What Japanese women (don’t) want

James (Singapore) writes:

I’ve always loved lists. Everybody loves lists. This Japanese rank list, just found at Mari’s magazine/diary Watashi to Tokyo, is completely compelling. It’s basically a survey of what Japanese women hate about guys

No1. He acts arrogant at the restaurant or shop : 1017
No2. He asks to split the bill, it’s 10yen : 985
No3. He panics when he finds a cockroach or other bugs : 871
No4. After eating, he cleans his teeth by toothpick without hesitating : 852
No5. There are too many figures on his office desk : 767
No6. Printed T-shirts can be seen through his shirt : 633
No7. He is poor at parking a car : 620
No8. He looks good in a suit but his ordinary clothes are so so :602 

No9. He really gets into cell phone games on the train : 528
No10. He wipes his face with the “OSHIBORI” (hand towel) at a restaurant : 463
No11. He is not good at wiring, he is not good with the PC : 453
No12. His wallet is big because of receipts and useless cards : 431
No13. He checks and gives his hair a trim in the subway window : 400
No14. He wear a nice business suit but his socks are white and cotton : 336
No15. He uses pictographic characters on his cell phone mail :304
No16. His hand writing is so bad so that we can’t read it at the office : 295
No17. His typing is too fast and too loud : 210
No18. He collects point cards or coupons a lot : 157
No19. He likes to drink sweet cocktails like Kahlua milk: 152

Now apart from reminding me to work on a few personal habits (and also wondering what’s going on in Japan with #15 pictographic cell phone mails), this list reminds me about some simple opportunities to engage with audiences.

The simplest ideas are the best. Why don’t brands and marketers make more use of lists like this? Just one simple list like this can be transformed into a full, engaging communications campaign.

When content is simple and engaging enough, it can be spread, or even spread itself, across all kinds of digital and traditional media.

If you like the power of lists, you should read an earlier posting on a Japanese retail concept ranKing ranQueen.