Creative Execution

To enhance and develop “A Family Story” for the brand, we came up with an idea to create the animation by using the newspaper printing press. By applying the principles of a flipbook, the animation used 1,918 images that were meticulously printed and arranged on actual newspaper printing press, which was then shot in real time as a fluid running video. We didn’t use any CG to keep the feel of the traditional media as well as convey the simple yet nostalgic story. To reach youths in cities, YouTube was selected as a main channel.

Soon after it was uploaded onto YouTube, many social media sites were buzzing with young people commenting about strong emotions for their hometowns: “It reminded me of the warmth of my family”, “I should go home at once”, “I’ll devote myself to my parents.” Although the content was for a local newspaper, mass news sites on the Internet and national television picked up on the story. It achieved over 660,000 views in just 3 months, 550,000€ worth of free media, and a 140% increase of visitors to the brand's website. Our project created a new future for the local newspaper.

The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun Newspaper, a Japanese local newspaper based in Nagano had its 140th anniversary in 2013. As a traditional media, they were concerned about the future. Our challenge was to attract and bring young people back to the local newspaper. We understood that the younger generation no longer read the local paper because they simply preferred living in bigger cities rather than the countryside, and once they leave, they often don’t desire to return. To target the youths who left their hometowns for larger cities, we created branded content with the intention to maximize nostalgia for their hometowns. We believed the key to their nostalgia was the family bond, and so we connected this theme with the local newspaper, which is always associated with local families through local articles. The compelling story is about a local family, and is titled “A Family Story”.