all for two reasons:

1. People are sick of the AKB drama. For better or worse, the way AKB takes itself so seriously - from the way they hold a yearly election to determine the ranking of its members to the exceptionally polished dance moves AKB feels like a stage production adapted to the idol world.

And it's all very interesting in that watching AKB stuff feels almost like you're watching a meta TV drama like the Larry Sanders Show, which was a show about making a show. But with AKB it's a music group, and keeping up with them is tiring.

Also, after the election this year where fan favorite Atsuko Maeda decided not to take part because she'll soon be graduating, I think the country let out a massive sigh and decided to move on.

2. Momoiro Clover is more like a normal idol group, but they have this unique strangeness to them.

Yes, Morning Musume, Speed and even K-Pop groups like Kara and Girls Generation dance more than sing and wear unique costumes, but Momoiro is just odd.

Watch the the Pepsi commercial video I linked to at the top which is obviously riffing on Natalie Portman in the Black Swan, and can you feel it. They're different. Odd. Weird. But not in a way that seems fake at all. They relish in their quirkiness.

Which is why I think they could and probably will take over from AKB48 in the near future.

Oh, and I strongly suggest looking around on YouTube or their homepage I linked to above for more of their videos. Here's a link to their commercial for Sou ice cream.

I also noticed that they allow their videos to be embedded, so here's their official video for D' no Junjo (D’の純情). This video shows about perfectly how they've inherited the legacy of Speed and put a twist of bizarro into the mix.