SUNTORY『C.C.LEMON』(1996)

Magazine advertisement for C.C. Lemon illustrated by Imai Toonz.

Each page has the same base of a dotted yellow pattern, emulating small lemons, with a large yellow circle in the center with the words:

SUNTORY / C.C Lemon / 50 Lemons worth of vitamin c in every can

With every page features a different illustrated character around the large circle and text in yellow that says:

ゲットなレモン。シーシーレモン。

(Get lemon. C.C Lemon.)

The characters on each page present as very “cool” and “hip” especially for the time of the advertisement's release when street fashion, skateboarding and the like were especially trendy.

For the first illustration, it features a young man on his skateboard flipped, highlighting the details of the design underneath the skateboard. It features the English words “speed” and “light” as well as the Japanese character for “speed of light” (光速). This particular illustration is likely promoting the energy consumers can get from drinking C.C Lemon.

For the the second illustration, there are two separate illustrations of an elderly man on a skateboard with a mallet in hand. 

The upper illustration of him features the man on a skateboard frowning and holding the mallet like a walking stick. He is also wears a number “1” on his chest. His skateboard has the character “地” (meaning Earth or ground) with sharp zigzag lines around it, suggesting a kind of “Earth shattering” aura.

For the lower illustration, the same man is in a more dynamic post, holding the mallet on his shoulders with his knees bent unlike that of the previous him. This one wears a pair of 3D glasses and has the number “3” on his chest. His skateboard features the character “炎” (meaning flame) and the English word “burn” underneath with flames surrounding the words, likely implying that he is “on fire” or has a burning passion.

In the context of the tagline beneath "C.C Lemon" in the center, the numbers on the man's chest could suggest the effect of each of the 50 lemons that a single can of C.C. Lemon promotes having. Even with the first lemon, the elderly man is able to ride a skateboard, and by the third he has the energy to bend his knees and hold up his mallet.

For the third illustration, it features a young woman not only using roller blades, but lifting herself up by her two hands on the ground. She is also subtly wearing lemon themed clothing such as bright yellow wheels, a puffer vest that resembles lemons, and a C.C pair of headphones. In the same vein as the other two characters, this illustration suggests the energy one can get from drinking C.C. Lemon.