Roger Moore's Japanese Commercials

4th July 2008

Back in the early 1980s, Sir Roger Moore advertised the Toyota Corona on Japanese television. MI6 uncovers the classic footage...

As with many Hollywood A-list actors, Roger Moore put his name and face to a series of commercials exclusively for the Japanese market. Unseen elsewhere prior to the internet, the celebrity adverts often spoofed the movies most associated with the star of the moment.

Filmed in the USA in 1981 after "For Your Eyes Only" had been released, Moore featured in a series of five commercials for Japanese car company Toyota, promoting their latest 'Corona' model (dubbed 'Corolla' in the USA). The clips show a tuxedo-clad Moore rescuing a damsel in distress from a building, waving to tour buses filled with ticker-tape throwing cheer leaders, speeding past trucks and parachuting to meet a glamorous female companion.

Throughout the campaign, the TV spots were accompanied by the song "Depths Of Danger" performed by Maxine Weldon. Toyota broadcast the commercials for two years, ending in 1983 with a tie-in to the latest James Bond adventure "Octopussy".

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