“THE BEATLES” (March 1971) – ULTRA-RARE GIANT JAPANESE TWO-SHEET “APPLE JAM” PROMOTIONAL POSTER – TOSHIBA / APPLE RECORDS – APPROX. 73 × 200 CM / 28.7 × 78.7 in (Gallery)

Ultra Rare Japanese Beatles Memorabilia | Monumental Two-Metre Display | Original Toshiba Tape Promotion | Apple Records Branding | “20,000 Customers” Advertising Version | Meidi-Ya Apple Jam Connection | Two Original Sheets, Joined | Very Good Vintage Condition

Discover the Japanese promotional story behind this extraordinary Beatles display—a remarkable intersection of music, photography, advertising and Apple-branded memorabilia.

A monumental, original Japanese two-sheet promotional poster for The Beatles, advertising Toshiba’s “Apple Jam” tape-purchase campaign in an exceptionally striking vertical format. Measuring approximately 73 × 200 cm / 28.7 × 78.7 in, it presents four enormous photographic panels above a vivid Japanese advertising strip, creating a display of remarkable presence.

This is not a standard Japanese B2 poster, a concert announcement or an ordinary decorative Beatles print. It is a purpose-made music-retail advertisement, with its original commercial message preserved across the bottom: purchase a Beatles tape and receive a Beatles-branded tin of “APPLE JAM.”

Printed in two separate sheets of approximately 73 × 100 cm, now joined, the assembled poster stands over six and a half feet tall. Its surface area is approximately equivalent to four standard Japanese B2 posters, yet its relatively narrow proportions make it a particularly effective vertical display.

The combination is exceptional: late-Beatles photographic imagery, rich green borders, colourful Toshiba branding, the Apple Records emblem and an unusual promotional gift, all brought together for the Japanese market.

Previously displayed and retaining evidence of its working life, this example remains in very good vintage condition overall, with strong colour and an impressive visual presentation. Crucially, the lower promotional panel survives, preserving the detail that makes this much more than a spectacular portrait poster: a specific, tangible snapshot of Japanese Beatles culture at the beginning of the 1970s.

Date & Japanese Promotional Context

This poster was issued in March 1971. 

Its historical setting follows the Japanese theatrical arrival of Let It Be, which opened in Japan on 25 August 1970. Although closely associated with the film’s visual world and promotional memorabilia, this particular poster advertises Toshiba’s Beatles tapes, rather than cinema screenings.

Directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, Let It Be documented the group’s January 1969 rehearsals and recording sessions, culminating in the celebrated performance on the roof of the Apple building in London. The project provides the essential background to the late-period Beatles imagery associated with this campaign.

The distinction matters: this is a Japanese retail-promotion survivor from the immediate post-Let It Be period, not simply a theatrical poster with an additional sponsor’s logo.

The Beatles & Beatlemania in Japan

The Beatles’ relationship with Japan forms an important chapter in their international history. Their 1966 visit and five Japanese performances, including the celebrated appearances at Tokyo’s Nippon Budokan, became enduring reference points for Japanese fans. The Budokan concerts also helped establish the venue’s subsequent identity as a major setting for international popular music.

By the time of this poster’s probable production, the group’s breakup had become public and Let It Be had reached audiences during that transition. Nevertheless, the Beatles continued to be presented as a collective identity through their recordings and associated imagery.

This poster makes that continuing commercial life visible. All four members appear within a single, unified composition, while the Japanese text promotes an extensive tape catalogue and offers fans a physical souvenir connected with the band.

For collectors, original Japanese posters and promotional objects from this era have a particular fascination. They preserve not only the Beatles’ image, but also the way that image was interpreted, packaged and encountered in Japan.

Here, that appeal is unusually concentrated: a monumental format, distinctive Japanese advertising, Apple-era branding and an unexpectedly memorable gift promotion. It is an evocative expression of Japanese Beatlemania extending beyond the concert hall and into the everyday world of record shops, home listening and collecting.

Design Notes

The poster’s impact comes from its disciplined, almost architectural composition. Four substantial photographic panels are stacked vertically, with each image given its own space inside a continuous deep green surround.

The panels are individually captioned, from top to bottom:

PAUL McCARTNEY — JOHN LENNON — GEORGE HARRISON — RINGO STARR

Rather than presenting a single formal group photograph, the design builds its identity through four separate images. Microphones, instrumental detail and tightly cropped portraiture create an informal, immediate atmosphere.

Particularly effective features include:

• The towering four-panel arrangement, giving each photograph exceptional scale while maintaining a unified composition.
• The rich green borders and fine dividing rules, which provide structure and contrast with the warm photographic tones.
• The bright orange-yellow advertising strip, introducing a bold change of colour beneath the final portrait.
• The combination of English captions, Japanese typography, Apple Records branding and the illustrated promotional tins, firmly locating the design within its original Japanese campaign.

The lower band is not a visual afterthought. It completes the composition, balancing the photographic imagery above with a compact concentration of lettering, logos and product illustration.

From a distance, the poster functions as an enormous photographic display. Up close, it becomes a remarkably detailed piece of period advertising.

The “Apple Jam” Campaign: Toshiba, Apple Records & Meidi-Ya

The multicoloured branding at the bottom reads:

東芝カラーパック
Toshiba Color Pack

The principal promotional heading reads:

ビートルズ「APPLE JAM」プレゼント
Beatles “APPLE JAM” giveaway

The accompanying Japanese text announces, in translation:

The complete range of 72 Beatles tape products is available from Toshiba. Buy one Beatles tape now, and the first 20,000 customers will receive Beatles “APPLE JAM” as a gift. Please enquire at your nearest tape retailer for details.

This wording establishes the poster’s purpose. It was designed to encourage purchases of Toshiba’s Beatles tapes through a gift-with-purchase offer, directing customers to participating music retailers.

The pictured green tins carry Beatles imagery and Apple-themed packaging. The foreground illustration also includes:

非売品
Not for sale

That detail identifies the pictured gift as a promotional item, rather than an ordinary retail product.

Apple had been publicly introduced as the Beatles’ business venture in 1968. Here, its identity is given a wonderfully literal commercial expression: Apple-branded recordings promoted through apple jam. 

The survival of this advertising panel is central to the poster’s historical appeal. It preserves the actual offer, the retailer-directed instructions and the appearance of the promotional packaging—details that would be lost if the poster were reduced to its photographic panels alone.

The “20,000 Customers” Version & Reported First-Printing History

This example retains the clearly printed offer to the first 20,000 customers.

It is widely acknowledged within the Japanese collecting community that this figure was a printing error, subsequently corrected to 20 recipients in April 1971, and that the later giveaway was ultimately not carried out. 

The Giant Two-Sheet Format & Why Survival Matters

At approximately 73 × 200 cm, this is a substantial departure from a conventional music poster.

The design was produced in two sections, each approximately 73 × 100 cm, which have been joined to create the complete vertical display. Its assembled area is approximately 3.9 times that of a standard Japanese B2 poster.

Its proportions are especially distinctive: almost two and a half feet wide and over six and a half feet high. The result has the presence of a large display panel while requiring much less horizontal wall space than a broad billboard.

This is best described as a giant two-sheet retail promotional poster. It should not be confused with a standard theatrical tatekan, a station-poster allocation or a concert billboard: its own advertising text identifies a music-retail purpose.

A poster of this size presents obvious practical challenges for handling, storage and preservation. Its edges, corners and joined area are vulnerable, particularly when the object has actually been mounted and displayed.

This example is a used advertising survivor, not an unused sheet that remained untouched in storage. Its pinholes and handling wear are part of its physical history, while the continued strength of the imagery allows the original design to retain its impact.

Condition Report

Overall condition: Very Good+ vintage condition, with strong colour and an impressive display presentation.

The poster has been previously displayed and shows the expected evidence of mounting, handling and age. Its two original printed sections have been joined.

Visible condition characteristics include:

• Pinholes, including multiple holes in some marginal and corner areas.
• Handling creases, surface wear and small tears, with some tears extending slightly into the printed image.
• Edge abrasions, small chips and minor marginal paper losses, including wear around the lower advertising section.
• Age-related spotting, discolouration and handling marks to the reverse.

Despite these issues, the principal photographic composition remains highly effective. The green surround, warm photographic tones and orange-yellow promotional panel retain strong visual contrast, and the campaign wording remains clearly legible.

The overall impression is of a striking vintage display with visible history—not a pristine or unused example. Considering its exceptional scale and previous display, it presents very well and would make a remarkable framed centrepiece.

Authenticity: Original Japanese period promotional poster—not a reproduction or modern reprint.

Construction: Two original printed sheets, now joined.

Documentation: Japan Poster Shop Certificate of Authenticity included.

Please refer to the photographs provided; this is the exact poster offered, including the detailed views of its front, edges and reverse.

Summary

An ultra-rare and visually extraordinary Japanese Beatles promotional poster, combining a monumental two-metre format with a particularly memorable piece of Apple-era advertising.

This is not simply an oversized portrait poster. Its surviving lower panel identifies an original Toshiba tape-purchase campaign, complete with colourful Toshiba Color Pack branding, the Apple Records emblem, illustrated promotional tins and the printed “20,000 customers” offer.

The photographic sequence provides the immediate impact. The Japanese advertising provides the history.

Printed in two original sheets, now joined, and retaining evidence of previous display, this example survives in very good vintage condition overall, with a powerful presentation and the campaign’s essential identifying details intact.

An exceptional piece of Japanese Beatles memorabilia—monumental in scale, distinctive in design and unusually rich in period character.