A new Japanese-market Nissan commercial tells a decades-long love story through classic cars. The spot is part of Nissan’s year-long 90th anniversary celebration, which began in December 2023. The ad features Nissan’s greatest hits in fast succession, promising a little something for everyone.
The story begins in 1956 and the driver of a blue Datsun 110 at the moment he locks eyes with his future love. It’s a nostalgic, Showa Era setting, and even features an early Prince Skyline just casually driving by. Then it’s off to 1968 with the now-couple cruising the streets in a B10 Sunny.
Fast cut to 1970 on the beach with an E10 Cherry, then 1972 at a drive-in theater in a Laurel, an amazing scene with a 240ZG, S10 Silvia, Datsun Fairlady Roadster, Hakosuka, 510 sedan and many more filling out the parking lot. And of course no Nissan ad would be complete without a throwback to the Ken and Mary Skyline ad in a blue Kenmeri.
Then there’s a significant leap in time to 1987 when the woman is behind the wheel of a Be-1. Later the man picks up his beloved from a nightclub in an S13 Silvia before going out on a late night spin on the expressway. Unfortunately, the relationship seems to hit a speed bump in 2002, but we’d be upset too if our partner traded in an S13 for a Z33 Fairlady Z.
We end with another major time jump to modern day, when the woman is visiting the spot where the couple went in 1974 in the C110 Skyline. She’s driving and Ariya, but the guy seems to have learned his lesson and gone backwards in time and got himself a classic Rasheen. The couple meet again just like they did in 1956. Incidentally, the tree in the scene is located in Biei, and was made famous by one of the Ken and Mary Skyline ads, and is something of a tourist destination.
It reminds us of the Toyota Father’s Day ad that came out a few years ago. Nissan produced a great spot even if it skips over many excellent cars and time periods. Hopefully there’s a sequel that features a wealthier couple in their Z432 and R32 GT-R.
I will need to watch this film a few more times to really absorb it, but this really hit the spot with the energy, the upbeat music, the moods each scene brought out. Even the 1980s brought a dangling cigarette to the driver, nice touch.
It ends with an Ariya, but could Nissan have used another significant vehicle?
But…..
NOT a happy ending!! (or did I miss something in translation?) )-:
(I reckon the final closing scene should’ve shown him turning the car around)
Happy anniversary to Nissan! Well done, this is a great ad that somehow goes deep with any car person… but could Nissan please make great cars again? Showing the classics does not convince anybody to buy a new car from their current lineup – instead it makes us even more frustrated that they can’t seem to get back on track to make new cars for enthusiasts.
Good to see Ken & Mary again…
Bittersweet. Love the nostalgia and the music.
Recently, a video popped up in my Y’Tube recommendations. It was a Japanese news channel’s spot about foreigners being interested in Showa Era Japan. They approached a few who were shopping in nostalgia stores to ask why they were interested in the era. Naturally, everybody had a different reason.
For me, that was when I first became interested in Japan. The early 70s, when Dad came home with a new Datsun 520 pickup, the neighbor had a Honda CB720, and it seemed everyone wore a Seiko or Citizen, and used a Japanese camera (Dad’s was a Pentax). So this CM hits a lot of my buttons. All those classic Nissans, the clothes, the hairstyles, the architecture… nice job.