



On January 29th, it was revealed that popular idol group AKB48 will appear in a TV commercial for �Haruyama�, a company that specializes in the distribution of men�s suits and attires. The upcoming endorsement will feature all 12 popular members such as Oshima Yuko in �Handsome Men�s Slim Suit� and even drastically change their usual hairstyles to make thems look �manly� for the runway walk featured in this commercial.



Regarding this opportunity, member Takahashi Minami stated, �Unlike our usual image of a cute idol group, I think we would be able to show off AKB48�s cool side through this CM,� displaying her confidence with this comment. �Aside Oshima, the CM will feature:�Minami Takahashi,�Kashiwagi Yuki, Kitahara Rie, Kojima Haruna, Sashihara Rino, Shinoda Mariko, Takajo Aki, Minegishi Minami, Miyazawa Sae, Yokoyama Yui, and Watanabe Mayu.



AKB48 was chosen as image characters for this company to attract attention to Haruyama�s �Freshers Campaign�, to target �fresh� and incoming employees in Japan�s workforce. ��Since AKB48 is the �it� idol group for the moment, the filming and photo sessions for this CM had to be crammed into five hours due to their tightly-packed schedule.



It has been said that the�featured�members took every minutes of those hours to fully concentrate while moving around back and forth between three studios for this filming. Oshima, who was�the�first to appear in the suit during filming, described her first cross-dressing experience with, �It�s kind of embarrassing,� and smiled with this comment.



Kashiwagi stated, �Although I think it is difficult to cross-dress, perhaps if I aimed to become a mature and cool woman I would look like this,� and revealed her feelings before her respective filming began.



This upcoming endorsement titled �2012 Freshers� will broadcast nationwide starting on the 1st of February.



Meanwhile, check out their photos from the shooting and screenshots of the CM below!



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Source & Images: Mantan Web