Suntory
Suntory is a Japanese brewing and distilling company established in 1899 and one of the oldest companies in the distribution of the alcohol drink. Its business had expanded to other fields and offers everything from a soft drink to a bottle of vintage wine. Suntory is headquartered in Osaka, Osaka prefecture.
History
Suntory was started by a man named Torii Shinjiro who first opened his store, Torii Shoten in Osaka in Feburary 1, 1899 to sell imported wines. In 1907, the store began selling sweet tasting red wine called Akadama Port Wine. The store became Kotobukiya company in 1921 to further expand its business. On December 1924, Yamazaki Distillery begun its production of malt whiskey and five years later, first single malt whiskey made in Japan called Suntory Whiskey Sirofuda (White Label) was sold.
Due to wartime shortage of World War Two, Kotobukiya is briefly forced to halt the development of a new product. In 1961, Kotobukiya launches the famous "Drink Tris Whiskey, and go to Hawaii" Campaign in the time where a trip to abroad was considered once in the life opportunity. In 1963, Kotobukiya changed its name to "Suntory" taken from the name of famous whiskey it produces. In the same year, Musashino Beer Factory begun its production of the Suntory Beer
A Reuters photo by Toshiyuki Aizawa from July, 2003 showed this company's odd marketing strategy of "TV helmets", where advertising company employees wear televisions on top of helmets, as well as orange jumpsuits. The televisions on these TV helmets broadcast wide-screen, digital feeds of the brewing company's commercial.
The brand was referenced in the American film Lost in Translation, where the main character was an American actor filming a Suntory commercial in Tokyo.
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