Japanese advertising turns to the fembots

The old-fashioned notion still circulating in U.S. advertising agencies is that commercial actors should be, if not likable, at least human. In Japan, they feel differently. There, the job of making viewers feel relaxed, trusting and happy sometimes falls to creepy, fake-smiling fembots—as demonstrated in the above commercial from healthcare company Kincho. In the spot, a humanoid robot named Actroid DER-2, who is already something of a celebrity among simulated-life nerds, sprays on some Kincho sunscreen—and wow, it doesn’t cause her latex skin to bubble, or her stiff, lifeless body to short-circuit at all! Android testimonials are still rare in the U.S.,