20-Year-Old Uniqlo Commercials Are Impressively Crazy

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

These days, Uniqlo is like a Japanese version of the Gap of yore, full of bright colors and basic pieces. Its advertising is completely sanitized and non-controversial—for example, watch this recent dress spot that aired in Japan. But the Uniqlo of 20 years ago was a much different, and weirder, place.

RocketNews24 points us to two commercials that aired in the early '90s. At that time, Uniqlo's return policy was very lax, a point made humorously in the ads. The first features a middle-aged woman stripping down at the cashwrap, and the second features a middle-aged man doing the same. According to RocketNews24, she's saying, "Excuse me, sir, please exchange these clothes for me. These clothes are too old-lady-like for me, you see. So, just exchange them for me, okay? Just exchange them really quickly. I'm gonna go look around and be right back."

· These 20-year-old Uniqlo commercials may be the best we've ever seen! [RocketNews24]
· Uniqlo Explains Why They've Been Dodging the Midwest [Racked]
· Uniqlo Wants You to Do Your Hair to Match Their Clothes [Racked]