Going home on the Kyoto Karasuma subway the other day, my weary eyes drifted upward on the wall opposite and were met by the pensive gaze of Mr. Richard Gere afloat on a sea of serenity, advertising for a chain of men’s beauty salons called Dandy House. (Click for print and TV ads).
Then, last night, I saw a TV commercial with Gere cruising in an old convertible, with Danny Boy/Londonderry Air playing wistfully in the background. Voiceover (my unpolished translation): “Surely, a man’s most important treasures are his ideals. Because you have ideals, Dandy House.” Guy looks pretty good, though.
8 comments
Danielle says:
Mar 30, 2005
Nils, your site is GOLD! This made me laugh so much. I forwarded the Dandy House ads to every fan of Lost In Translation I know. Thanks for posting!
I’m in Japan in 6 weeks (for a 3 week holiday to celebrate my 40th) and can’t wait! First visit to Kyoto too, for 5 nights. Woo!! Can you recommend a really great bookstore? (Japanese art books and magazines, especially.) Doomo!
tom says:
Mar 30, 2005
“Dandy House” – hahaha
Quite appropriate :)
jonathan beck says:
Mar 31, 2005
The link goes straight to Mom. Thanks Nils!
Rick says:
Mar 31, 2005
Well, he IS actually an artiste. Witness his book, Pilgrim, a “haunting portrayal of the Tibetan Buddhist community evoked in exquisite photographs.”
And he does have important ideals. See Gere Foundation
But yeah, spiritual journey and activism + men’s salon ad — surely Mr. Gere must get a chuckle out of that himself.
The way he’s starting to look like Koizumi reminds me of his portrayal of a Japanese American in Kurosawa’s “Rhapsody in August.”
Stephanie says:
Apr 2, 2005
Gere, one of the sexiest guys old men ever!
Kelly says:
Apr 7, 2005
Thanks for the translation and the link to the ads – saw these around in Tokyo last week and have just had a chance to look up on net now back in Sydney.
(Have you seen the strange billboards with a screaming Keifer Sutherland from a 24 scene for Calorie Mate?)
nils says:
Apr 8, 2005
There was a huge one of those “24″ Calorie Mate ads in Kyoto Station, but I was in a hurry and I (ha-ha) didn’t have time to read the text.
Francois says:
Apr 10, 2005
You won’t believe what happened to us when we visited Kyoto. We actually *saw* Richard Gere while visiting Tenryu-ji. Here he is:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fjordaan/8563494/in/set-212530/
Then of course, there was no avoiding him on billboards, posters and TV. (Not just Dandy House, also some golf course + hotel. Apparently he also appeared on TV with Prime Minister Koizumi, but we missed that.)