At first glance this campaign seemed to be another example of the growing gaming travel services, where fans of a game get a chance to visit the real locations that are the inspirations for their favorite levels.
However, in fact it’s a normal New Year campaign for leading travel company H.I.S., fronted by popular otaku idol group AKB48. These (very) young ladies seem to be everywhere, including making an appearance at the Kohaku, the NHK New Year’s Eve music concert show that is one of the most-watched programs in Japan. They were also one of the top twenty products of 2010, according to Dentsu.
It is definitely proof that they have moved into the mainstream, though their charms may still seem opaque to outsiders. On the surface they are a multi-member girl band who dance and sing, dressing in a cute but still risque way, dexterously balancing sex appeal with childlike innocence. In other words, an otaku idol band.
Their managers are pretty astute, though, and have their eyes set not just on the yen from their diehard fans, but from wider consumers too. One interesting recent step is that they now have an official YouTube account broadcasting music videos of their songs, unusual in the Japanese music industry.
And now 16 girls from the group are fronting — in requisite cabin attendant uniforms — this Hatsu Yumei Fair (”first dream fair”) campaign for the most mainstream travel company in the land. H.I.S. appear to believe that the AKB48 member’s pulling-power is mostly with people not possessing the biggest wallets, since the campaign’s strongest advertising is for reduced trips (apparently down, appropriately enough, to just 48 yen). Examples of these offers include Taiwan, Hawaii, Guam and Seoul, all of which are also safe and predictable travel destinations for Japanese tourists.
I’m not yet wholly convinced that the consumers buying AKB48’s CDs or photo books include anyone but the typical idol-loving male, yet their allure is apparently now strong enough to sell other people’s products.
William is an editor of JapanTrends.com and researcher for 
you sir, are a twit. do your research before assuming/saying things.
@ih8akb
Where’s the assumption? There is suggestion, such as perhaps, despite the recent blanket press coverage of AKB, that the people buying the CDs may still just be the original fans. Maybe their appeal is not as wide as their managers hope. Maybe, maybe not. It’s a question, provoking discussion. Which is the role of blogs and media in general. Now who’s the twit…
A lot of my friends I met while studying abroad loved AKB48, knew their songs, knew the dances, loved their style. They were all young girls at a top-ranked university. They also had stories about tutoring teen and tween girls who aspired to become one of them. Considering the out and out pandering to the male gaze they embody, I always found the appeal they seemed to have for girls my age pretty puzzling, but it seems that their penetration into the mainstream can’t be underestimated.
@Ingrid
Thanks, that’s an interesting insight. Indeed, though at first glance they might appear to be “just” another idol band loved by otaku, clearly their appeal must be wider to account for the success they have had.