Background

With the wide-spreading of video streaming services, existing TV stations are losing power and presence. TV stations were slowly but steadily losing viewers and were lost as to how to depict a positive future like they had before. As the force of streaming services grew, Japan’s TV stations had to find a new value for themselves, something that hadn’t existed before.

Describe the creative idea (40% of vote)

Creatures from the future (FUTURE CREATURES) came to celebrate Fuji-Television’s 60th anniversary. Unique creatures danced, talked, and set the festive mood for the station’s 60th anniversary. The cast from the 60th anniversary commemorative programs also helped promote and to raise the ratings by doing a dance of their own to the music the creatures had also danced to. In order to express the creatures’ primitive charm and furry texture, we used two original drawings per character so that the finished would look like Cel Animation – just like it was done in the golden era of Television. (2D animation which are drawn by hand on sheets of transparent plastic called “cels” where animators transfer draft drawings onto transparent sheets of plastic called cels - to accomplish the desired effect.) We also asked the narrator to create an original alien-like language.

Describe the execution (40% of vote)

Normal Japanese character come to life in the form of creatures from the future. A transformation triggered by Fuji Television’s new programming in its 60th anniversary, in other words, the future of Fuji TV. Each character has its own set of emotions, and together they dance, welcome the future -- and celebrate Fuji Television’s anniversary. In this particular animation one of the creatures starts it all by screaming “Go!”—which leads to a contagious effect of happiness and glee all around.

List the results (20% of vote)

Over 5 million people encountered the FUTURE CREATURES during its campaign. This was the hook that drove even more number of viewers to watch Fuji-Television’s special program.