Why is this work relevant for Direct?

This promotion was planned for a limited group of target audience who were Japanese young delinquents and delinquents-at-heart. The communication message “find the importance of the Chivalrous Spirit (the spirit of a man who stands up to strong opponents)” should have been carried to directly to those.

Background

Situation＆Brief - In 1990, the legendary Japanese delinquent Manga series, "Crows and WORST" started in a comic magazine Monthly Champion. Since then until now for 30 years, the manga has been being loved by Japanese boys whatever they are delinquent or delinquent-at-heart. They have learned real friendship and braveness to confront to strong opponents as the way to be a man. - On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the “Crows & WORST” series, the commemorative project was planned and implemented. Objective - To let today's young (and young-at-heart) people of Japan growing and living in the society of anonymous attacking and bashing discover the importance of Chivalrous Spirit (the spirit of a man who stands up to strong opponents) and keeping a true bond with fellows.

Describe the creative idea (30% of vote)

Many or most of Japanese boys and girls learn a lot of life lessons from Manga, now and then. However, today in the internet age, public news contain truth, lies, good information, bad information, all mixed up. This program challenged young (and young-at-heart) people of Japan growing and living in the society of anonymous attacking and bashing to discover the importance of Chivalrous Spirit (the spirit of a man who stands up to strong opponents) and keeping a true bond with fellows. As a promotion format, real exhibition in the museum style, speeches and live music performance were planned aiming at possible man-to-man communication (except COVID-19 influences).

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Target Audience - Male and Female individuals - Old Manga fans at 30-50 to new generation Manga fans at 15-30 Relevance to platform - Real exhibition with original Manga materials for Manga fans Approach - Endorsement of youth spirit and culture to be preserved in the form of commemorative event, - No justification of Violence, Criminality or Fight without a good reason

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

Implementation 3 programs were developed to create and keep the bond between old fans and younger fans : 1. Exhibition events that recreate essence and atmosphere of “Crows & WORST” utilizing crowdfunding to cover limitation of production budget. 2. A promotion site and social media featured Celebrities who grew up reading "Crows & WORST” talking about the culture and spirit 3. The event assigned a popular hip-hop unit “Creepy Nuts” to write a special song according to the whole world of the manga and then hold the release party for the fans Placement Crowdfunding, Live broadcast, Newspaper, Exhibition, web ad, PR, Merchandise Timeline - Exhibition : Dec. 11-13, 20202 - Live broadcast : Dec.13, 2020 Announcement - Ads on Monthly Champion Magazine - Publishers announcement on social media - Celebrities’ invitation on social media Scale - Visitors (within limitation by government restriction) - Access to website - Sales of merchandising

List the results (30% of vote)

We have achieved that the whole promotion program succeeded to let the culture and spirit take root in the todayʼs younger generation. Reach - 160,000 UU site traffic for 4 weeks before and after the event - Crowdfunding reached 400% vs. target - Exhibit gathered hull-house audience at 1,300 (430% vs. forecast) within government regulation - Merchandising sales on the website achieved US$100,000 in 3 days after the event Engagement - To prove how deeply the manga is being loved by the fans, the assumed goal of crowdfunding was met just in one day. - Since the on-site live party was cancelled under the influence by COVID-19, the release event was run online combined with the cloud-funded exhibition to connect to audience at 300% against the projected target. - The event successfully created an opportunity to strengthen the bond between fans of the past and that of the younger generation

Please tell us about the cultural insight that inspired the work

There used to be (or still is) a unique youth’s subculture in Japan called “Yankii” (different from Yankee in the US) literally similar to School Punk, B-Boy, Rebel or Outlaw. - They openly reject the rigidity of societal norms - Their spirit is based on rebellion and embracing of class distinctions - They usually prefer to dress in the classic Black school uniform that was inherited from “Commissioned Officer” style during the World War era in Japan - They are always stand away from school studies But, - They are good fighter even on the street but never be bullying the weak - They value and keep the bond with fellows - They have chivalrous spirit and braveness in the face of strong opponents In today's Japan, however, the style is ridiculed as outdated and the culture and spirit is on the verge of extinction.