These 1990s Japanese ads for Sony Minidisc players featuring Jamiroquai are virtual insanity

David Harris. Updated May 14th, 2025

We’ve featured manically demented Japanese ads on these pages before, such as this truly bizarre advert for an vitamin drink featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

And now a series of ads for Sony Minidiscs has been going viral on Twitter, featuring Jay Kay from Jamiroquai, which are just as compellingly weird.

Thanks to Obsolete Sony for sharing.

Sony’s Japanese Minidisc ads with Jamiroquai are straight up iconic pic.twitter.com/WY1ZGeKXqq

— Obsolete Sony (@ObsoleteSony) May 13, 2025

It provoked a lot of nostalgia for the short-lived Minidisc format, for Jamiroquai and for crazy 1990s advertising.

1.

Why can’t they make ads this good anymore?

— Prussian Bot (@YOLO_Bot69) May 14, 2025

2.

Still got my Sony Minidisc Walkman! MDs were a brilliant and underrated technology!

— Simon Turkas Photography (@SimonTurkas) May 13, 2025

3.

Epic

— slippy (@nukepeopleonai) May 14, 2025

4.

This was peak. Electronics will never be this cool again, and advertising never as cool again.

— Sten V – ᛞᛟ ᚾᛟᛏ ᛏᛟᚢᚲᚺ ᛟᚢᚱ ᚱᚢᚾᛖᛊ (@Toobydoo) May 13, 2025

5.

Oh this is awesome! I love Jamiroquai and i never seen these before!

— Automobili (@Automobili3xF) May 13, 2025

6.

Iconic

— Lupine The Third (@poooshiesty) May 14, 2025

7.

pic.twitter.com/iTODt8RmD7

— kutnjak (@l_kutnjak20952) May 13, 2025

8.

Civilization peaked exactly here https://t.co/h52mOjKZsd

— Alex | Uranium In The Glovebox (@keen_code) May 14, 2025

9.

Objectively the finest format ever invented https://t.co/IuQDoZT1ra

— Cyrs the unsinkable sea serpent (@errantambition) May 13, 2025

10.

better times https://t.co/MiX47ssW5x

— James (@jamesdleech) May 13, 2025

11.

Rare sighting of Jay Kay taking off da hat https://t.co/Jm6KFtzlMw

— Trent Reznor’s Soul Patch (@Jake_Dahl) May 13, 2025

12.

Man, technology used to be cool 🙁 https://t.co/POftDdhgnY

— Van_Dammaged (@Van_Dammaged) May 13, 2025

To sum up …

These are straight up fantastichttps://t.co/1Qs01yNQRL

— Christian Cawley (@ChristianCawley) May 14, 2025

Source ObsoleteSony Image Screengrab