All philosophy arises from a sense of urgency.

Namikawa: Ta-da! The second issue of the advertising doujinshi "Comushifu" has begun.

Nora Bag: It's started, huh.

Namikawa: This series is called COMMUNICATION SHIFT, or "ComuShifu" for short. It's a series that philosophically explores questions like: What is advertising? What form will the future of advertising take? But...

Norabukuro: Ah, that kind of thing. People really love that kind of setup, don't they? Questions like "What am I?" or "What is life?" Actually, those kinds of questions are a pretty recent thing, you know.

Namikawa: Really?

Norabukuro: Yeah. Before Foucault and others introduced structuralism, few people pondered questions like "What is XX?" "What is advertising?" Well, it's obviously "advertising," right?

Namikawa: Really?!

Norabukuro: Take war, for example. The perspective of one country is completely different from that of the other. The world you know is based on one viewpoint, but shift to another perspective, and a different truth emerges there. This way of thinking is common sense among people now, but it only became mainstream globally after structuralism appeared in the 20th century.

Up until the 19th century, most people believed the world had an absolute ideal, and that humans should strive to get closer to it. But I guess that approach just couldn't explain everything properly. So, out of necessity, people changed their way of thinking. They started questioning the idea of absolute truth.

The idea that "the landscape we see now is temporary, and adopting a different perspective should completely transform that view" is just a recent trend among people.

So what I'm saying is, calling it philosophical when you ponder "What is advertising?" is a lie. Just posing that question means you're riding the wave of a trend in this era. Sometimes, silently making ads is far more philosophical.

Namikawa: Ah, I think I get it. Sometimes I think a lumberjack who cuts wood every day is philosophical.

Noraibukuro: Ways of thinking always emerge for convenience, you see. If advertising is in a tight spot now, we need to consider what kind of thinking underlies that advertising, how to change that thinking, and how to overcome this crisis. Philosophy, if it isn't born out of necessity, is truly meaningless.

Namikawa: You're absolutely right.

Noraibukuro: Why the honorifics? Oh well. So, starting now, it's fine to think about "What is advertising?", but I don't want you to think for even a second that it's some lofty, high-minded concept.

Namikawa: True. It won't be useful unless it's a philosophy born from the desperation of "Advertising is in trouble! What do we do?"

Nora Bag: By the way, I'm not feeling any urgency whatsoever, so I never think about "What is a Nora Bag?"

Namikawa: ...I see. So, to summarize, all philosophy "should be born from a sense of urgency." Well, turning that around, I think advertising is in a state of urgency. Which means, precisely because of that, right now might be the perfect timing for a new philosophy of advertising to emerge. Don't you think?

Nora Bag: Maybe so.

To be continued next time.