The Japan Advertising Agents Association (JAAA) announced the winning and selected entries for the 46th "Prize Essay Contest" on March 14.
Launched in 1971, the contest aims to reflect practical arguments and proposals rooted in the work of JAAA member companies within the advertising industry.
A total of 480 entries were submitted: 52 for the "Thesis" category on the theme "Advertising That is Loved," and 428 for the "What I Want to Say" category (<General Division> and <Newcomer Division>). The judging resulted in three works receiving Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards from the thesis entries, and nine works being selected as finalists from the "What I Want to Say" entries.
The Gold Prize-winning entry, "Blockchain: The Key to Unlocking 'Beloved Advertising'," by Yoshifumi Takeuchi (Dentsu Inc.), demonstrated a deep understanding of the distributed ledger system "blockchain." It was highly praised for its proposal of actionable metrics to foster a healthier advertising ecosystem.
The awards ceremony will be held during the 2017 Annual General Meeting and Commemorative Ceremony on May 31.
The winners in the "Paper" category are as follows (titles omitted):
Gold Prize: Yoshifumi Takeuchi (Director, Dentsu Inc. Marketing Solutions Bureau) "Blockchain: The Key to Unlocking 'Beloved Advertising'"
Silver Prize: Fujinari Tsutsumi (Digital Activation Department, Promotion & Design Bureau, Dentsu Inc.) "The New Trend of 'Ads That Fulfill' Beloved in the Sharing Economy Era—From Ads That Incite Consumption to Ads That Create New 'Knowledge'"
Bronze Prize: Shinya Hotta (Director, Dentsu Inc. Marketing Solutions Bureau) "Brave Intentions Become Brave Advertising, Which Breeds Love."
"What I Want to Say" (Name and company name only, honorifics omitted)
General Category Honorable Mentions = Eri Yanagi (Daiko), Daisuke Teramae (McCann Erickson), Yohei Yamamoto (Asatsu DK), Masashige Ukawa (Asatsu DK), Masashi Hirajima (Dentsu Inc.), Masato Hashimoto (Hakuhodo), Yoko Furudaira (Dentsu Inc.)
Newcomer Category Winners = Erika Kage (Yomiuri Advertising Agency)
