For your dose of vintage camera ads today, we bring a bunch of Japanese commercials showcasing the Asahi Pentax as the camera for the intrepid traveler.
If you’ve been looking forward to the vintage camera ads and commercials we’ve been sharing recently, we’re sure you’ll like today’s bunch. In case you missed it, Pentax recently turned 100 years. So, we thought it would be nice to share these quirky commercials from Japan, starring the Asahi Pentax cameras as worthy travel companions. Those who still have their vintage Pentax cameras will definitely find the ads extra amusing!
YouTube user aynoh8021, who posted the collection of three commercials above, wrote on the description that these are part of the “Special Effects CM Wonderland – Kentaro Uchida Funny CM Complete Collection” which came out in 1985. Unfortunately, that’s all we know about these commercials. It’s kind of sad, as it would really be great to find out more, maybe even translated transcripts so we know more what’s going on in the scenarios. Nevertheless, they’re definitely entertaining and show an attention-grabbing approach to marketing the cameras.
The commercials allow us to tag along the journey of an intrepid female traveler — from her over the top hitchhiking ride, to her interactions with the locals of her chosen destinations, and even getting arrested for speeding! All the while, she’s accompanied by her trusty Asahi Pentax film cameras, sometimes even hanging precariously on her car’s rearview mirror or on the side of the camel she back rides! It would be great to know where else she had gone and what became of her adventures!
Interestingly, since these cameras are still around and many of them are in great working condition, the appeal of these commercials also still applies today. However, it’s more the nostalgia factor at play than the excitement of having the latest and greatest camera, which would have been the case in 1985. Nevertheless, these delightful commercials from a time long past are a reminder of the enduring qualities of vintage cameras like the Asahi Pentax.