was a brand used by

Panasonic Corporation is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturer, headquartered in Kadoma, Japan. It was founded in 1918 as in Fukushima by Kōnosuke Matsushita. The company was incorporated in 1935 and renamed and changed its name to in 2008. In 20 ...

(formerly Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.) to sell

home appliances A home appliance, also referred to as a domestic appliance, an electric appliance or a household appliance, is a machine which assists in household functions such as cooking, cleaning and food preservation. The domestic application attached to ...

, personal appliances, and industrial appliances. Neither

National Semiconductor National Semiconductor Corporation was an United States of America, American Semiconductor manufacturing, semiconductor manufacturer, which specialized in analogue electronics, analog devices and subsystems, formerly headquartered in Santa Clara, ...

nor

National Car Rental National Car Rental is a private American rental car agency based in Clayton, Missouri, United States. National is owned by Enterprise Holdings, along with other agencies including Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and Alamo Rent a Car. National typically c ...

are related to Panasonic or the "National" brand.

History

Before present-day

Panasonic is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturer, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Japan. It was founded in 1918 as in Fukushima-ku, Osaka, Fukushima by Kōnosuke Matsushita. The company was incorporated in 1935 and renamed and c ...

produced appliances under the name, the National

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

was first used by Konosuke Matsushita's electric firm to sell his battery-powered bicycle lamps, hoping that they would be a product used by all of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, hence the name "National". It was arguably the first well-known brand of Japanese electronics. National was formerly the premier brand on most Matsushita products, including audio and video and was combined in 1988 as National Panasonic after the worldwide success of the

name. After 1980 in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and 1988 in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, Matsushita ceased the usage of the "National" brand, and sold audiovisual products exclusively under the

and Technics brands. Matsushita never officially used the National name in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, due to the trademark being already in used by National Electronics. The brand made a brief appearance in 2003 on rice cookers, meat grinders and a handful of small kitchen appliances. In addition, National rice cookers were imported for sale in many

Asian-American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for ...

markets. National was well known throughout

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

as a reputable manufacturer of domestic appliances such as

rice cooker A rice cooker or rice steamer is an automated kitchen appliance designed to boil or steam rice. It consists of a heat source, a cooking bowl, and a thermostat. The thermostat measures the temperature of the cooking bowl and controls the heat. C ...

s. In 2004, the "National" brand was gradually phased out in

, the penultimate market it was used in, with most products being rebranded under the

brand after the company decided to unify all their businesses under the

brand for greater recognition. Due to its historical significance and recognition in Matsushita's native

, non-audiovisual Matsushita products (mostly

white goods A major appliance is a non-portable or semi-portable machine used for routine housekeeping tasks such as cooking, washing laundry, or food preservation. Such appliances are sometimes collectively known as white goods, as the products were tradi ...

) were branded "National" until October 1, 2008. As of October 1, 2008, Matsushita changed its company name to Panasonic Corporation. Non-audiovisual products that were branded "National" in Japan are currently marketed under the "Panasonic" brand.

Bicycle Manufacturing

National

bicycles A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. ...

were imported into the

under the

label. The brand was known for producing high quality cycles at a relatively low price, as the result of a very high degree of factory

automation Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, mainly by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machine ...

and a resultingly low labor force with attendant savings in salaries and benefits. One of their models featured the unusual

Shimano , originally and later , is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing company for cycling components, fishing tackle and rowing (sport), rowing equipment, which also produced golf supplies until 2005 and snowboarding gear ...

front freewheel A front freewheel or freewheel crank is a freewheel mechanism used on some bicycles which enables the drivetrain of the bicycle to continue spinning while the rider rolls, but stops pedaling, or ''coasts''. Unlike regular bicycles, a front freewh ...

system.

Advertising campaigns

* In 1960, National launched a ''

tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live-action films or television programs that make heavy use of practical special effects. Credited to special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, ''tokusatsu'' mainly refers to science fiction film, science fiction, War fi ...

'' series, co-produced by Toei, called '' National Kid'', in a clear merchandising effort. The series wasn't popular in its home market, but attained cult status in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. * In 1976, the Swedish band

ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...

shot some ads promoting National. They were broadcast in

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

(

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, and

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. * In 1978,

J-pop J-pop (often stylized in all caps; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in trad ...

duo Pink Lady appeared in several commercials promoting National's air conditioner and Pepper portable transistor radio. * In the 1980s a promotion was made in Japan for National TV, using the cat "Chatran" also known as "Milo" from

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and- ...

's 1986 theatrical feature film ''The Adventures of Milo and Otis'' (''Koneko Monogatari''). The commercial features some segments of the movie, then shows "Chatran"/"Milo" with a human companion.

References

External links

Panasonic products website

Brand History, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

ABBA TV commercials promoting National Brand (From YouTube)

* ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=108ykuI9Fss National Brand TV commercial cross promoting "The Adventures Of Milo & Otis"/The Adventures Of Chatran" from 1986 (From YouTube)
Ohmura Electric Industry plc.
{{Japanese Electronics Industry Panasonic Corporation brands Consumer electronics brands Japanese brands Products introduced in 1927