Title | NEWSPAPER OF FATE |
Brand | TV ASAHI CORPORATION |
Product / Service | "YOUR NAME." TERRESTRIAL TELEVISION BROADCAST |
Category | B03. Use of Print / Outdoor |
Entrant | DENTSU INC. Tokyo, JAPAN |
Idea Creation | DENTSU INC. Tokyo, JAPAN |
Media Placement | THE ASAHI SHIMBUN COMPANY Tokyo, JAPAN |
Production | COMIX WAVE FILMS INC. Tokyo, JAPAN |
Production 2 | TAKI CORPORATION Tokyo, JAPAN |
Additional Company | DIP CORPORATION Tokyo, JAPAN |
Additional Company 2 | LOTTE AD. CO. Tokyo, JAPAN |
Additional Company 3 | MISAWA HOMES CO., LTD. Tokyo, JAPAN |
Additional Company 4 | NISSHIN FOOD PRODUCTS CO., LTD, TOKYO, JAPAN |
Additional Company 5 | SOFTBANK MOBILE CORPORATION Tokyo, JAPAN |
Name | Company | Position |
---|---|---|
Kazuhiko Akatsu | TV Asahi Corporation | Executive Producer |
Takanobu Sano | TV Asahi Corporation | Producer |
Hitoshi Ito | TV Asahi Corporation | Producer |
Takahide Kayanuma | TV Asahi Corporation | Producer |
Hirota Suito | TV Asahi Corporation | Producer |
Sachiko Nishioka | TV Asahi Corporation | Producer |
Yoshitsugu Takahashi | TV Asahi Corporation | Producer |
Chiharu Ochiai | CoMix Wave Films Inc. | Producer |
Tomoko Hazuma | TOHO Co., Ltd. | Producer |
Kohei Iwahashi | TOHO Co., Ltd. | Producer |
Tomoko Maruyama | TOHO Co., Ltd. | Producer |
Kae Masuhara | DENTSU INC. | Producer |
Tomohiro Takagi | DENTSU INC. | Chief Media Planner |
Mami Nagatani | DENTSU INC. | Media Planner |
Sayaka Arimoto | DENTSU INC. | Copywriter |
Seitaro Miyachi | DENTSU INC. | Planner |
Kazunori Kawagoshi | DENTSU INC. | Art Director |
Mio Ueda | DENTSU INC. | Art Director |
Sumina Sugita | DENTSU INC. | Creative Producer |
Nodoka Makita | TAKI corporation. | Graphic Designer |
Kana Kobayashi | TAKI corporation. | Graphic Designer |
Seiya Endo | TAKI corporation. | Graphic Producer |
Shota Ashino | un Corporation. | Photographer |
Rumi Ando | un Corporation. | Retoucher |
Rei Tanigai | amana inc. | Photo Producer |
We exploited the translucency of newspaper material, normally considered a negative characteristic, for a double-sided ad to recreate the climactic scene of the movie “Your Name.” in which the two protagonists ultimately meet across space and time. Readers were encouraged to hold the newspaper up to a light, magically bringing the isolated pair together for the fateful moment. The experience triggered surprise and wonder, successfully leading to trending topics in digital media. As a result, some 5 million viewers enjoyed the movie in real time on TV.
Director Makoto Shinkai’s animated film “Your Name.” was released in 2016. The movie proved to be a record-breaker in Japan and brought in 300 million US dollars in revenues worldwide. It earned a 97% approval rating among critics on Rotten Tomatoes and prompted Hollywood to proceed with a live-action adaptation. Three years later, in 2019, “Your Name.” was scheduled for televised broadcast. A major effort was required to bring 3-year-old content to the forefront and spur viewer excitement in an era of film enjoyment on DVD and Netflix.
Our idea was to sweep the audience into the crucial scene. The film revolves around Mitsuha, a rural high school girl, and Taki, a city boy. The pair are united by a mysterious occurrence. They randomly switch places in their dreams. Adding further complexity, the switches occur across space and time. After exchanges in various timelines, the pair meet in a climactic twilight scene. Similar to the movie’s characters, the front and back of a newspaper page are physically isolated. We developed a double-sided ad depicting a twilight moment with images of Mitsuha and Taki printed on either side of the page. As readers apply light from the back, the translucent characteristics of the newspaper page allows the pair to meet at last. The advertisement was designed to pique the curiosity of those who have yet to see the film, and to rekindle interest among potential repeat viewers.
We considered “simultaneity” the prime motivator for enjoying movies on television. It allows viewers to instantly share their feelings and experience digitally while watching the same movie at the same time. This led us to develop a strategic ad campaign that which would also go viral digitally, luring people back to their TV screens. Exploiting the thin paper used in newspaper media, our creatives generated astonishment and strong passion across a huge audience. As people shared their feelings on social media, announcement of the movie broadcast also spread.
The ad was run in the morning edition of Asahi Newspaper, Tokyo Headquarters version (3.64 million copies), on the morning of the broadcast. Twitter posts about the ad and broadcast reached more than 30 million people by the time “Your Name.” appeared on TV screens.
During the broadcast, our ads generated over 300,000 tweets worldwide, becoming the top global trend at the time, with over 20 Twitter hashtags trending. The result wasn’t simply the televising of a movie, but rather an impromptu festival of nationwide viewers enjoying the same content simultaneously. In fact, over 5 million people enjoyed the film in real time. Innumerable teens confessed to purchasing a newspaper for the first time, and middle-aged viewers avowed their renewed appreciation for hand-held newspapers. Newspaper offices nationwide received inquiries, while auction sites enjoyed elevated resale prices and the newspaper print medium gained a new point of access.