"Lost in Translation" is real!

I watched "Lost in Translation" about 100 times before I left on this trip, but I never knew the underlying subplot was nonfiction. Bill Murray plays an actor at the end of his career, who supplements his income by posing as the face of Suntory whisky (a huge Japanese brand like Coke, with many different drinks). He sells out, but since it's only the Japanese market, his reputation is safe in the States...

...until someone from the U.S. of A. travels to Japan (say, on a study abroad trip) and discovers that this selling out is actually a real thing. The only question I have now is, "does Tommy Lee Jones hate Bill Murray for outing him?"

BOSS is a full line of coffee drinks from that same brand, Suntory.

Of course, truth be told, this kind of advertising isn't all bad....

I guess I'll just have to deal with looking at Cameron Diaz advertize for SoftBank cell phones around every street corner and on every subway. Somehow I don't think I'll get tired of that...