That project could be made more interesting. [3]Don't casually say "make it go viral" or the boss will beat you up!
Beware of Buzz Disease on Low Budgets
This was a recruitment ad for young workers at Mizushima Shipyard, the main dock of Sanoyas Hishino Meisho (now Sanoyas Shipbuilding), featuring work with Ryo Fujii, a highly sought-after video creator. Writing it like that makes it sound like Fujii left Dentsu Inc. to go independent, but he's actually still our employee (laughs).
I believe one of the key criteria today's youth use when choosing a job is "Is it interesting?" Of course, this refers to "interesting" in the broad sense I've consistently used in this column. So, I decided to use "interesting" to achieve the following goals.
[Set Goal]
Dispel the 3K (Kitsui, Kiyoi, Kiken - Rough, Dirty, Dangerous) image that's causing the decline in popularity of the shipbuilding industry. Transform it into an image of "interesting work" and "an interesting company" to attract a flood of student job applicants. And do it on a low budget.
Company presentations and recruitment ads often talk about "dreams," "hope," and "fulfillment." But our main target here is male graduates from technical high schools. If we talk to them using such idealistic language, they'll just scoff and ignore us. So, we decided to take a bold approach: speak to them using their own values and their own language about what's "interesting." That's how we came up with the idea of the Shipbuilding Boss.
Instead of a regular ad, we communicated through manga, which students love. Specifically, the school gang leader genre beloved by rowdy industrial high school boys. It's the story of a leader with too much energy who discovers shipbuilding and amazing teammates, growing and thriving as the "Shipbuilding Boss." What the heck is that? (laughs).
To make it happen on a low budget, the genius Fujii drew the art, I wrote the lyrics for the CM song and sang it myself, and I even did the Boss's voice.
As a result, this ad went super viral and got tons of coverage on TV and in newspapers. And get this—it even won a Silver Lion at Cannes Lions!
Word got out...
"Hey, Nakao-kun~, we're broke this time, so make it go viral online like the Shipbuilding Boss ad," salespeople started swarming me.
To all of them, I have one thing to say: Are you guys stupid?!
Even if that's an overstatement, I want to ask: Are you prepared?
Word of mouth, the web, and SNS don't spread things—they spread what spreads. So ultimately, what spreads? The content itself is what matters.
Especially now, the web is a fiercely competitive battlefield, even compared to mass advertising like TV commercials. If you don't create content with enough charm and power to spread organically, it absolutely won't go viral.
In this harsh environment, that's the driving force behind topics spreading on the web and SNS. And here's the thing. In other words... without the resolve to take risks and broadcast outrageously "interesting" content, buzzing on a low budget is simply impossible.
It's precisely because "outrageousness," "silliness," or "negativity" can replace expensive ad exposure to drive virality that low-budget buzz is possible. If you're unwilling to take risks, you'll have no choice but to pay for ad exposure. And don't just call everything "buzz." First, determine whether creating buzz is actually the most effective solution to your problem.
We're building a ship, and it's gonna be awesome!
And as for our shipbuilding boss...
He's unbelievably stupid!
Ah, in a good way, of course (sweat). The entire concept, the art style, the lyrics—everything is utterly ridiculous. But that's not all.
Actually, the main characters are based on the faces of the people who handled recruitment for Sanoyasu back then. So, if you go to a company information session, people who look exactly like the faces you saw in the anime commercial show up and start talking to you.
As a result, Shipbuilding Boss brilliantly succeeded in creating a buzz on a shoestring budget. It entered its second year, where it escalated to an even more "ridiculous level of absurdity."
Initially, due to a lack of budget, they decided to rebroadcast material from the previous year. However, unbeknownst to the viewers, they modified the footage. The president suddenly appeared in all sorts of places! To top it off, they quietly added new characters seen nowhere before throughout the series.
Then, it became even more of a sensation, and requests came in for them to make a company presentation video featuring the Boss. This company presentation video is also incredible. The crucial company explanation is fast-forwarded and skipped, and the secret behind the Shipbuilding Boss's birth is revealed within the video! Only the students who attended the presentation could learn "Why did the Boss end up with that head?" and this mechanism caused the buzz to spread even further.
Then, it became even more of a sensation, leading to the production of a sequel commercial. This time, it was made to look like an anime preview for the next episode. But, they teased the next episode without actually showing the main content.
Are you prepared to take the risk?
People went all out with comments like "Hey, there's nothing inside!" or "What kind of story is this anyway?" We stuck to being utterly ridiculous from start to finish. That's why it went viral even on a low budget.
At the same time, I am deeply grateful to everyone at Sanoyasu, especially the president, for believing in our proposal, adopting it, and implementing it. Their sense, courage, and decisiveness are truly remarkable.
If your client or salesperson ever says, "Let's go viral on the web and SNS with a low budget," make sure the whole team checks it out.
Are you prepared to take risks and share something truly outrageously entertaining?
If you casually say "let's make it go viral" without that resolve, you'll get punched by the Shipbuilding Boss!!
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Author
Takatoshi Nakao
Dentsu Inc.
Born in Kyoto Prefecture. Major works include Suntory's Kadowari Sakaba Lemon Sour "Lemonzawa Tomio" series, Shueisha Weekly Shonen Jump's "Haikyuu!!" uniform project, Ezaki Glico Ice no Mi "AKB48 Eguchi Manami" and "Adult AKB48," Xcom Global's "Imoto's WiFi," and Sanoyas Shipbuilding's "Shipbuilding Boss Series." Recipient of numerous domestic and international awards including Cannes Lions, Spikes Asia, and ACC Awards.
