Japan's Biggest Pitchman: Godzilla in Commercials

With the new Godzilla movie opening in 10 days, the monstrous marketing campaign at Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures is now kicking into full gear. Case in point: a brand new commercial featuring the new Godzilla dropped this week for FIAT.



This isn't the first time that Godzilla has starred in American commercials for comedic effect. Commecials have long spoofed the popular image of Godzilla, but the real Godzilla -- licensed from Toho -- has also been popping up in North American commercials in one form or the other since the 1970s, especially during the 1998 marketing campaign for the American remake. Please enjoy this sampling of North American TV ads featuring Godzilla.

THE RETURN OF GODZILLA (1984): 30 Days of Godzilla

DAY 17

THE RETURN OF GODZILLA  (1984)

aka. Godzilla
aka. Godzilla 1985

The legend is reborn. 

After a nine-year hibernation, Godzilla returns to the big screen in both Japan and America for a much-hyped reboot of the Godzilla franchise. Presented as a direct sequel to the original Gojira (disregarding every other Godzilla film after 1954), The Return of Godzilla aimed to take the King of the Monsters back to his dark anti-nuclear origins. The Return of Godzilla may not have been the international box office smash Toho was hoping for, but it did well enough to launch a brilliant series of Japanese films in the 90s that have yet to be rivaled. More importantly, it made Godzilla scary again.