ME:I to appear in new Hot Pepper Beauty web commercial! Behind the scenes video released

■ “I hope you’ll pay attention to each and every hair, makeup and styling (ME:I・MOMONA).”

ME:I has been announced to appear in a new web commercial for “Hot Pepper Beauty.” In addition, the “UPDATE! NEW:ME” version has begun distribution.

The concept of this web commercial is “UPDATE! NEW:ME,” named after ME:I, who kept updating herself “positively” and “true to herself” toward her goal, and finally achieved her dream of debuting after much effort and struggle. The appeal of “Hot Pepper Beauty,” a service that supports valuing one’s individuality and living true to oneself through beauty, will be conveyed along with ME:I.

The commercial starts with the members lined up in a gorgeous hair salon, with a pale pink theme. With a magazine or smartphone in hand, the ME:I members talk harmoniously about their “favorite hairstyle” and “the person they want to be.” The screen switches with the shout of “UPDATE! NEW:ME,” and the members appear with their updated hairstyles. Excited about their new hairstyles, the members are seen taking photos, laughing in girl talk, and dancing with all their might.

The CM song is the title song of their second single, “Hi-Five,” which has the concept of “Spending the hottest summer with ME:I!”. The CM is a bright and positive CM in which the members update themselves through hairstyle changes to match the pop and refreshing melody that is full of summery vibes.

In the making-of footage captured on set, you can enjoy the cute side of ME:I that you can only see here, such as their charming bashful expressions when they make a mistake, the members getting excited about a hair change, and their innocent idol-like behavior as they burst into dancing behind the scenes.

■MIU’s cute NG caused laughter on set. SHIZUKU cheered on SUZU as he was suspended in the air in his first harness!
MIU and COCORO, who entered the beauty salon set, carefully checked their lines and movements before the actual shoot. However, in the scene where MIU says to COCORO, “It’s okay to imitate that girl, right?”, MIU is flustered by the closeness of her unfamiliar face, and ends up making a mistake, which makes the two of them burst out laughing.

The magazines prepared as props for the shoot had titles that were reminiscent of ME:I, such as “ME:EYE” and “Hi-Five.” KEIKO, who noticed this, seemed happy as she stroked the cover and playfully hid her face with the magazine.

In addition, in a natural setting reminiscent of a garden, SUZU tried his hand at a scene where he was suspended in the air wearing a harness for the first time. At first, he seemed nervous, but gradually his expression relaxed, and he worked together with SHIZUKU and the staff to take on the challenge of filming.

The duo of RINON and AYANE, affectionately known among fans as “Ocha-Chem,” gave a glimpse of their usual close friendship as they danced to music and messed around during the break.

■The director was full of praise for her natural facial expression! There was a storm of “She’s so cute!” from the set!
In the final scene where all the members gathered, the director gave them the instruction to “look like they’re talking,” which brought out their natural expressions, and even gave them a thumbs up, saying, “Their expressions are amazing!” The filming staff were also full of comments like, “They’re so cute!”, and the set was lively from start to finish.

After all the photoshoots were finished and each member was presented with a bouquet of flowers in their member’s color, the members let out cheers of joy, saying “Amazing!” and “So cute!”, and the shoot ended in a harmonious atmosphere.

■Web commercials “Us”, “Hyokkori”, “Are you talking?” and “Stop!” will be released in sequence
A total of four videos will be released on YouTube and TikTok in sequence: “Uchira” from 15:00 on August 21, “Hyokkori” from 17:00, “Are you talking?” from 13:00 on August 22, and “Stop!” from 15:00.

The video expresses the unique features of Hot Pepper Beauty’s service, which allows users to find out about the atmosphere of a salon, reviews, hairstyle images, and more before making a reservation, through realistic dialogue between ME:I members.

“Us”

“Hyokkori”

“Are you talking?”

“Stop!”

ME:I Interview
Q. Please tell us your thoughts on the commercial you shot this time and what the highlights are!
MOMONA:This time, each character was styled with a completely different concept, and they paid great attention to the details, not just the costumes but also the hair and makeup. Therefore, I think you will see different expressions than usual, and expressions that really suit each character, so I hope you will pay attention to each and every hair, makeup, and styling. Also, this commercial uses a new song called “Hi-Five” with the theme “The hottest summer ever spent with ME:I!”, and I hope that the combination of this new song and the commercial will be the best. I hope that we can all do our best every day while doing “Hi-Five,” so please listen to it a lot!
Q. It looks like the hot weather will continue for a while, but what do you want to do this summer with the new hairstyle you will be shooting later?Is it?
RAN:Today, for the first time since I joined ME:I, I got long extensions, so now I have long hair. After this, I’ll braid this long style into a braid, arrange it into a donut shape, and add a ribbon at the point, but today’s styling has a pop and retro feel, so I’d like to do something a little active, like a summer festival. Also, it’s hot, but I like summer, so I’d like to go on a picnic (with this hairstyle).
Q. (The commercial was filmed in July) The commercial will be released in August, which is also your birthday month. Please tell us your enthusiasm for the new year!
RAN:The commercial will be released in August, when I will be turning 20, so I hope to be able to show a different side of myself (through the web commercial).
Q. SHIZUKU will be turning 20 this year, so I would like to challenge RAN, who is also turning 20.Have you ever had this problem?
SHIZUKU:We haven’t gone out together yet. We’ve talked about going out together when we turn 20, so I’d like to go somewhere grown-up with RAN.
RAN:An adult outing!? (laughs) Maybe a hideaway cafe? We’re not really adult-like so I don’t know! (laughs)
SHIZUKU:Like French food. Go for it!
Q. What is Hot Pepper Beauty, a website that supports people to value their individuality and live their own life through beauty?During the audition, RINON was determined to achieve her goal and pursue her own individuality.I was impressed by what RINON tells herself when she’s worried, and what her secret is to staying positive is.Please tell me the secret!
RINON:During the audition, I had a lot of worries and conflicts. But that moment is only there, so I think it’s better to “regret doing it than regret not doing it.” So I think it’s important to believe that you’re the best and to challenge anything with confidence.
I haven’t changed my hairstyle since joining ME:I, but a few of the members have changed their hairstyles, so I’d like to try different things as well and discover a new side of myself.
Q. The catchy phrase in this commercial is “UPDATE! NEW:ME.” When you update your hairstyle, you can create a new look for yourself.Please tell us about a new side of a member that you have discovered recently!
MIU:Surprisingly, this team has a fluffy and cute image, but in reality, they are very realistic (calm). COCORO-chan is the oldest member, so she has a pretty realistic side to her, and at the time of the audition, I had the image of Shi-chan (SHIZUKU) as a small girl, and I didn’t imagine her to be the same age as RAN, so after they debuted, I was like, “We’re the same age…!?” There were some things that were surprising at first, but after spending a few months together since their debut, there were many parts that made me think, “They’re just like their age,” and RINON and SUZU are cute because they show a lot of their age-appropriate parts (laughs).
Q. MIU said that COCORO is calm and collected, but what are your thoughts on each other’s personalities and ways of thinking?Are there any points that you have in common?
COCORO:People are doing personality tests these days, aren’t they? Even if you do something like that, you’ll find that you’re the polar opposite (to MIU). But I think we have something in common, like the way we think about our work.
Q. There was a scene where you two shot together, MIU and COCORO. How was it filming?
MIU:There was a line where I said (getting my face close) “It’s okay to imitate that girl!”, but my face was too close, so I ended up saying (to COCORO) “It’s okay to imitate you!” (laughs).
COCORO:I just stared at it and was like, “Huh?” (laughs).
MIU:I ended up making a few NGs… (laughs).