Gatsby is a major line of body care products from Japan which is a subsidiary of Mandom. In 1927 Shinpachiro Nishimura founded the Kintsuru Perfume Corporation. After the success from releasing a pomade called the Tancho Stick in 1933, Kintsuru Perfume Corp. began to focus its future efforts in men's care. By 1959, the success of the Tancho Stick led the company to change its name to Tancho Corporation. Tancho's efforts with expanding outside of Japan was further boosted in 1970 when the company launched a new line of highly successful men's care products, called Mandom, which took its name from a combination of the words "Human" and "Freedom". An innovative advertising campaign featuring Charles Bronson became the first of a long series of Japanese ads to feature top Hollywood stars. Tancho then changed its name again, to Mandom Corporation, in 1971. In 1976, Mandom's success and the creation of their flagship brand, Gatsby, encouraged them to move into direct sales of their products. However, despite the success of the Gatsby brand, the moving to direct retail sales was disastrous for Mandom. By 1980, the company was had no choice but to give up the direct sales model and return to wholesale distribution. Mandom went public in 1988, selling shares on the Tokyo exchange's over-the-counter market. In 1989, Mandom introduces Lucido, a new cosmetic line for women. Into the early 2000s, Mandom wanted to continue to seek out new product markets. They decided to expand its international presence further by establishing the Gatsby and Lucido brands as its flagship global brands. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandom These brands are beginning to have some impact in North America. Here are some Gatsby commercials. Some are humorous, and some are quite ... Continued on next post.
"I Can Give You Gatsby" - Mandom Gatsby Commercials The star of the video is Takuya Kimura (木村 拓哉 Kimura Takuya) (born November 13, 1972), nicknamed Kimutaku (キムタク?), is a Japanese singer and actor. He is also a member of the Japanese idol group SMAP. Most of the TV dramas he starred in produced high ratings in Japan. He has become one of the most well-known and successful actors/singers/entertainers in Japan and other Asian countries. He is considered to be the Japanese version of Michael Jackson and many similarities in dancing and singing are apparent. Here is where the Gatsby theme song was completely taken from: I Can't Give You Anything - The Stylistics 1975 Here is one last video from Gatsby. So if you wonder where U.S. shaving and body care products and advertising are headed, just imagine seeing these on a daily basis!
Gatsby used to have a good shaving cream in a tube which was very useable for a brush. The lather was rich and easy to create, and it had a very nice scent and a mild menthol effect. This cream now seems to be discontinued. I had a tube of this cream once, and I enjoyed it.
I think they went in the same direction that Gillette went, "Gel in a Can" or "Tripe in a Pipe" and it is too bad!
It is ridiculous. They discontinue always the good stuff, and they promote always the inferior stuff. I told my Dad it is lucky we have these wetshaving forums, or else the whole world would be shaving with canned garbage and cartridge razors, or with electrics.
The next time that someone tells me that traditional wetshaving is unusual or weird, I will show them the Gatsby commercials including this one for body paper! Body paper...?
