Hasta La Gadget!

We recently came across an article in Ginza Magazine regarding a new beauty buzz that has people chattering about it – “teeth art tattoos”. Having been available in other countries before it is only now that teeth art is starting to creep onto the fashion scene here in Japan also. The most popular global designs tend to be diamond shape or any glittering rhinestone, giving wearers a ‘blinged’ up smile.

Of course, Japan has taken the fad and added its own twist, offering personal designs and outfit combinations, rather than just going for the sparkles. The idea is to express a more individual fashion statement, and as ever in Japan, usually combined with a certain cute charm. There are plenty of combinations to reflect the seasons as any good fashion item has including red ladybug characters or marine look anchor tooth art giving the necessary summer charm, or a golden heart or shining star design tooth look for a night on the town.

Another way the Japanese girls are putting their twist on things is matching their nail art and teeth art, both in the design and the colors. For example; red lipstick and nail polish with same rhinestone pattern on both.

The process of the teeth art is simple and safe enough according to the magazine, chosen items are attached to the tooth by a special glue, using LED light which simply fastens and dries the glue. The “tattoo” is easily removed after a few days (according to the information given at “Heart Dental Clinic” in Minato Ward in Tokyo) and in this way, you can freely design your personal combination and display different and unique smiles whenever you want.

Not sure how much of a mainstream trend this will become in the Japanese beauty world, but there is market a market for the unique trends among Japanese youngsters searching for individual identity and self expression.

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It’s not hard to get us excited about a post at CScout Japan, especially not when it involves sampling an ice cold beer on a sweltering hot day! Beverage manufacturer Kirin has introduced their new “Ice Plus Beer” which pretty much does exactly what it says on the can, cold beer designed to be poured over ice. Hitting the shelves today, the new beer from Kirin seems to be generating quite some chatter, especially as they have been pushing out their social marketing campaign, tweeting “cold jokes” and 100 different “hidden” commercials.

Consuming beer with ice may make the beer connoisseur shiver, however the manufacturers have touted that the Ice Plus Beer has been specifically designed to be poured over ice to enrich the taste and enhance the aroma. After sampling it, surprisingly the advertisements aren’t far off and it does seem to taste better over ice than consumed straight from the can (however it did take three or four to verify it!). There is no escaping that it still is a cheap and cheerful Kirin beer taste though, all be it a colder one. As with many Japanese products that have to compete with other seasonal items, the packaging is interestingly designed also. On the back of the beer can itself is a nice pop-art style 4-frame comic that illustrates how to enjoy the product, complete with swooning girl over alcoholic male. The convenience stores didn’t miss a trick either, a nice tie in offering a discount “Ice Cup” with the each Ice Plus Beer, to help the thirsty consumer enjoy it as soon as they step out the shop and drive sales during the humid months.

The marketing build up has been well thought out also, punning on the ability of the beer to “Cool Japan” and some self-effacing tweet gags that run on the phrase “samui” (cold) which refers to a bad joke. They did however miss a trick not tying it into Coll Biz though, anyone who has seen a drunken salary man in Tokyo on a weekday night knows the comedic potential there! On the product’s own homepage is also a secret collection of 100 short (approximately 30-60 second) and humorous commercials featuring the cartoon characters to advertise Ice Beer Plus, further drawing the consumer into the brand.

Seasonal products are big business in Japan with a particularly competitive FMCG (fast moving commercial goods) market. Pepsi and Kitkat for example, are constantly coming out with new flavors to keep the public’s appetite satiated, and on the shelves in the convenience store we purchased this beer in, we also spotted a new Pepsi “Caribbean Gold, White Sapote” flavored drink….although we did have to Google white sapote before we knew what it was!

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Sitting in the backseat of a car while your parents are taking you somewhere can be a bore for a young, energetic child. As a parent, having a jittery son constantly pestering you with questions like “are we there yet?” definitely tests tests your nerves. Toy Toyota, Toyota’s new division that aims at creating innovative projects directed towards families, has worked with Party, a new creative super-group set up by some of Japan’s leading creative artists to develop an interesting iPhone app that allows children to join in on the driving experience.

The “Backseat Driver” uses GPS to let kids follow their “daddy car” in their “my car,” driving along the same path as their parents are in real life. Given the ability to steer left and right, users are awarded points when making correct turns and passing through landmarks and famous sites which appear as little objects on the road. The rarer the landmark, the more points that are rewarded, which can then be converted into unique designs for the car in a “garage.” Users can then share with friends and family their customized car and travel routes via Twitter, showing off the “cool” places that their parents had taken them, including the new candy store down the road.

The video below is an ad launched by Toy Toyota introducing this new app, available for free download on iTunes. It is interesting that the ad uses their Prius, their iconic hybrid vehicle, closely tying into their CSR activities.

Innovative apps like the Backseat Driver prove to be a great way of keeping the kids entertained on a long road trip. Although I’m not particularly sure if children at this age would have a Twitter account, if Toyota believes this young generation to be intact with the SNS trend, this would certainly be a huge marketing opportunity for sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Toyota seems to be heavily invested in CSR activities, evident in their announcement today to create several new in-house schools in the Tohoku region (where the 3/11 disaster struck) to train junior high school students the basics of manufacturing before actually hiring them.

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KDDI R&D laboratories has successfully created one of the first integrations of mobile gaming and neural science. Introduced at today’s International Modern Hospital Show , this app’s ability to measure the amount of concentration and meditation occurring in the brain while the users perform simple tasks or are heavily indulged in their video game, truly grasped our attention.

The user first wears a headband-like headset embedded with tiny sensor chips that detect neural activity in the human brain. A paperclip-like device is then attached to the ear, which acts as a stabilizer to ensure that everything is “balanced” and also as a pulse detector. The app is downloadable for smart phones, and in this case, the Android was our first test device. Three different games were introduced to us and for each, the amount of neural activity going on in the brain was measured. As can be seen below, the games are fairly simple, but require a fair amount of attention. After 30 seconds of play, the app displayed a chart graphing both concentration (focused-state) and meditation (relaxed-state) levels. A diagram also appeared, representing the different areas of the brain that was most used during that span.

The device can be used in other situations as well. Users can focus for around 30 seconds on something that they are passionate about or evokes a particular emotion. The app then displays a graph of the user’s brain activity relating to the amount of focused attention during that period for analysis.

Although still a concept and not on shelves yet, KDDI’s new technology can be seen as a stepping stone towards more interactive neural technology made available for the general public. We can see this type of neuro-wear being implemented not only in people’s daily lives, but in advertising and marketing as well. It would be a great advancement to see this technology being used to detect what sort of ads prove to be the most effective by measuring the amount of generated interest by the consumers.

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Summer might be the time for designer fireworks, but it’s pretty darn humid around here.

To battle the intense heat, Japanese companies have an interesting new product up their sleeves: ice cold cooling foam sprays, which are advertised as to provide instant temperature cool downs for users. Japanese male cosmetic brands such as Gatsby and Uno are well appreciated for their cooling body and facial sheets that not only provide the user with a sensational frosty feeling, but remove facial oil as well. Products such as these are not new, but we have seen a boom in demand for them this summer with the idea of “setsuden” (energy saving) becoming more imminent in Japanese people’s everyday lives. Taking it one step further from traditional cooling sprays, this fascinating innovation actually releases a chilling foam that hardens and can be wrapped around the user’s wrist.

Products such as “Hokkyoku Monogatari” (directly translated: Tales of the North Pole) offer a whole new method of cooling down in an interesting way. Not only are they convenient, they can be transformed into anything, ranging from a icy wristwatch to graffiti sprayed onto one’s body. The blue foam feels like a giant ball of confetti and as they squeeze it, the air bubbles expand and then “pop,” releasing a refreshing breeze of cool air.

Ice Spark is also another cool product that offers a similar solution to the heat in Japan: it sprays a freezing -9 degrees Celsius gel that fizzes on the user’s skin, creating a satisfying bubbly sensation. The crackling sound is particularly pleasing to the ear and the gel dries up after a couple seconds, without leaving a sticky feeling on the skin. The spray can be used for different purposes, such as a citrus smelling deodorant.

In line with the “setsuden goods,” a term coined for products that save electricity, we can see a handful of Japanese companies developing new products to counter the intense heat in Japan. Tokyo Hands, a Japanese department store focused on hobby, home improvement, and lifestyle products, has a whole floor dedicated to cooling products.

Numerous ideas for cooling sprays are being placed on shelves, such as the Savanna 50 Blizzard, which instantly sprays -15 degrees Celsius mist onto towels and handkerchiefs, as well as clothes and the insides of shoes.

Sprays are not the only type of lineup that Tokyo Hands has to offer; Ice Masks, Zero Degrees Pillows/Neck-rests, bandannas, scarves, and many other interesting innovations that add a chilly touch to a normal consumer product.

Ice gels and ice bars are also available for those who aren’t afraid to get wet or experience a frosty touch on their skin.

Gatsby “Ice-Type” facial and body sheets are also extremely popular among the Japanese, as they not only act as a cooling deodorant but wipe away facial grease as well.

Of course, it wouldn’t be Japan without cute looking cases for ice coolers such as the ones below.

Although sprays such as Hokkyoku Monogatari and Ice Spark may not exactly be eco-friendly, they definitely do provide a way to endure the intense heat that saves energy in contrast to air conditioners and electric fans.

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