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SAYONARA National Stadium FINAL④: The Light of Hope Spreads Nationwide
The National Stadium, which hosted numerous legendary events like the Tokyo Olympics, World Championships in Athletics, and J.League opening matches, closed its doors on May 31st after 56 years of history. Before an audience of approximately 40,000 people gathered from across Japan, the stadium's grand finale was marked by "SAYONARA National Stadium FINAL 'FOR THE FUTURE'".
This event was broadcast live nationwide by TBS under the title "Emergency Live Broadcast! Goodbye National Stadium." Former Japanese national soccer team member Masashi Nakayama served as the program's navigator. Messages were also received from various fields, including Shigeo Nagashima from the sports world, national team members like Yuto Nagatomo ahead of the FIFA World Cup opening, and Beat Takeshi from the entertainment world. During the program, the Japan Sports Council (JSC) and Kirin each aired a 120-second long special commercial, also screened at the venue. JSC's "Let's Update the World." edition featured beautiful forms of various athletes and their challenges to human limits, filmed at 60x speed. Utilizing cutting-edge technology, it conveyed the message that "the power of sports can become a means to change the world."
Kirin's "The Supporter" edition depicted the growth of Shinji Kagawa, supported by the warm encouragement of countless people, portrayed in a documentary style from his birth.
Atsushi Masachika, the art director at Dentsu Inc. who created the commercial, shared his thoughts behind it:
Creating KIRIN's Corporate Advertisement "The Supporter" Living with children, I often feel that my words don't get through at all.
But after repeating it for about three years, one day it suddenly clicks. It makes you realize that things often take time.
Kirin Corporation has supported the Japanese national soccer team for over 30 years.
While our PR efforts have consistently stated this fact, I feel we haven't sufficiently communicated the underlying philosophy: why Kirin supports soccer, and for what purpose.
Perhaps there was never a clear-cut answer to begin with.
As we created Kirin's corporate ad for the closing of the National Stadium, I thought that finding even a vague answer to that question and sharing it with the world might be the role of creativity.
When considering Kirin's relationship with sports (soccer), the first thought that came to mind was: "Isn't almost all of sports built on support?"
Only 22 players can stand on the pitch at the National Stadium, but surrounding them are over 50,000 spectators, and beyond that, people around the world are cheering them on through the media.
Placing the word "support" at the center makes Kirin's position clearer.
Because you can see it as "Kirin supports people living their lives through its beverages."
That might be a bit of an exaggeration.
But to be perfectly serious,
I began to think of Kirin as "a company whose livelihood is supporting others, and which connects with people."
Through supporting soccer, I hope that message ultimately gets across.
After finishing the editing, I finally realized something—how important it is to reach out and say hello.
Regardless of the content, smiling and reaching out to others. And doing it consistently.
I think that way, things will generally work out pretty well.
It sounds simple, but it's surprisingly hard to do.
Some ads run today to sell one more product tomorrow, while other corporate activities take a long time to finally get their message across.
Kirin, which consistently supports soccer and creates corporate ads with a long-term vision, is a wonderful company.
【 Related Articles 】
・SAYONARA National Stadium FINAL①: 2000 People at Final Fan Run Day[2014.06.06]
・SAYONARA National Stadium FINAL②: Legends Return, Blue Impulse Performs First Exhibition Flight in 50 Years[2014.06.06]
・SAYONARA National Stadium FINAL③ "FOR THE FUTURE" Final Ceremony Looking Toward the Future[2014.06.06]
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