Characteristics of Japanese Television Advertising

Abstract

This chapter will give a short introduction to Japanese advertising (including advertising agencies, advertising media, and television advertisements) and then introduces some of the so-called specialties of Japanese television advertising and offer common explanations and discussion of these characteristics. We will conclude, however, that most of these “specialties” are actually myths and are not unique to Japan and lack empirical evidence. As noted by previous researchers, many accounts are based only on personal observations, rather than empirical data (McCreery, 2000; Moeran, 1996; Praet, 1999). In short, this chapter will debunk the myths about Japanese advertising and show that cultural explanations are not sufficient, in and of themselves; it is necessary to take factors other than culture into account. For example, considering these so-called specialties in an international context will show whether they are really unique to Japan, as claimed by several articles, or whether they might be based either on the sole referent system of the United States or some form of exoticization by foreigners and/or self-exoticization by the Japanese (see also Prieler, 2008b).