Suntory appeals to younger drinkers with 'Glassical Concert'

Client: Suntory

Agency: Ogilvy & Mather Japan/Geometry Global Japan

Market: Japan

Campaign scope: Event, TVC, online

Details: An audience of 300 doubled as the performers at the Suntory Hall, raising glasses tuned to different tones by the amount of whisky present and containing note-shaped ice, thereby producing music.

Established in 1986, the Suntory Hall is described in a statement from Ogilvy as "Japan's first vineyard-style establishment", which "has since been dedicated to emerging talent and pushing the boundaries in immersive musical experiences".

Yutaka Sado, conductor (and perhaps the best judge of the whole initiative), described the resulting sound as “extremely pure and beautiful, with a very lively and playful tone. I have no doubt that the concert proved an unforgettable experience for our audience, and one that stayed in their minds long after its finale,” Sado added.

Press release quotes:

Masato Mitsudera, head of creative, Geometry Global Japan: “Staying in tune with the innovative spirit and philosophy behind Suntory Hall, we looked to create a concept that would appeal to a younger audience—one that is increasingly interested in the classical music scene.”

Ajab Samrai, chief creative officer, Ogilvy & Mather Japan: "[The campaign] brings together the musical and drinks heritage of the company with the world’s first ‘drink instrument'.”

Campaign Asia-Pacific’s comments: We have seen various pieces of work from Suntory around whisky, sounds and ice sculptures over the past year. This one plays to Japan’s love of mechanics and is somewhat reminiscent of Dentsu’s elaborate forest Xylophone for NTT Docomo, bringing all the elements together very well. It also makes good use of Suntory’s cultural property and is a welcome addition to a trend that raises the act of drinking to something altogether more refined.

Credits

Client: Suntory Holdings Limited
CD: Hideo Kato (Suntory Business Expert Limited)
CD: Kiyoshi Oomori (SUN-AD Company Limited)
CP: Shizuka Masuno (Suntory Business Expert Limited)
CP: Ayaka Taniguchi (Suntory Business Expert Limited)
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather Japan (O&M) / Geometory Global Japan (GGJ)
CCO: Ajab Samrai (O&M)    
CD: Masato Mitsudera (Head of creative of GGJ)
PL: Yasushi Arikawa
AD: Akihiko Ono
C: Shinichiro Fukushima
MD: Masahiro Saito
AD: Koichi Maeda
AE: Ai Shimomura
Production: Tokyo / Taiyokikaku
Pr: Kazushige Fujie, Hidekatsu Nagasawa
PM: Toshiaki Fujishima, Tomoko Morishige, Ryusuke Yoshida
Dir: Eiji Tanigawa
Ca: Senzo Ueno
Lig: Masachio Nishida
Art: Etsuko Akiba
Sound design: invisible designs lab
Music: audioforce

Update, 10 June: The company created a case-study video that discusses some of the results of the campaign.