"Red can make you a whale! A really grand whale!"

V. Valenti has posted loads of vintage Japanese ads on flickr and few are more fascinating than the 1960s Suntory Red adverts that I posted about in December. With Vinnie's permission I have translated the copy of some more of the adverts.  The Japanese used often seems to have purposefully odd syntax and the vocabulary can be weird, too. These are very rough translations. So, if anybody spots a mistake in the translations given here, please just chip in.

There are some classic lines in some of these ads and many could certainly not be written now:  "Red can make you a whale! A really grand whale! Drink like a whale. To be able to drink a lot just like a whale! The art of manhood! In the past, that art required prolonged periods of samurai training. It is all so easy now. Ultra soft Red is here!

Anyway, I have put the English version below each ad. First, the ad above.

"Red will open any mouth. Those young people who are not left handed [Nonjatta note: this is a reference to slang for drinkers], i.e. those young people who cannot drink, are most unfortunate.

Drinking and getting drunk, mumbling 'Tomorrow is yet another day,' is part of the wisdom of life. But Red can be drunk by anyone. Even those unintiated will find it platable. Well, it is, after all, ultra soft."

Next:


Image provided by V. Valenti. 

Text above says: "Spring sleep never knows dawn? [Nonjatta note: this is a quotation from the Chinese poet Meng Haoran.] It is difficult to wake up the morning after drinking plenty because of the alcohol still in your body. It is not like that with Red because it is full of good malt! Only Red will make you want to drink again the morning after drinking a lot."


Image provided by V. Valenti. 

Text above says: "Night in the middle of winter. What is your right hand doing? Of course, it is holding a glass of Red. This is how it should be. Why...? Under the lamp light, drinking Red on sharp ice near the fire; this is the best winter pleasure. First, a glass in one gulp. Ultra soft. You will nod and pour the second, and drink that in one go. Ultra soft. Now, the third."


Image provided by V. Valenti. 

Text above says: "Electric light is not the only thing that makes the night bright. Red also makes night bright, particularly those for young people. Red, to be precise, is the soft whisky for youth: shiny individuality, so modern! Not heavy. Not strong. For those new to whisky, you can drink it without difficulty. Red certainly offers you a happy evening."


Image provided by V. Valenti. 

Text above says: "Red can make you a whale! A really grand whale! Drink like a whale. To be able to drink a lot just like a whale! The art of manhood! In the past, that art required prolonged periods of samurai training. It is all so easy now. Ultra soft Red is here! Even those who are new to whisky can drink Red easily. Without wasting time you can quickly become a grand whale."


Image provided by V. Valenti. 

The text above says: "Go! Go! Right under the sun. Go, Go Red! Summer has come. The summer we have been looking foward to. The vacation requires a bottle of red. This one bottle largely defines your vacation. Soak up the sun, run, fly, jump, dance and, then, Red. Songs will trip from your lips...! Summer is for young people. Play, play, drink and drink."


Image provided by V. Valenti. 

Text above says: "Night at the beach. Red will sing loudly for you! Summer for the youth means the sea. The cymbal of sun will be ringing on their foreheads. Swim! Breastsroke, crawl, butterfly! Sand will shine while biting the ankles. Dance! Monkey! Go! Go! Surfing. But the climax of the day is not here yet. It will come only when you take a sip of Red with the stars as a side dish. The moment that soft taste runs over your palate you will feel sudden doubling of joy."

Image provided by V. Valenti. 

Text above says: "Snow? Fall as you like, if you want. Only kids and dogs are happy with snow. The best seat during winter is right next to your stove, and it becomes a first class seat if you have Red. Let's sip it slowly in front of a warm fire ... ever so slowly. Body and soul melt into spring. Red gives the softest drinking experience. Soft whisky."

Image provided by V. Valenti. 

Text above says: "Drink? Or drunk? You drink thuggish whisky. You lose your memory. How shameful. Hangover? What suffering! But Red is nice to you. It entices you with lightest of light tastes, and you can drink glass after glass. You will not find yourself drunk. The secret is pure spirit...!"

Image provided by V. Valenti. 

The text above says: "The hometown of Red is Main Street, Top of the Cloud! [Nonjatta note: It actually says 1st district, 1st sub-division, Top of the cloud, but it basically means an address on the cloud] Cloud. The softest place in it. Red was born there?! No way! It is not true, but that's what comes to mind when you drink Red. That's what the ultra soft taste does to you. There is only one whisky which will remind you of a cloud: Red."

Image provided by V. Valenti. 

Text above says: "New Release! Red Double size! Twice as much and twice as much spirit form the still, but only 900 yen! Oh my! What a surprise! Your old friend Red's double size is coming out! Twice as much and twice as much spirit from the still. The price is not double but 10 per cent off: 900 yen. A bottle comes with a special Red bag, which is handy to carry the bottle around."