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A Sure-fire Domain for Advertising: Where the Eye Goes, the Ad Goes

A Sure-fire Domain for Advertising: Where the Eye Goes, the Ad Goes

Ads should be placed where the eyes naturally go.   Take the exposed thighs of young women in mini skirts, for example, which happen to be the landing point for many a wandering eye in Japan.  In theory, if you were to paste an advertisement on such a thigh, there’s a high chance that advertisement would be noticed.  If the girl is wearing knee-high socks, even better as it creates a sort of erotic frame around the ad. In fact, we would go so far as to say the space on a girl’s thigh between her mini skirt and socks is the perfect advertising space!

Japan actually has a name for this premium space— zettai ryouiki, or “absolute territory”—  and there is actually an advertising service that allows women to rent out their own “absolute territory” to advertisers.  It’s called Absolute Territory PR, and the number of women participating in it are increasing by the day.

So what’s the attraction for young women to bare their thighs in the name of advertising? Read More

From the Cutting Room Floor: The 26 Photos We Couldn’t Find a Home For But Wanted to Share

From the Cutting Room Floor: The 26 Photos We Couldn’t Find a Home For But Wanted to Share

Thanks to the surge in popularity of photography over the last few years, with every man and his (clever) dog snapping photos on their mobile phones, ultra-slim pocket cameras or monster-lens DSLRs, we’ve become a world of image capturers.

As soon as we see something that little bit unusual or aesthetically pleasing, we whip out the camera and snap it from every angle possible, quickly turning something as simple as a cup of coffee into an oiled-up 20-year-old model on the hood of a sports car.

So it should come as no surprise that we at RocketNews24, being in the journalism business and all, should take a ton of pictures.

Over at our sister site Pouch, writer Yoshio has put together a fantastic collection of quirky photos that he’s taken throughout the year, each time thinking “I can definitely use this!” or “there’s a story here!” as he snapped away, but never finding a place to use them.

Alas, every writer must be prepared to cut lines he loves, and not every photo can be used. But of the 3,000 shots that we say goodbye to today as Yoshio gives his hard-disk a clear-out, these 26 just had to be shared. Read More

Why do Foreigners Like Japanese Manga so Much? We Head to Comiket to Find Out!

Why do Foreigners Like Japanese Manga so Much? We Head to Comiket to Find Out!

While manga is ubiquitous in Japan — just ride the subway in any major city and you’ll see people from all walks of life flipping through a comic book — many Japanese people are surprised to hear how popular manga has become overseas. After all, aren’t Westerners only interested in macho superheroes or short comic strips?

Perhaps that was the case in America before, but in recent years many major bookstores have begun to reserve more space near the front of the store for Japanese comics and in some European countries like France and Germany manga occupies a large portion of overall comic sales.

But why?

Earlier this month, we sent one of our Japanese reporters to Comic Market (or “Comiket“), the world’s largest self-published comic book fair and otaku mecca, to interview real live foreigners and ask them why they like Japanese manga so much.

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Why Do Foreigners Like Japan so Much? We Head to Comiket 82 to Find Out!

Why Do Foreigners Like Japan so Much? We Head to Comiket 82 to Find Out!

Many foreigners view Japan as some marvelous dreamland of technology and culture; a place where crazy is the norm and embracing fantasy in everyday life is acceptable.

But to Japanese people, Japan is just that place you were born. Everyone and everything is routine, and it’s often difficult to see why the rest of the world get’s so worked up about “Japanese culture.”

Earlier this month, we sent one of our Japanese reporters to Comic Market (or “Comiket“), the world’s largest self-published comic book fair and otaku mecca, to interview real live foreigners and ask them what it is they really think about this country.

Read More