For the past three years, Yukie Nakama has been at the top of Video Research Ltd.'s CM rankings, which are based on the amount of commercial airtime for each celebrity. Now, according to the company's data for the first half of 2008, she has fallen far behind, and a male face has risen to the top.

In the Kanto region, Hiroshi Tamaki has jumped from #10 a year ago to #1, with more than 47 hours of airtime in over 8,000 commercials. Aya Ueto, who previously ranked 8th, is now #2 at more than 36 hours with almost as many commercials. Yu Aoi and Ryoko Yonekura were next on the list, with Nakama placing 5th.

Tamaki also led in the Kansai region with close to 36 hours of commercial time, up from #34 last year. Ueto ranked #2 there as well, less than an hour behind Tamaki. Kosuke Toyohara and Maki Ota tied at #3, while Masami Nagasawa came in 5th.

In Nagoya, Ueto was able to keep her #1 seat from last year, but Tamaki moved up from #39 to #2. The two were followed by Nagasawa, Koyuki, Toyohara, and Ota.