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Two decades after the debut of “Lost in Translation”, in which the protagonist played by Bill Murray stars in a commercial for the same brand, the filmmaker now puts the lens on the whiskey itself.
“The Suntory Whisky Anniversary Tribute tells the extraordinary story of the brand’s legacy and whisky making over the past 100 years, depicting the meaning of ‘Suntory Time’ through the eyes of its creator,” states the description accompanying the ad. “More than an iconic line in a brilliant film, ‘Suntory Time’ continues to evolve and gain recognition in Japanese whisky culture. Twenty years after the release of Lost in Translation, it continues to be adopted and repeated around the world in connection with our world-famous spirits. It all started with a glass of Hibiki, but today there’s a Suntory Time for every person, every occasion and every friend we meet along the way.”
Through the sequences of this visual ode to the Japanese whisky’s anniversary, we can see how Coppola pays tribute to the brand by taking a look back through its iconic history, between playful notes and collages of Reeves’ images from an actual Suntory ad from the 1990s with Tommy James & The Shondells’ “Crimson and Clover” in the background.
It also features several Suntory references and campaigns from the past, including an image of Murray in “Lost in Translation,” an ad featuring Francis Ford Coppola with Akira Kurosawa and a campaign starring Keanu Reeves as a young man. The centennial ad closes with a clip featuring American singer Sammy Davis Jr. who appeared in a Cannes Lions Grand Prix ad in 1974.
