It's important to understand that Tommy Lee Jones is *the face* of mass-market coffee in Japan, Boss has been using him in all of their coffee ads since 2006, so 18 years.
This makes me that much more happy to see those beautiful though overpriced rainbow cans in the store (and the black ones are fine, too, just not rainbow&sunrise lovely).
The Boss/Tommy Lee Jones commercial was great to see. Just last week, I had some visitors from Japan who I spent hours in the car driving to various touristy places. With limited English, they asked me about a movie called Men in Black and who was the lead actor. I said Will Smith? They said no... the other actor. I said Tommy Lee Jones? They said yes. I asked how did they know him. They said because he is famous for commercials for coffee in Japan! So here I get to watch them with Mr. Hoffmann. So very timely.
To be fair, it's peak storytelling. He's done so many of them (I've read somewhere it's because he loves Japan and it's an excuse to do a work vacation) and they've included his 'Alien Jones' character in a cross over promo with Softbank (a cellphone company) in a series of commercials.
Was about to say, james clearly didn't know about the "men in black" movies that were very successive at the time worldwide really. That's what the whole alien talk was about. Not that I knew Tommy did ads in japan about coffee at that time either, nice to see.
I saw The Sunset Limited last night with mister Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson and I never thought I could enjoy a movie about just a conversation between a suicidal pessimist and a devout Christian ex-con but here we are. And now I'm watching Tommy in a coffee commercial. These are strange times.
You know this means you need to make a real ad now. James starts the day with bed hair, tired, not ready for the day. Next shot, pulls out a bag of Square Mile beans with a Fresh Beans for James post it note stuck on the front. James spends 30 minutes faffing about prepping the perfect espresso. Takes sip. Hair springs into place. Fade to Square Mile logo. Not a single word is said through the entire ad.
This is something old men in general get off on believing is true. Like the fact that they aren't dead or homeless means they are basically an expert in everything they do on a regular basis. I feel like just saying "I'm an expert" makes me immediately assume you aren't an expert
I love how utterly absurd the scenarios are without the ads even slightly acknowledging it and acting like this is a totally normal scenario. A high class party during the day where everyone is dressed like they'd be drinking champagne but instead they're drinking self serve Nespresso. Like yeah sure Nestle that's definitely a thing that happens, people just dress in their finest to go do nothing else but drink self serve capsule coffee with strangers in the middle of the day. And then the implication that the blonde woman scored the woman who choose ice coffee by correctly guessing what coffee she would pick from half way across the room, do the marketeers at Nestle think this is how Lesbian dating works? It's so fucking funny it's like it was written by an alien or an AI.
well as a female I have never liked those adverts I find clooney slimy, the best film he was in was o brother where art thou they should have had him do that but exchange the obsession with the dapper dan brand hair grease for an obsession with coffee, those adverts are far too up their own arse.
Oh dear, the ad would have gone from cringe to epic in an instant. He could have gone off piste for a moment on how dope cocaine is, then realize he went off piste, and conclude that "yeah that's good coffee". Would have been brilliant.
Re the Pacino ad, as someone who grew up close to NYC, I offer that someone like him with a tough-guy image saying that a coffee is "a good coffee" is actually a high compliment.
Japanese commercials are just different man. A lot of them seem to start off with something completely unrelated and then tie it to the product in some unexpected way. Love them
As a tea drinker, I have made the following errors in the morning: -pour hot water into a pot with no teabag -pour cold water into a pot with a teabag -pour cream directly into an empty teapot -completely forget to pour water in the teapot at all So, y’know, I’ll forgive Dustin Hoffman for forgetting how a Mokka Pot works. I could see myself doing that.
Tommy Lee Jones has been doing commercials for BOSS coffee since the early 2000s. They're fantastic and very "Japanese" (anyone that has seen Japanese TV commercials knows what I'm talking about) lol
Yeah I recall this was a long running series. There were few over-the-top commercials when I was in Japan, but vast majority was subdued cliche tv spots like what we see in western world.
@@MistSoalar Yeah a majority of his are pretty normal. One I'm thinking of especially starts with him being a teacher that walks into his classroom. He has laser vision or something in that one lol my favorite commercial from my time in Japan was a CC Lemon commercial
Absolutely! Vending machines selling canned coffee pervade Japan to a degree that Coca-Cola could scarcely even dream of. A large fraction of them sell Coffee Boss. And, at least until recently, they all had Tommy Lee Jones' picture on them. His picture was everywhere. "Ubiquitous" barely conveys it. (And he is such a wonderful actor that he totally deserves it.)
@@finn8474 Caligula did once charge his army with stabbing the sea in a war with Poseidon. It went about as well as you'd expect from a logistical perspective, so... maybe something like that.
I was in Japan when those ads were out and seeing Tommy Lee Jones staring ruggedly at me from the bottom of vending machines with the word 'BOSS' next to his face was a daily delight. Also was mildly obsessed with that Al Pacino ad for a while. I still occasionally tap two fingers on the table and say "this is good coffee" in my best Pacino accent to the bemusement of everyone around.
I really needed James to look at Joe DiMaggio’s Mr. Coffee ads from the 70’s. They were actually important in generating interest in automatic drip machines over stove top percolators.
Somehow percolators being terrible wasn't enough. I legit believed until I found this channel that alternatives didn't really exist until the 70s. Only to find out Europe had like 10 accessible alternatives to percolators by 1950
@@skeetsmcgrew3282 I want to into this more because it’s very right. America had the Chemex by the end of WWII but not only stuck with the percolator but invented electric(!) percolators rather than switch to any better option. There’s a rise and fall narrative in there. And those electric percolators were massive electrical fire hazards. I remember the old one at my parents looking like the insulation on the chord could melt off at any moment.
The best celebrity coffee commercial I've seen is one for Norwegian brand Evergood with Morgan Freeman. He hadn't done ads in the US for 30 years and required that it was only to be shown in cinemas and on TV in Norway, not on the internet. So I can't find it anywhere, but I remember it was great. ("It's good. It's Evergood." in the voice of God.) Could be why it's still my go-to coffee brand in Norway.
Speaking as a New Englander where Dunkin is almost like a religion and highest density of dunkin locations. That ad was probably made more for us than a national / international appeal.
I don't get it. Do they use different ingredients at the Dunkins in New England? The donuts are pre-made garbage, and the coffee tastes like Ben Affleck already digested it yesterday before puking it back into the pot.
As a Bostonian who moved away 3 years ago, I can confirm... That Dunkin' ad made me incredibly nostalgic and yearn for some Dunks. Boston is a very specific vibe.
My only issue was that I felt like Ben Affleck’s accent was totally forced? It’s obvious he’s been “Hollywood-ified” and does NOT have an honest Boston blue-collar accent. Actually, most of the Boston accents I hear on TV and in movies are so contrived, it’s ridiculous. The whole ad just felt like the creators took the lowest common denominator to create something sort of Boston-like.
Came here to say this. I grew up about 5 miles from the first ever Dunkin' Donuts shop, and they've been a part of my life for berth or worse for over 55 years. The only problem with the ad is just how Boston specific it is; Matt, Ben, and Tom. Well, Matt and Ben. Tom grew up in California.
Hi James, I'm from Japan. Been following you for quite a while, love your content. I'm sooo happy that BOSS coffee/Tommy Lee Jones commercials are included here, which I did not expect! If you think of canned coffee, you think of these ad series, it's that famous!
Hey James, it’s pretty well known in the industry that Pacino is a coffee nut (to the extent he was dubbed “Al Cappuccino” on some sets) he (generally) has his own machine and barista on site, and has been known to pull a pretty good shot himself.
The Dunkin commercial absolutely did make me want Dunkin but that's because I'm from New England and I've been programmed to crave it at the mere sight of pink and orange.
My wife and I, who both lived amongst the Boss Coffee commercials, think that we now need a whole video of you just watching the Boss Coffee ads and further discovering the Boss Cinematic Universe.
I’ve never seen a producer speak in one of these videos. Have I been missing this?! Wonderful video. Bringing the weirdness out in the open makes it so much more weird. The Dunkin’ painting product placement was gold.
The Dunkin ad has so many layers that are specific to the northeastern US, a.k.a New England. They were VERY deliberate with this. Ben A. has cultivated an identity of working class south Boston since Good Will Hunting, even being spotted working a Dunkin driver thru window. Tom Brady, love or hate, is a well known celebrity-status athlete affiliated with Boston (yes understatement, but I am communicating with a non-American...). More layers I can't put to words at the moment. Despite the cringe, this was the single best ad of the ENTIRE Super Bowl '24 and easily the best coffee ad I've seen in years.
As a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I'll always have a soft spot for Anthony Head serving Nescafe Gold Blend to his neighbor, Sharon Maughan , in the 80s. So sophisticated!
For understandable reasons you missed Nino Manfredi and Lavazza coffee. Adverts with this popular Italian actor have been the foundation of Lavazza marketing campaigns from 1977 until 1993.
One of the biggest misconceptions about advertising is that it's suppose to be realistic or make sense, that is rarely the goal. Advertisement only focuses on a single thing: to push you to buy a product. Some advertising is purposefully weird and strange, so you'll think about the product afterwards, and you'll even tell your friends about it (or make a video on youtube). Other advertisement simply aims to feel like you can identify with the product, which is especially used in advertisement for soft drinks and when aiming for a younger demography. Then there are advertisement that tries to give you a sense of what it feels like to own the product, which is often seen with car or perfume advertisement. So advertisement isn't suppose to be logical, it's only goal is to make you remember the product - in your subconscious - so when you see the product again in the supermarket, there's an increased chance you'll buy it. And it works!
I also feel like nerdy people inclined to disect a thing tend to be less susceptible to the tactic unless the ad hits a chord with them, and we see that at play here.
@@beth12svist Yes. If the advertising is aimed towards you, it often means you won't notice it, because it will feel normal in relation to your reality. So you can identify with it, or you laugh it off as being funny, unless the advertising is specifically designed to make you cringe.
@@ThisIsMyFullName Yes, and no. I am, from my position, far likelier to succumb to an ad for a fabric shop than an ad for a clothing brand using similar fabrics, for example - all the latter advert achieves, in relation to me as a nerdy sewist, is, in the best case scenario, dissecting how their clothing is made and thinking how I could make it and how I would make it fit me in a way no standard-size clothing ever will. 🙂 That's more or less what I meant here in relation to James as well, because he's deep enough in the subject that he can dissect the product's properties and make a decision based on more than just brand recognition. It's rather telling to me that the things he succumbs to here are often things only tangential to his main points of interest (like the cup).
@@beth12svist Well, these coffee ads are not aimed for people like James. You can't sell an inferior product to someone who knows as much about the product as you do. You want people who are users of the product, but who has little knowledge of it. If you feel allured by the advertisement, there's a high chance that your are in fact the target demography. The George Clooney commercials in the end is the perfect example of this. Looking at it, it might seem like it's aimed at a middle aged male demography, but if you examine the various parts of the commercials, it's actually aimed at a 25 to 40 aged female demography. First of all, the music in both commercials is practically pron music, I mean it's clearly meant to get you to feel relaxed and aroused. They feature two famous attractive middle aged men in them, dressed in suits, and surrounded by modern dressed women. Notice the younger, less taller, insecure male in the beginning of the first commercial that George talks to, without having eye contact with him. That is contrast, to make George appear more manly and in control. The women in the green dress describes a man as "nutty and sweet", while the women are viewed as intelligent, cool, and bold, which is further inclined when the women in the pink dress walks by George obviously flirting with him. In the end the women describes the encounter as "unforgettable", but they're in control of the situation. The second commercials uses the same ploy when the women in the white dress walks up to George and flirts with him, to such a great effect that George gives her what she wants, without her even having to ask him. That is female empowerment. The last scene might appear in contrast with that when she asks Jean if he wants milk, but the distance and different sitting positions in the following scene between Jean and the women shows that they're equals, or in other words a 'power couple'. It's no coincidence that James producer is very charmed, that's exactly what the commercials aims for. The commercial with Al Pacino is an example of advertisement aimed at a middle aged male demography who wants to appear as if they know coffee, but actually don't. Its locations and humorous dialog says that you can have the knowledge of what great coffee is, without doing the work. In other words: "We know you have a busy life, so just buy our coffee, and you will look like you know what great coffee is". Al Pacino is the perfect casting for this role, as he's known to be a very professional actor who plays dominant, powerful roles. But at the same time he doesn't appears as the type of man who checks his hair in the mirror before walking out the door. So he's powerful, but relatable.
I wish more people understood how precisely calculated commercials are. I learned about these tricks in middle school and never stopped thinking about it. Modern ads are borderline "brainwashing conspiracy," and I try not to be paranoid about that... Most innovation in most consumer products has plateaued, so companies compete with marketing, instead of better products. In theory, I wouldn't mind watching honest ads from small businesses informing me of things I actually want, but that's not how the real world works. Real ads feel so patronizing and insulting. Even if it somehow appeals to me, I just feel like boycotting the product out of spite lol
I will not deny.. I'm french and i found the last one with Dujardin and Clooney quite funny. Also i grew up bombarded with the "What else" nespresso/Clooney ads so i have fond memories of them 😳
Thanks for the daily dose of filtered adds, James. I haven't watched commercial TV in years and seeing this assortment of great spots brings me joy, narrated by yourself truly. On that note: I wonder what Hames Joffmann will cut up with this
I noticed a few weeks back that I hadn’t gotten a Hames notification in quite some time, and there have been a few James videos that seemed like excellent Hames-fodder….but it looks like the Hames channel no longer exists? 😕
RUclips recommend your decaf video, I watched the follow up, and this video earned my subscription. I love good coffee and am always trying to learn more about it!
The TLJ ads from Japan were very tame by Japanese commercial standards, I liked the "oh look, he's like an alien from that movie he starred in" joke but it was very by-the-books. The Dunkin' commercial though, that was definitely my favorite, and I think a little something may have been lost in translation for James there living across the pond; Dunkin' is kind of a _Big Deal_ in the northeast, it started as a very regional chain and people from the region are very proud of it, just like Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, who grew up in the same region and started out in little indie films and then blew up into huge movie stars, but they've always stayed connected to their roots. And lemme tell you, as somebody _from_ the northeast, that ad just really tickled me.
The most effective one on me is the Al Paccino one. When he says that's good coffee, it makes me want a coffee. I have no idea what coffee it advertises but as an ad for coffee in general it was effective. To other countries sometimes have ads for things like Eggs or Avocado's? Not a brand, just an ad for the concept of eating eggs.
I am so glad you got to see the Tommy Lee Jones commercials. They're definitely a favorite of mine! Over the top but still a coffee commercial in the end!
Smooth idea to record a video review of coffee ads and hide the real idea behind - to get some Hasselhoff life-size figures and a Dunking diamond cup. Well played.
The Al Pacino spots feel like they were created by someone REALLY into Jarmush's Coffee and Cigarettes. They wanted to work within this cinematographic world, and figured out how to finance the shoot by selling it as a commercial. Probably influenced by the way Jon Lurie kept his DIY/Punk/Indie cred while having a group of Japanese business investors actually foot the bill for something that was absolutely not what the investors wanted, but in the process became an actual creative set of short films. I'm not putting a claim on whether the commercial maker succeeded in his goals, but I'm pretty confident the early 90's No Wave arts scene was a key inspiration. This filmmaker doesn't consider ads to be his job, but his craft. Oh, and the director has ABSOLUTELY studied Wes Anderson.
I feel like this HAD to be somewhat inspired by his role in Kung Fury and the ridiculous and simultaneously badass music video he did for it. ...or maybe the other way around?
Seeing Cumby’s was bizarre. Hasselhoff selling their god-awful coffee was a total blind-side. I also love James casually offering to purchase stolen property.
This is the funniest video I've ever seen on the channel. James has some serious comedy chops that we need to see more of. I don't watch ads but I loved Tommy Lee Jones just because I know Japan TV is weird.
James doesn't know it but I have a folder full of clipped pieces of his videos just for general reaction purposes. '...I don't like you.', '...That's quite bad.' 'Lovely!' The man's a soundboard gold mine.
Regarding the first Pacino ad, there's a certain kinda guy, of a certain age, from the northeast US for whom a casual "it's a good cup" is indeed the highest praise. If that kind of guy launched into superlatives like James suggested, it would seem like he was full of it. I think that was the vibe they were going for. May not be a vibe that translates to the UK
You should definitely do coffee creamer ads next and include the Wayne Brady commercials he did for Delight creamers. Those jingles still get stuck in my head to this day.
I've been a subscriber to your channel for over 2 years now, and it has opened up a whole new world of coffee for me. Your coffee commercial review had me in stitches-it's one of the funniest videos on your channel! That moment at 4:24 when you chuckled at the whimsical science of David Hasselhoff's flight had me bursting with laughter. Thank you for consistently delivering informative and entertaining content on coffee!
I absolutely love brazen product placement in a movie, especially when it's Folgers. Like there is a breakfast scene and the coffee can with the logo is boldly front and center! I mean I am not going to buy it but it totally makes my day.
Sometimes it's so egregious that it leaves me dumbfounded. Like a character interrupts a conversation to spend 3 minutes explaining the features of their new car. "Anyway, lets get back to solving the murder case." I think the third Blade movie had a casual conversation about iPods between action scenes.
@@SubjectiveObserver I love when everything other than the advertized product is made dull and uninteresting. It feels like it's a video game and everything other than the main character is being rendered with less intense graphics.
James, there's this Finnish bodybuilder who's about to attempt to squeeze a fresh cup of coffee by extruding it through a 300 ton hydraulic press.. you gotta check it out when the video drops here in a few days!
I love Boss coffee! It was actually my “gateway coffee” way back when, so maybe that love is flavored by nostalgia, but I still pick up a few cans of the black every time I go to the Japanese market .
Favorite coffee commercial by a country mile - a set of japanese coffee commercials set in the world of Twin Peaks with Kyle MacLachlan, all directed by David Lynch.
The one with The Hoff is positively camp-tastic. I’ve never heard of that coffee brand, I wouldn’t know where to buy it, it totally doesn’t look like “my kind” of coffee…but if I ever see it I’ll snap it up now purely because of that ad. They’ve won. It takes a lot to make me not hate an ad, but I wouldn’t even reach for the skip button if that came up again. I almost want that song in my playlist. 😂😂😂
"That's a complicated statement..." said James moments before he expressed, as gracefully and delicate as a swan floating on a peaceful lake during full moon, that expertise is not gained thru participation. Like shushing someone as you press your finger in their lips.
Yeah. Coffee milk, which starts with more milk than coffee and morphs over the years, was a thing for us growing up. Of course, I grew up in a Lutheran household, and anyone who knows Lutherans knows that coffee is practically a sacrament. ;~) No longer a Lutheran, and medically cannot drink caffeine, but I still love to start the day with a decaf.
I went to Japan for the first time in 2007 and this was peak TLJ/ BOSS coffee collab. We were so stunned when we got to Tokyo, that we took hundreds of photos with vending machines with his face on them. I'd say the ad worked because we drank lots of cans of BOSS on that trip. Good times.
And here I thought Hoffnapping was about James getting a short amount of sleep between endless caffeination
😂😂😂
🤣🤣🤣
TBF James is an advocate of maintaining a healthy sleep schedule and doesn't drink coffee late in the day.
HOly Shit its 3 am And My Parents just woke up Cause I laughed too HARD 😆
Nice one mate . HIlarious !
No, that's a Powerhoff!
It's important to understand that Tommy Lee Jones is *the face* of mass-market coffee in Japan, Boss has been using him in all of their coffee ads since 2006, so 18 years.
My brain just short circuited reading that 2006 was 18 years ago
He is an institution -- you put some respect on that man's name
Had no idea my boy Tommy Lee was big in Japan!
This makes me that much more happy to see those beautiful though overpriced rainbow cans in the store (and the black ones are fine, too, just not rainbow&sunrise lovely).
Boss is also a brand of effects pedals from Japan
The Boss/Tommy Lee Jones commercial was great to see. Just last week, I had some visitors from Japan who I spent hours in the car driving to various touristy places. With limited English, they asked me about a movie called Men in Black and who was the lead actor. I said Will Smith? They said no... the other actor. I said Tommy Lee Jones? They said yes. I asked how did they know him. They said because he is famous for commercials for coffee in Japan! So here I get to watch them with Mr. Hoffmann. So very timely.
Absolute Cinema
To be fair, it's peak storytelling. He's done so many of them (I've read somewhere it's because he loves Japan and it's an excuse to do a work vacation) and they've included his 'Alien Jones' character in a cross over promo with Softbank (a cellphone company) in a series of commercials.
Was about to say, james clearly didn't know about the "men in black" movies that were very successive at the time worldwide really. That's what the whole alien talk was about. Not that I knew Tommy did ads in japan about coffee at that time either, nice to see.
Thought I had a 4 pack of Boss espresso in the cupboard, must have drunk all 4 cans.😮
Hoffmann, Hoffman and The Hoff, finally together. I never thought I’d see the day
Just needed the Heff to top it off
The Hoff quota is through the roof on this one!
We're missing Hames Joffmann unfortunately
Never noticed that it's "HoffmanN" until reading this
Don't forget about "hoffnapping"
I really hoped in the last ad Clooney would ask for the lady's shoes in exchange for the coffee, that would have elevated the whole set to a 10/10
Nespresso logo as Clooney shuffles off in too small high heels.
I don't think you can do cross dressing jokes anymore
I was secretly waiting for Brad’s Pitt to say something about Jimmy Buffet wanting his sandals back. 😮😉😂
your reaction to the Corden ad was absolutely perfectly on-point
Tommy Lee Jones has this strange power to make anything mildly interesting
He's made of meat. Meat that thinks!
That's the thing, they put his meat sounds into the signals. Disgusting
As mild as the new Boss Extra Mild blend, for those who wanna take it easy.
r/mildlyinteresting
I saw The Sunset Limited last night with mister Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson and I never thought I could enjoy a movie about just a conversation between a suicidal pessimist and a devout Christian ex-con but here we are. And now I'm watching Tommy in a coffee commercial. These are strange times.
You know this means you need to make a real ad now.
James starts the day with bed hair, tired, not ready for the day.
Next shot, pulls out a bag of Square Mile beans with a Fresh Beans for James post it note stuck on the front.
James spends 30 minutes faffing about prepping the perfect espresso.
Takes sip.
Hair springs into place.
Fade to Square Mile logo.
Not a single word is said through the entire ad.
I kinda feel like he did after the two about Brad Pitt.
when the celeb is THE james, this would work for ANY coffee brand.
he could ask for extra pay to just mouth the words of the brand in the ad.
i can't suspend the disbelief that james doesn't just wake up with perfectly sculpted hair already
“I don’t know if expertise in things, is gained through participation.” James dropping the cold hard truths.
It's a quote to remember!
And its true too. I take a shit every day, I don't say I'm an expect on the Gut microbiota
I wipe my butt since I was 5. I know TP. This is good TP. This makes me an expert.
This is something old men in general get off on believing is true. Like the fact that they aren't dead or homeless means they are basically an expert in everything they do on a regular basis. I feel like just saying "I'm an expert" makes me immediately assume you aren't an expert
Ugh. Like all the people who think that they can write because they can read.
No.
It’s different.
Just, no.
The fact that the female producer found the George Clooney ad to be 'charming' is just icing on the cake for me.
I think she was more charmed by Hoffhate
so good man that was perfect
I think she was proving that @jimseven s video was off its rocker
I love how utterly absurd the scenarios are without the ads even slightly acknowledging it and acting like this is a totally normal scenario. A high class party during the day where everyone is dressed like they'd be drinking champagne but instead they're drinking self serve Nespresso. Like yeah sure Nestle that's definitely a thing that happens, people just dress in their finest to go do nothing else but drink self serve capsule coffee with strangers in the middle of the day. And then the implication that the blonde woman scored the woman who choose ice coffee by correctly guessing what coffee she would pick from half way across the room, do the marketeers at Nestle think this is how Lesbian dating works? It's so fucking funny it's like it was written by an alien or an AI.
well as a female I have never liked those adverts I find clooney slimy, the best film he was in was o brother where art thou they should have had him do that but exchange the obsession with the dapper dan brand hair grease for an obsession with coffee, those adverts are far too up their own arse.
Feel like Pacino was gonna say cocaine was the 2nd thing he knew, then he realized he shouldn't say that.
Oh dear, the ad would have gone from cringe to epic in an instant. He could have gone off piste for a moment on how dope cocaine is, then realize he went off piste, and conclude that "yeah that's good coffee". Would have been brilliant.
@@pierrex3226Missed opportunity
I was sad that they didn't slip in a line about him playing "the devil's advocate" on the subject.
Yeah lmao when he mentioned waking up early and needing "all the help you can get" like right he just drank a lot of coffee
"I was only 7 years old..."
Re the Pacino ad, as someone who grew up close to NYC, I offer that someone like him with a tough-guy image saying that a coffee is "a good coffee" is actually a high compliment.
Maybe it is a local thing, now that you mention it.
I totally agree! That's how I read it.
Japanese commercials are just different man. A lot of them seem to start off with something completely unrelated and then tie it to the product in some unexpected way. Love them
As a tea drinker, I have made the following errors in the morning:
-pour hot water into a pot with no teabag
-pour cold water into a pot with a teabag
-pour cream directly into an empty teapot
-completely forget to pour water in the teapot at all
So, y’know, I’ll forgive Dustin Hoffman for forgetting how a Mokka Pot works. I could see myself doing that.
Coffee is just an extremely burnt seed tea of a mutant mallow from Ethiopia.
Are we going to ignore the fact they missed a trick with the 'Al Cappuccino'???
James, I feel you. Being overcome by hate while surrounded by the beguiled is a frustrating place to be.
Tommy Lee Jones has been doing commercials for BOSS coffee since the early 2000s. They're fantastic and very "Japanese" (anyone that has seen Japanese TV commercials knows what I'm talking about) lol
I was gonna say 😂 it's that combination of that sort of mildly confused look that really sells the whole vibe!
Yeah I recall this was a long running series. There were few over-the-top commercials when I was in Japan, but vast majority was subdued cliche tv spots like what we see in western world.
@@MistSoalar Yeah a majority of his are pretty normal. One I'm thinking of especially starts with him being a teacher that walks into his classroom. He has laser vision or something in that one lol my favorite commercial from my time in Japan was a CC Lemon commercial
For relaxing times make it Suntory time
Absolutely! Vending machines selling canned coffee pervade Japan to a degree that Coca-Cola could scarcely even dream of. A large fraction of them sell Coffee Boss. And, at least until recently, they all had Tommy Lee Jones' picture on them. His picture was everywhere. "Ubiquitous" barely conveys it. (And he is such a wonderful actor that he totally deserves it.)
This is pure gold. James simultaneously having a laugh and losing faith in humanity is beautiful
First off, let me just make it clear: Your coffee ad remake was a thing of beauty and it made me laugh so hard. 10/10 production quality.
Hames Joffmann videos are the best James Hoffmann commercials.
If my coffee reminded of Cordon I'd knock it's lights out.
How would you do that? Just wondering logistically.
@@finn8474 dark roast
Finding out James Hoffmann is a fellow Corden hater was vindicating
@@finn8474 Caligula did once charge his army with stabbing the sea in a war with Poseidon. It went about as well as you'd expect from a logistical perspective, so... maybe something like that.
Every time I think James Corden can't get more insufferable, he makes me suffer more. I cringed so hard, I almost broke my back.
I was in Japan when those ads were out and seeing Tommy Lee Jones staring ruggedly at me from the bottom of vending machines with the word 'BOSS' next to his face was a daily delight.
Also was mildly obsessed with that Al Pacino ad for a while. I still occasionally tap two fingers on the table and say "this is good coffee" in my best Pacino accent to the bemusement of everyone around.
I was in Japan then too! Seeing Tommy Lee Jones doing the crazy bending was surprisingly nostalgic lol
Well Dang. I was a Cumberland Farms manager for awhile. Looks like I gotta get my Dance on!✌️😁☕️
@@deadheadri5779This should be mandatory for all Cumberland Farms employees surely? Hasselhoff away!
I really needed James to look at Joe DiMaggio’s Mr. Coffee ads from the 70’s.
They were actually important in generating interest in automatic drip machines over stove top percolators.
Somehow percolators being terrible wasn't enough. I legit believed until I found this channel that alternatives didn't really exist until the 70s. Only to find out Europe had like 10 accessible alternatives to percolators by 1950
@@skeetsmcgrew3282
I want to into this more because it’s very right. America had the Chemex by the end of WWII but not only stuck with the percolator but invented electric(!) percolators rather than switch to any better option.
There’s a rise and fall narrative in there.
And those electric percolators were massive electrical fire hazards. I remember the old one at my parents looking like the insulation on the chord could melt off at any moment.
I would give anything to see James using that Dunkin' cup and wearing a Dunkin' tracksuit! We NEED THAT!
"Fortune favors the brave, Matt" this has to be the nastiest burn I've ever seen from James 😂😂😂😂
Learning about Hoffnapping was not on my to do list today but my life is better for it
The best celebrity coffee commercial I've seen is one for Norwegian brand Evergood with Morgan Freeman. He hadn't done ads in the US for 30 years and required that it was only to be shown in cinemas and on TV in Norway, not on the internet. So I can't find it anywhere, but I remember it was great. ("It's good. It's Evergood." in the voice of God.) Could be why it's still my go-to coffee brand in Norway.
Speaking as a New Englander where Dunkin is almost like a religion and highest density of dunkin locations. That ad was probably made more for us than a national / international appeal.
And I like that.
I don't get it. Do they use different ingredients at the Dunkins in New England? The donuts are pre-made garbage, and the coffee tastes like Ben Affleck already digested it yesterday before puking it back into the pot.
Born and raised in Boston. Once I moved out of New England, I discovered it was a deeply embedded part of my identity.
As a Bostonian who moved away 3 years ago, I can confirm... That Dunkin' ad made me incredibly nostalgic and yearn for some Dunks. Boston is a very specific vibe.
I was going to say that it's a Boston specific thing, also.
My only issue was that I felt like Ben Affleck’s accent was totally forced? It’s obvious he’s been “Hollywood-ified” and does NOT have an honest Boston blue-collar accent. Actually, most of the Boston accents I hear on TV and in movies are so contrived, it’s ridiculous. The whole ad just felt like the creators took the lowest common denominator to create something sort of Boston-like.
Came here to say this. I grew up about 5 miles from the first ever Dunkin' Donuts shop, and they've been a part of my life for berth or worse for over 55 years. The only problem with the ad is just how Boston specific it is; Matt, Ben, and Tom. Well, Matt and Ben. Tom grew up in California.
@JohnTheBrewer I love that it is Boston spefic.
I read "Bosnian" and got terribly confused for a moment.
James' silent pauses and rapidly-changing pained expressions are my favorite part of this video.
Hi James, I'm from Japan. Been following you for quite a while, love your content.
I'm sooo happy that BOSS coffee/Tommy Lee Jones commercials are included here, which I did not expect! If you think of canned coffee, you think of these ad series, it's that famous!
Hey James, it’s pretty well known in the industry that Pacino is a coffee nut (to the extent he was dubbed “Al Cappuccino” on some sets) he (generally) has his own machine and barista on site, and has been known to pull a pretty good shot himself.
The Dunkin commercial absolutely did make me want Dunkin but that's because I'm from New England and I've been programmed to crave it at the mere sight of pink and orange.
There was a woman in the shop I work in yesterday who had totally pink shoes, trousers, jacket, gloves and hat on.
Ditto
Lordy You know if it's not got fat guy sweat in it..
My wife and I, who both lived amongst the Boss Coffee commercials, think that we now need a whole video of you just watching the Boss Coffee ads and further discovering the Boss Cinematic Universe.
Holy lord this man has the absolute best sweaters i've seen. WHERE DO YOU GET THESE JAMES MY STYLISH BABE
I think the same every time 😅 literally described him to my mum as 'the one with the really nice jumpers' 😆
This is going to make a great Hames Joffmann video
I don't know if it would fit into celebrity coffee ads, but the Nescafe Gold Blend couples ad was always a fun one with Anthony Head.
They have very sophisticated taste
I have no idea what you are talking about but I love everything Anthony Head
Yeah, because they were made before he was a celebrity. Great ads though.
@@skeetsmcgrew3282 As a fellow fan of his, you HAVE to check them out!!
"I don't know if expertise is gained through participation" is an all-time amazing quote.
I treat these types of commercials like anything titled "Viral" and avoid them like the plague.
However, your ad remake was amazeballs!
I’ve never seen a producer speak in one of these videos. Have I been missing this?!
Wonderful video. Bringing the weirdness out in the open makes it so much more weird. The Dunkin’ painting product placement was gold.
The best coffee ad would be James saying "I'm James Hoffmann, go buy this coffee RIGHT NOW!"
Okay, the Affleck commercial is AMAZING! I honestly hated their coffee when I lived in Boston but now I feel like I should go try it again.
The Dunkin ad has so many layers that are specific to the northeastern US, a.k.a New England. They were VERY deliberate with this. Ben A. has cultivated an identity of working class south Boston since Good Will Hunting, even being spotted working a Dunkin driver thru window. Tom Brady, love or hate, is a well known celebrity-status athlete affiliated with Boston (yes understatement, but I am communicating with a non-American...). More layers I can't put to words at the moment. Despite the cringe, this was the single best ad of the ENTIRE Super Bowl '24 and easily the best coffee ad I've seen in years.
For me, the best coffee ads have been the series of Twin Peaks Georgia Coffee. It's short, right to it, thematic to the show, goofy, and memorable.
They would have been just fine using Kyle McLachlan saying "Damn fine cup of coffee!"
As a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I'll always have a soft spot for Anthony Head serving Nescafe Gold Blend to his neighbor, Sharon Maughan , in the 80s.
So sophisticated!
Even if these commercials are not entertaining, watching James react to them is very much so!
remove Expert lolzzz
This video is good because of how joyfully James laughs at people trying to sell coffee
this is why we just need to remove expert
For understandable reasons you missed Nino Manfredi and Lavazza coffee. Adverts with this popular Italian actor have been the foundation of Lavazza marketing campaigns from 1977 until 1993.
One of the biggest misconceptions about advertising is that it's suppose to be realistic or make sense, that is rarely the goal. Advertisement only focuses on a single thing: to push you to buy a product.
Some advertising is purposefully weird and strange, so you'll think about the product afterwards, and you'll even tell your friends about it (or make a video on youtube). Other advertisement simply aims to feel like you can identify with the product, which is especially used in advertisement for soft drinks and when aiming for a younger demography. Then there are advertisement that tries to give you a sense of what it feels like to own the product, which is often seen with car or perfume advertisement.
So advertisement isn't suppose to be logical, it's only goal is to make you remember the product - in your subconscious - so when you see the product again in the supermarket, there's an increased chance you'll buy it. And it works!
I also feel like nerdy people inclined to disect a thing tend to be less susceptible to the tactic unless the ad hits a chord with them, and we see that at play here.
@@beth12svist Yes. If the advertising is aimed towards you, it often means you won't notice it, because it will feel normal in relation to your reality. So you can identify with it, or you laugh it off as being funny, unless the advertising is specifically designed to make you cringe.
@@ThisIsMyFullName Yes, and no.
I am, from my position, far likelier to succumb to an ad for a fabric shop than an ad for a clothing brand using similar fabrics, for example - all the latter advert achieves, in relation to me as a nerdy sewist, is, in the best case scenario, dissecting how their clothing is made and thinking how I could make it and how I would make it fit me in a way no standard-size clothing ever will. 🙂 That's more or less what I meant here in relation to James as well, because he's deep enough in the subject that he can dissect the product's properties and make a decision based on more than just brand recognition. It's rather telling to me that the things he succumbs to here are often things only tangential to his main points of interest (like the cup).
@@beth12svist Well, these coffee ads are not aimed for people like James. You can't sell an inferior product to someone who knows as much about the product as you do. You want people who are users of the product, but who has little knowledge of it. If you feel allured by the advertisement, there's a high chance that your are in fact the target demography. The George Clooney commercials in the end is the perfect example of this. Looking at it, it might seem like it's aimed at a middle aged male demography, but if you examine the various parts of the commercials, it's actually aimed at a 25 to 40 aged female demography.
First of all, the music in both commercials is practically pron music, I mean it's clearly meant to get you to feel relaxed and aroused. They feature two famous attractive middle aged men in them, dressed in suits, and surrounded by modern dressed women. Notice the younger, less taller, insecure male in the beginning of the first commercial that George talks to, without having eye contact with him. That is contrast, to make George appear more manly and in control. The women in the green dress describes a man as "nutty and sweet", while the women are viewed as intelligent, cool, and bold, which is further inclined when the women in the pink dress walks by George obviously flirting with him. In the end the women describes the encounter as "unforgettable", but they're in control of the situation.
The second commercials uses the same ploy when the women in the white dress walks up to George and flirts with him, to such a great effect that George gives her what she wants, without her even having to ask him. That is female empowerment. The last scene might appear in contrast with that when she asks Jean if he wants milk, but the distance and different sitting positions in the following scene between Jean and the women shows that they're equals, or in other words a 'power couple'. It's no coincidence that James producer is very charmed, that's exactly what the commercials aims for.
The commercial with Al Pacino is an example of advertisement aimed at a middle aged male demography who wants to appear as if they know coffee, but actually don't. Its locations and humorous dialog says that you can have the knowledge of what great coffee is, without doing the work. In other words: "We know you have a busy life, so just buy our coffee, and you will look like you know what great coffee is". Al Pacino is the perfect casting for this role, as he's known to be a very professional actor who plays dominant, powerful roles. But at the same time he doesn't appears as the type of man who checks his hair in the mirror before walking out the door. So he's powerful, but relatable.
I wish more people understood how precisely calculated commercials are. I learned about these tricks in middle school and never stopped thinking about it. Modern ads are borderline "brainwashing conspiracy," and I try not to be paranoid about that... Most innovation in most consumer products has plateaued, so companies compete with marketing, instead of better products. In theory, I wouldn't mind watching honest ads from small businesses informing me of things I actually want, but that's not how the real world works. Real ads feel so patronizing and insulting. Even if it somehow appeals to me, I just feel like boycotting the product out of spite lol
I will not deny.. I'm french and i found the last one with Dujardin and Clooney quite funny. Also i grew up bombarded with the "What else" nespresso/Clooney ads so i have fond memories of them 😳
Thanks for the daily dose of filtered adds, James. I haven't watched commercial TV in years and seeing this assortment of great spots brings me joy, narrated by yourself truly.
On that note: I wonder what Hames Joffmann will cut up with this
I noticed a few weeks back that I hadn’t gotten a Hames notification in quite some time, and there have been a few James videos that seemed like excellent Hames-fodder….but it looks like the Hames channel no longer exists? 😕
@@sassanada I looked the channel up, and it seems they haven't posted in months, I hope they are doing okay
RUclips recommend your decaf video, I watched the follow up, and this video earned my subscription. I love good coffee and am always trying to learn more about it!
Hugh Jackman's Laughing Man coffee ad is my favorite.
James reacting to James with such intense levels of sass is possible my favourite thing about this whole video
The TLJ ads from Japan were very tame by Japanese commercial standards, I liked the "oh look, he's like an alien from that movie he starred in" joke but it was very by-the-books.
The Dunkin' commercial though, that was definitely my favorite, and I think a little something may have been lost in translation for James there living across the pond; Dunkin' is kind of a _Big Deal_ in the northeast, it started as a very regional chain and people from the region are very proud of it, just like Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, who grew up in the same region and started out in little indie films and then blew up into huge movie stars, but they've always stayed connected to their roots. And lemme tell you, as somebody _from_ the northeast, that ad just really tickled me.
The laughing man coffee ads with Hugh Jackman are committed to my memory
The Twin Peaks commercials for Georgia Coffee are my favorites. They're even directed by David Lynch.
You kinda touched on it with the Tommy Lee Jones ads, but there are a series of Twin Peaks Japanese coffee commercials that are incredible
The most effective one on me is the Al Paccino one. When he says that's good coffee, it makes me want a coffee. I have no idea what coffee it advertises but as an ad for coffee in general it was effective.
To other countries sometimes have ads for things like Eggs or Avocado's? Not a brand, just an ad for the concept of eating eggs.
Not Eggs or Avocados, but I've seen ads for Mushrooms, Lamb, and Pork.
I am so glad you got to see the Tommy Lee Jones commercials. They're definitely a favorite of mine! Over the top but still a coffee commercial in the end!
Smooth idea to record a video review of coffee ads and hide the real idea behind - to get some Hasselhoff life-size figures and a Dunking diamond cup. Well played.
The Al Pacino spots feel like they were created by someone REALLY into Jarmush's Coffee and Cigarettes. They wanted to work within this cinematographic world, and figured out how to finance the shoot by selling it as a commercial. Probably influenced by the way Jon Lurie kept his DIY/Punk/Indie cred while having a group of Japanese business investors actually foot the bill for something that was absolutely not what the investors wanted, but in the process became an actual creative set of short films.
I'm not putting a claim on whether the commercial maker succeeded in his goals, but I'm pretty confident the early 90's No Wave arts scene was a key inspiration. This filmmaker doesn't consider ads to be his job, but his craft. Oh, and the director has ABSOLUTELY studied Wes Anderson.
I F****** DIED with the Hoff commercial, I actually laughed and laugh squealed 🤣 I was in a dark place and this lifted me x10
I feel like this HAD to be somewhat inspired by his role in Kung Fury and the ridiculous and simultaneously badass music video he did for it. ...or maybe the other way around?
I need more of this. This was literally so funny, haven’t laughed so much in a while. 😂
Missed the opportunity for a great coffee pun in the title: James Hoffman Roasts celebrity coffee ads
My fav is your recreation of the Pitt ad, that smirk at the end.
10:35 I have spent hundreds or thousands of hours in a car, and I can tell you that I don't know anything about cars
Not a celebrity coffee ad as such, but I miss the old Tasters Choice serial soap opera style ads of the 1980's/90's.
Seeing Cumby’s was bizarre. Hasselhoff selling their god-awful coffee was a total blind-side.
I also love James casually offering to purchase stolen property.
This is the funniest video I've ever seen on the channel. James has some serious comedy chops that we need to see more of. I don't watch ads but I loved Tommy Lee Jones just because I know Japan TV is weird.
James doesn't know it but I have a folder full of clipped pieces of his videos just for general reaction purposes. '...I don't like you.', '...That's quite bad.' 'Lovely!'
The man's a soundboard gold mine.
Not one of these commercials would make me want to buy the product.
This is all I needed today. Thank you.
Cut out the best part of the car exchange in the Dunkin Donuts one
"Maybe that's the voice of reason"
"Nah, I don't have that voice."
I think these coffee commercials should exist and we should appreciate the simplicity (or complexity?) of the specialty coffee wave we're all riding.
Regarding the first Pacino ad, there's a certain kinda guy, of a certain age, from the northeast US for whom a casual "it's a good cup" is indeed the highest praise. If that kind of guy launched into superlatives like James suggested, it would seem like he was full of it. I think that was the vibe they were going for. May not be a vibe that translates to the UK
I totally agree!
I really lived the Dustin Hoffman commercial, the colors, the acting was really a head and neck above the other commercials you showed here.
Please don't put James Corden on our screens without some kind of warning.
that Jones series is around like two decades in Japan. i've grown up with it.
You should definitely do coffee creamer ads next and include the Wayne Brady commercials he did for Delight creamers. Those jingles still get stuck in my head to this day.
Not James casually trying to purchase stolen goods on a public forum, oh no.
I grew up on nespresso ads with Clooney, and love them
I've been a subscriber to your channel for over 2 years now, and it has opened up a whole new world of coffee for me. Your coffee commercial review had me in stitches-it's one of the funniest videos on your channel! That moment at 4:24 when you chuckled at the whimsical science of David Hasselhoff's flight had me bursting with laughter. Thank you for consistently delivering informative and entertaining content on coffee!
Give me the "Who Dares Wins" Gold Blend spoof every time.
I absolutely love brazen product placement in a movie, especially when it's Folgers. Like there is a breakfast scene and the coffee can with the logo is boldly front and center! I mean I am not going to buy it but it totally makes my day.
Sometimes it's so egregious that it leaves me dumbfounded. Like a character interrupts a conversation to spend 3 minutes explaining the features of their new car. "Anyway, lets get back to solving the murder case." I think the third Blade movie had a casual conversation about iPods between action scenes.
@@SubjectiveObserver I love when everything other than the advertized product is made dull and uninteresting. It feels like it's a video game and everything other than the main character is being rendered with less intense graphics.
James, there's this Finnish bodybuilder who's about to attempt to squeeze a fresh cup of coffee by extruding it through a 300 ton hydraulic press.. you gotta check it out when the video drops here in a few days!
I’m sure someone already mentioned it, but the whole Twin Peaks coffee ad run from Japan is just epic stuff
The Duncan Hills Coffee Company jingle by Dethklok on Metalocalypse, obviously ;)
I love Boss coffee! It was actually my “gateway coffee” way back when, so maybe that love is flavored by nostalgia, but I still pick up a few cans of the black every time I go to the Japanese market .
I *love* when James laughs, it’s wonderful, I’m glad he got to laugh a lot in this video
The ad didn't make me want to buy Dunkin coffee but I would watch the ad itself multiple times
Favorite coffee commercial by a country mile - a set of japanese coffee commercials set in the world of Twin Peaks with Kyle MacLachlan, all directed by David Lynch.
Oh come on James, being British you missed the glaring timeless classic of Nescafe Gold Blend couple featuring Anthony Head!
Those Japanese ads are just the right level of intriguing and memorable.
The one with The Hoff is positively camp-tastic. I’ve never heard of that coffee brand, I wouldn’t know where to buy it, it totally doesn’t look like “my kind” of coffee…but if I ever see it I’ll snap it up now purely because of that ad. They’ve won. It takes a lot to make me not hate an ad, but I wouldn’t even reach for the skip button if that came up again. I almost want that song in my playlist. 😂😂😂
"That's a complicated statement..." said James moments before he expressed, as gracefully and delicate as a swan floating on a peaceful lake during full moon, that expertise is not gained thru participation. Like shushing someone as you press your finger in their lips.
I'm looking forward to the Hames Joffman video of this one.
That last one really missed an opportunity to show George walking away in a beautiful pair of manolo blahniks.
I am SO enjoying this !!! Thank you 🙏
8:05 I've been drinking coffee since I was three or four.
My mother would give me coffee milk to drink and I absolutely loved it.
Yeah. Coffee milk, which starts with more milk than coffee and morphs over the years, was a thing for us growing up. Of course, I grew up in a Lutheran household, and anyone who knows Lutherans knows that coffee is practically a sacrament. ;~)
No longer a Lutheran, and medically cannot drink caffeine, but I still love to start the day with a decaf.
My husband had coffee and donuts every morning when he was a kid.
I went to Japan for the first time in 2007 and this was peak TLJ/ BOSS coffee collab. We were so stunned when we got to Tokyo, that we took hundreds of photos with vending machines with his face on them. I'd say the ad worked because we drank lots of cans of BOSS on that trip. Good times.