Maxell
(), or
Maxell, is a
Japanese company which manufactures consumer
electronics. The company's most notable products are
batteries and recording media, including
audio cassettes and video tapes, and recordable optical discs like CD-R/RW and DVD±RW. The company also sells electronics accessories, like CD and DVD laser cleaners.
|
The packaging of an unopened Maxell UR (type I) cassette tape. Note the famous Maxell marketing image: a man with his hair, necktie and drink being blown back by the sound from a speaker. |
In the 1980s, Maxell became an icon of
pop culture when it produced advertisements popularly known as "Blown Away Guy" for its line of
audio cassettes. The original campaign began as a trade ad in
1978 and was made into TV spots in
1979 which ran throughout the 1980s. Steve Steigman was the photographer
[Steve Steigman Photography [1]] and
Richard Wagner's "
Ride of the Valkyries" was used for music. In the UK the music used was "A Night on the Bare mountain" by
Modest Mussorgsky.
The ads depict a man sitting low in a (le Corbusier) high armed chair (on the right side of the screen) in front of, and facing, his stereo system (on the left side of the screen). His hair and
necktie, along with the lampshade to the man's right and the martini glass on the low table to the man's left, are being blown back by the tremendous sound from speakers in front of him â€" supposedly due to the audio accuracy of Maxell's product. He is shown desperately clinging to the armrests but defiantly looking ahead at the source of the music through
sunglasses. Television commercials showed the chair, as well as a drink and nearby lamp, moving back away from the stereo by the strong force of the sound waves. The image became the
de facto standard of those who believed their stereo equipment had sufficient power or accuracy to move the mind and the soul. The model for that ad campaign was musician
Peter Murphy of the group
Bauhaus. "Blown Away Guy" was parodied on the popular
animated television show "
Family Guy" in the episode "
Model Misbehavior".
On
December 12,
2005, Maxell decided to bring "Blown Away Guy" back due to its popularity.
[2005 "blown away guy" ad campaign renewal: Maxell's press release] As Maxell now makes blank DVDs and CDs, headphones and speakers in addition to blank audio and video tape, the ads have been updated with photos of iPods and accessories underneath the image. "Get blown away" is the headline while copy urges consumers to use Maxell accessories to "make your small iPod sound like a huge audio system."
Maxell was formed in
1960 when a dry cell manufacturing plant was created at the company's
Osaka registered headquarters. In
1961, Maxell Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. was created out of the dry battery and magnetic tape divisions of Nitto Electric lndustrial Co.,Ltd. (now
Nitto Denko Corp.).
*
List of digital camera brands*
Cassette demagnetizer An article with a picture of a Maxell cassette demagnetizer.
*
Maxell Corporate Website (Japanese)*
Maxell Worldwide*
Corporate profile*
Corporate history*
Holographic Media White Paper*
Company profile from Hoover's Online 
