Ohtani Shines Off the Field Too—Ranking Japanese MLB Players’ Most Eye-Catching Ads

Active in commercials too

“O~i Ohtani-san! This is Oi Ocha. Thank you for always enjoying it.”

When voice actress and singer Nana Mizuki speaks to him, Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani (31) responds, “Likewise.” This is the opening scene of Itoen’s Oi Ocha commercial, where the playful exchange between the two keeps viewers glued to the screen. Saori Yasutake, PR/marketing manager at TV viewing data analytics company REVISIO (R Co.), explains:

“Even a top athlete like Ohtani isn’t used to narration. Solo lines can feel monotonous and scripted. But interacting with popular voice actress Mizuki keeps it engaging. Also, showcasing abundant footage of Ohtani’s impressive plays is very effective.”

This season, Japanese players including Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto (26, Dodgers), and Yu Darvish (38, Padres) have also been performing brilliantly in Major League Baseball. R Co. analyzed about 40 commercials aired from January 2024 to June 2025 featuring Japanese MLB players or alumni like Ichiro (51), not by TV ratings but by a unique measure of how captivated viewers were by the screen (see “Measurement Method”). Ohtani’s Itoen Oi Ocha came out as the clear No. 1.

On overall trends, Yasutake says:

“Viewers tend to focus on athletes’ uniforms or in-game footage because of their strong sports identity. Sometimes, a gap between the athlete’s image and the commercial works positively. However, for example, if Ohtani appears in an apron or suit talking about a product, the gap with his baseball image is too large, and the ranking tends to drop.”

Looking at the rankings also highlights Ohtani’s extensive number of contracts: he appeared in 18 of the 30 commercials.

“In 3rd place, Sumitomo Rubber Industries’ ‘Dunlop’ and 5th place, Secom’s ‘Dream Match,’ stories that captivate fans are portrayed. In the Dunlop commercial, a man dressed as two-way pioneer Babe Ruth tells Ohtani, ‘You came from Japan and broke my record,’ then tosses him a pristine white baseball in response to Ohtani’s smile.

Secom features a ‘Dream Match’ between ‘Mr. Professional Baseball’ Shigeo Nagashima and Ohtani. On a major league stage, batter Nagashima and pitcher Ohtani face off in a serious showdown. It’s no surprise that the captivating, time-transcending direction increases attention.”

For the latter part, see: Yoshinobu Yamamoto Focuses on Facial Impact? Japanese MLB Players Commercial Captivation Ranking.

Major League Player Captivation Measurement Method

R Co. conducted an independent survey to measure how captivated viewers were by the screen (captivation level), with cooperation from about 2,000 households (≈4,800 people) in the Kanto region and 600 households (≈1,500 people) in the Kansai region. Even when viewers were doing other activities, like cooking (“watching casually”), TV ratings might increase, but captivation is often low if they aren’t actually watching the screen.

In the table, the score uses 100 as the average, with higher numbers indicating greater viewer attention. The survey covered commercials aired on terrestrial TV in the Kanto area from January 2024 to June 2025. It included commercials featuring individual players as well as those with multiple players. The analysis encompassed active players such as Shohei Ohtani and Yu Darvish, as well as retired players like Ichiro.

From “FRIDAY”, combined issue of August 22 & 29, 2025