We are SMAP!

We are SMAP!
Every Day Love Tomorrow.

Found this gem at a convenience store awhile back. Couldn't resist.

It's actually a promotion/sports drink for a new album from the group SMAP, aptly named, We are SMAP! The reason they're advertising it on a sports drink like this is probably because they've done alot of commercials and other promotions for Pocari Sweat in the past. Like this:



Pocari Sweat is basically... clear/white Gatorade without any fruity flavoring. I think it might be an acquired taste if you're not from Japan, but maybe thats just because its different from anything we have in the US. Meh, I enjoy it. Not sure who's idea it was to put 'sweat' in a product name, but at least it doesn't sound so bad in Japanese - pocari suetto (poh-kah-ree soo-eh-tto).



SMAP by the way, is a group of 5 guys that started back in the 90's. They're all in their 30s now if I'm not mistaken. Sounds kinda like a boy band doesn't it? Cause that's basically what they are, but... they're still cool. All 5 of them are basically super veterans in the celebrity scene over here now. They've all got acting careers that have, I'm assuming, sprung off of their popularity with SMAP.

They also have a show that's been running for almost 15 years now called SMAPxSMAP. The first portion of that show, Bistro Smap, is where they have a guest celebrity who chooses a favorite dish, and 4 of the 5 members of SMAP split into 2 teams of 2 and cook their own version of that dish. While they're cooking, the remaining member interviews the guest. Then the guest tries both meals from the 2 teams, decides a winner, and gives them a present. If the celebrity happens to be a girl, they get a kiss on the cheek (a counter of how many kisses they have is on their chef hats). Apparently they weren't necessarily cooks or anything when they started, but now they're practically master chefs. Then the second half of the show is variety, where they can do anything from SNL-type sketches to musical performances and other games. Yes I record it every Monday night on Fuji TV. ^^

Anyways, this particular We are SMAP! drink of course tasted exactly like I expected it to. So... 10/10 for tasting like I thought it would? I'll buy a sports drink like this every once in awhile when I don't want super sweet cafe au le or bitter tea. Also random side note - supposedly SMAP is an acronym for Sports Music Assemble People... so I'm guessing they were going for a group of athletic singers? I suppose that explains why they've done so many promotions with Pocari Sweat, but they've individually and as a group done plenty for lots of other brands including Panasonic, Softbank (cell phone), Dole, Nikon, Gatsby (hair products), etc. Here's a good collection of my favorite with KimuTaku (Kimura Takuya), the hands down coolest Japanese guy out there. The song in these commercials is super catchy for some reason (good job Gatsby marketing).



Any finally I have to show my favorite that's airing on TV right now (hope you don't mind all these youtube videos):



For the facial wash one, the first guy is just some other celebrity (not a member of SMAP), and then he turns into KimuTaku after washing his face. At the end you see him and the director talking,
"So this is what it will look like."
"That's so cool..."

Get's me every time.