Exclusive: Dr. Takasu Approves Rival Company Collaboration

The unusual collaboration between two titans of the beauty industry undoubtedly left the public in awe.

At noon on November 25, Seiji Nishimura (54), the manager of the renowned Nissitan Clinic, held a press conference in Tokyo to unveil the clinic’s latest commercial. Marking the 10th installment in their CM series, Nishimura announced that the advertisement would begin airing nationwide today.

Nissitan Clinic’s commercials have gained a reputation for their unique and impactful approach. Previous campaigns featured singer Hiromi Go (69) and comedy trio “Sanji no Heroine” energetically dancing, as well as actors Eiichiro Funakoshi (64) and Hitomi Kuroki (64) in a suspense-drama-themed presentation.

The clinic has consistently cast high-profile celebrities with appearance fees reportedly exceeding tens of millions of yen per individual. However, the latest installment has sparked surprise across the nation with the involvement of an even more unexpected figure.

Katsuya Takasu appears in the latest commercial for Nissitan Clinic.

“Huh? Why is Dr. Takasu striking the ‘Yes!’ pose in this commercial!?”

Anyone seeing it for the first time would surely think so.

Guided by fashion model Anmika (52), the comedic trio “3-Ji no Heroine” dances to the rhythm of the tango, singing “Tan, Tan, Nissitan” against the Kuala Lumpur nightscape. Suddenly, a helicopter appears, and from it steps Dr. Katsuya Takasu (79) of Takasu Clinic, delivering his iconic “Yes!” pose.

Speaking of Takasu Clinic, last year’s “Dubai 2023” commercial left a strong impression. Dr. Takasu himself piloted a helicopter over Dubai and delivered his trademark “Yes! Takasu Clinic” thumbs-up pose—a scene almost everyone recognizes.

However, the newly announced commercial is for Nissitan Clinic, and Takasu Clinic’s name doesn’t appear at all. Moreover, the former is a cosmetic clinic, while the latter is a cosmetic surgery clinic—completely rival industries.

It might seem like helping the competition, so why did Dr. Takasu agree to appear?

“People might think it’s like McDonald’s advertising for Lotteria… but I don’t see it that way at all. I’m willing to cooperate with anything I find interesting. When Mr. Nishimura shared his vision for the commercial, I simply thought, ‘This sounds fun.’ That’s all there is to it,” said Dr. Takasu.

Thanks to Yahoo News

The story began in September 2022 when Mr. Nishimura spotted Dr. Takasu in a miso-nikomi udon shop in the underground mall near Nagoya Station (Aichi Prefecture).

“During the COVID period, everyone was wearing masks, but a man with a mask came up to me and said ‘Hello.’ I couldn’t make out his face clearly due to the mask, but from his hair, I briefly thought it might be the author Naoki Momota (laughs). That was our first meeting,” said Dr. Takasu.

Although it was just a brief greeting, it became a significant turning point for Mr. Nishimura.

“I wanted to create a truly impactful commercial,” he said.

Always thinking about ideas for commercials, Mr. Nishimura began to nurture the concept of a “Dr. Takasu appearing in a commercial” after that day’s encounter.

Then, last year, when Mr. Nishimura appeared as a guest on the Fuji TV program Pokapoka,

“During the show, I shared the story of my accidental meeting with Dr. Takasu and casually said, ‘It would be interesting if Dr. Takasu appeared in the Nishitan commercial.’ That comment was picked up by Yahoo News, and in response, Dr. Takasu himself replied on his ‘X’ with ‘Yes!'” said Mr. Nishimura.

In what seemed like a dramatic turn of events, the plan for Dr. Takasu appeared in Nissitan’s commercial and quickly came together.

 

I never thought about attracting patients through a commercial!

However, things didn’t progress so easily.

Hospital commercials must be created in accordance with the medical advertising guidelines set by the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. These guidelines are extremely strict to ensure that patients receive accurate information and select appropriate medical institutions, and Highs Clinic’s participation hit a snag with this tough hurdle.

“We submitted a commercial proposal to the TV station for review to see if there would be any issues, but they rejected it, saying, ‘Dr. Takasu is a symbolic figure for Takasu Clinic, and viewers might confuse this commercial with one for Takasu, not Nissitan, so this content won’t work.’ We asked the public health center, which oversees and advises on the guidelines, if there was another way, but they said the same thing for the same reason.

However, the person in charge secretly advised me, ‘If Dr. Takasu works at Nissitan, the guidelines could be cleared.’ That was an eye-opening revelation for me (laughs). It turns out that while Dr. Takasu of Takasu Clinic was a no-go, Dr. Takasu of Nissitan Clinic, because he worked there, could appear in the clinic’s commercial without any issues.” (Nishimura)

Thus, this surprising commercial came to light, and at the same time, Dr. Takasu’s work at Nissitan Clinic was decided.

On November 22, he performed his first consultation at Nissitan Clinic Shibuya. He provided counseling and examination to a few patients. Although it will be irregular, he is expected to appear more at the clinic in the future.

“Honestly, I never thought about attracting patients with the commercial. I just want to create something I think is interesting and support people like Nishimura, whom I want to back up.” (Dr. Takasu)

As per Nishimura’s strategy that impact is everything, this commercial featuring top industry leaders is bound to become addictive once seen.