“KIRIN LAGER BEER × HARRISON FORD” (1995) – ORIGINAL JAPANESE B2 ADVERTISING POSTER – “MR. BEER” CAMPAIGN (STORE-USE / 非売品)
Ultra Rare | In-Store Display (Not for Sale) | 1995 Issue | 51 × 73 cm (B2)
This is an original Japanese B2 poster from Kirin Lager Beer’s 1995 “Mr. Beer” campaign, featuring Harrison Ford in one of the most memorable and visually commanding images from the series. Issued for retail display rather than public sale, it is a superb survivor from the golden age of Japanese beverage advertising, combining Hollywood star power, minimalist graphic design, and the unmistakable visual identity of mid-1990s Japan.
Japan-only design & issue
This is a Japan-exclusive, store-use (非売品) promotional poster, distributed to retailers for display and not sold to the public. As with many Japanese in-store advertising posters of the period, detailed photographer or agency credits do not appear on the sheet, which is entirely typical for short-run point-of-sale material intended for temporary commercial use.
Poster design
The design is instantly recognisable: a clean white studio background, bold red typography, and Harrison Ford holding a can of Kirin Lager Beer with calm, understated authority. The upper headline reads 「この味が、ビール」 — “This taste is beer” — while the large lower slogan reads 「キレ味、だいご味 キリンラガー」, emphasising the brand’s crisp finish and full-bodied flavour. At lower right appears a sharp product image of the 350 ml can, while the legal line along the bottom margin reads 「ビールは、20歳になってから。あきかんは、リサイクルへ。」 — “Beer is for age 20+; please recycle cans.” The overall composition is a quintessential example of 1990s Japanese commercial design: bold, spare, highly legible, and visually confident.
The “Mr. Beer” campaign
The Harrison Ford × Kirin Lager campaign has become one of the most recognisable Japan-only celebrity advertising series of its era. Across the full campaign there is strong competition, as many of the Harrison Ford Kirin posters are now regarded as iconic time capsules of 1990s Japan, but this example stands out as one of the key images of the entire series. The direct portrait, the commanding scale of the typography, and the stripped-back white background give it a graphic force that is immediate and unforgettable. It belongs to the same wider cultural moment of Japanese advertising later romanticised in films such as Lost in Translation — a world of major Western stars repurposed through distinctively Japanese commercial aesthetics.
Harrison Ford in Japanese advertising
By 1995, Harrison Ford was already one of the most internationally recognisable actors in the world, associated with some of the most important Hollywood franchises of the late twentieth century. His presence here gives the poster unusually broad appeal: it is collectible not only as Japanese advertising ephemera, but also as Harrison Ford memorabilia, beer-brand advertising, and 1990s pop-cultural material. His persona — restrained, credible, masculine, and quietly authoritative — suited Kirin’s branding perfectly.
About the B2 format
Japanese advertising posters were often issued in B2 size (51 × 73 cm), a practical and visually effective format for retail display. Unlike standard consumer merchandise, these posters were typically printed for short-term in-store use and then discarded. As a result, surviving originals are far scarcer than many standard film posters, particularly when they feature international celebrities and major Japanese brands.
Why this example is important
This is a particularly desirable Kirin Lager “Mr. Beer” variant, notable for its purity of design and its strong visual association with the campaign as a whole. It is one of the sheets that best encapsulates the appeal of the Harrison Ford × Kirin collaboration: clean, bold, unmistakably Japanese, and historically specific to the mid-1990s. For collectors of Japanese posters, advertising design, Harrison Ford material, or culturally resonant ephemera from the Heisei era, it is an especially strong example.
Condition
Very Good / Excellent. Please review the photos—they show the exact poster for sale.
The poster presents extremely well overall, with strong colour, a clean central image area, and excellent wall presence. There are minor signs of prior display and age, including pinholes / fastening marks, light creasing and wrinkling near the upper edge and corners, and general handling wear consistent with an original store-use advertising poster. These are honest signs of age and use and do not detract from its strong visual impact, particularly when framed.
It is over 30 years old.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
Certificate of Authenticity included.
A rare and highly evocative Kirin Lager “Mr. Beer” Japanese B2 poster — an authentic store-use (非売品) 1995 advertising original featuring Harrison Ford, and one of the most important surviving images from a campaign now recognised as an iconic visual time capsule of 1990s Japan.
