Here is a Coca Cola commercial that starts out by showing a Japanese baseball game. Yes, baseball is a very big sport in Japan! Very similar to the Pepsi commercials where the sound of the fizzing soda as the bottle appears to have just been opened. (Click on picture to view commercial)

[I added this commercial only for the sake of not wanting to show any bias for either Pepsi or Coke since I actually don't like either and prefer to drink non-carbonated beverages.]

While a U.S. creation done specifically for the Japanese market, many Japanese think that Pepsi Man is a popular television commercial character in the United States. The belief is that Pepsi Man is distinctly "American" and has just been brought over to Japan as well. The truth is, Pepsi Cola has played upon Japan's obsession with Western culture and has created Pepsi Man to soothe their taste buds for more Western culture. The Pepsi Man commercials rarely have English dialogue other than to say "WOW, Pepsi Man!" and appear to have been filmed all in the United States. Pepsi Man does not speak (usually). You always hear the sound of a can being opened as Pepsi Man opens his mouth. (Click on picture to view commercial - this clip is combined with the clip below)

Pepsi Man is everywhere. Here he is immitated by a popular Japanese rock group in 1996. Pepsi Man is actually a comical type of character as you always see things go badly for him in each commercial. As the commercial above, the little boy shoots his with his squirt gun just after he arrives to save some beautiful young women who were dying of thirst. (Click on picture to view commercial - this clip is combined with the clip from above)

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The Pepsi Man fad has been found again! Here Pepsi Man appears in an English language video game commercial geared towards Japanese youth.

If you would like to see more about Pepsi Man, visit Pepsi's web site,which has been set up for Pepsi Man and contains about 11 more short versions of his commercials using Quicktime. http://www.pepsi.co.jp/cf_r.html

(Click on picture to view commercial)