Letter from Tokyo: No growth doesn't mean no change
David Nichols
David Nichols reflects on Japanese women, earthquakes and ad agencies.
This year I have been fortunate enough to spend quite some time in Tokyo on a series of brand strategy projects. Two and a half months to be exact. The Japanese economy is stuck in neutral with 0.7% average GDP growth since 1992 and has dropped negative for the past two years. Yet, it is still one of the biggest consumer-goods markets on the planet.
Clichés are clichés because they are based on truth - karaoke, whisky drinking and...