Love That Ran Beyond the Wind: 1972–1977, Buzz—"Ken and Mary: Like Love and the Wind"

Buzz’s "Ken and Mary: Like Love and the Wind" is a classic Showa-era song deeply tied to the 1972 Nissan Skyline advertising campaign. The fourth-generation Skyline was portrayed in the “Ken and Mary’s Skyline” ad campaign as a coming-of-age story of young men and women traveling together by car. The commercials aired from 1972 to 1977; the song was performed by Buzz, with lyrics by Hiromitsu Yamanaka and music by Nobuyuki Takahashi. At the heart of the campaign was not just speed and performance, but a new vision of the automobile: traveling through scenic landscapes with a lover. The visuals, set against the backdrop of Hokkaido’s majestic nature, blended with the song’s gentle harmonies, imbuing the Skyline itself with an image of youth and freedom. It transcended a mere product advertisement, etching into people’s memories the scenes of cars, love, and travel that young people of the 1970s dreamed of. “Ken and Mary: Like Love and the Wind” is not only a Showa-era folk song but also a work that symbolizes an era in which advertising and music came together to create a single narrative.