Brief Explanation

Our challenge: Revitalize the paper’s image as a valuable home media. We had to find a way to make families care about newspapers again.

The Brief

The Asahi Shimbun enjoys the second largest circulation in the world, but its place in the home has been taken over by the so-called “four screens”(TV,PC,Phone,Tablet).Circulation has declined. Our challenge: Revitalize the paper’s image as a valuable home media. We had to find a way to make families care about newspapers again.

How the final design was conceived

On Labor Thanksgiving Day, a commemoration of Japan’s work force, we unleashed our strategy: The Massaging Circulation Ad! We printed a diagram of upper back acupressure points on a four-page ad. With the diagram showing exactly where to press, anybody could deliver a professional massage. Cut out… slip on… and knead. Easy enough for anyone to deliver a great massage. The cut out section also served as a letter of gratitude. The Massaging Circulation Ad connected families in ways digital media couldn’t.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

The ad created a sensation on twitter, blogs and e-zines. Within 3 days of its appearance, reports on the ad spread more than 5,000 times. Approximately 1,260,000 readers experienced the Massaging Circulation Ad. 75% of the readers responded positively. The ad is displayed at the Japanese Newspaper Museum, NEWSPARK. And subscriptions stopped falling for a whole month.