From 1978: Unbelievable Japanese "Star Wars" TV spot for "sea chicken"

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

Dr. Serkan Toto currently works as the first and only Asia-based writer for the TechCrunch network, mainly covering Japan-related technology and web companies for TechCrunch, CrunchGear and MobileCrunch. Serkan also works full-time as an independent web and mobile industry consultant with a focus on the Japanese market. He is sept-lingual, holds an MBA and is a PhD in economics. Serkan... → Learn More

Star Wars has always been popular in Japan, so seeing Luke Skywalker et al. in a Japanese TV commercial from the 1970s isn’t a big deal in itself. But seeing the Star Wars franchise being used for promoting “sea chicken” (canned tuna) is kind of unusual.

Needless to say, the gaijin acting in the TV spot, which was first aired on Japanese TV in 1978, are just look-alikes. And apparently, “sea chicken” maker Hagoromo Foods has used the Star Wars setting without getting a license from Lucasarts. Different times back then, I guess.

Here’s the TV spot:

Via CNN Go Asia

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