Social Entertainment that Enjoys "Dialogue with the Unknown"

Since the dawn of television broadcasting, Dentsu Inc. has developed its content business primarily around film, animation, and partnerships with broadcasters. To advance further, we aim to boldly embrace changing times, create new content, and expand our scope of activities.

This series features employees from the Content Business & Design Center (CBDC) who are pioneering new content ventures. They share their motivations, experiences, and visions for the future.

The first installment features Hirotaro Abe, Copywriter/Producer at CBDC. He introduces the appeal of the content business through the example of the "Dialogue Project," a social entertainment initiative he spearheaded, centered on the keyword "Dialogue with the Unknown."

Becoming the Creator and Nurturer of Content

I'm Hirotaro Abe, a copywriter/producer at CBDC. Previously, I worked for about 10 years in the Creative Bureau as a copywriter, planning and producing advertisements.

The copywriter's job is to take the baton after a product or service is complete and decide what message to send it out into the world with. If you think of it as a relay race, I competed as the anchor, focusing on how to cross the finish line in the best possible way.

That's me, joining CBDC in 2017. My current position, using the relay analogy, starts at the starting point—or even before the starting line. From a state where even the plan isn't solidified, I explore every possibility: "What race should we even enter?" "Should we ditch running and take a bike to the finish?" "Or maybe we should try flying?" I strategize, run alongside the first runner... that's the image.

To be more specific, my work involves creating content from nothing—the job of generating that 0 to 1. Or, it involves taking existing content and scaling it up to 10 or 100. Personally, I see the former as being the "birth parent" and the latter as the "nurturing parent." This, I feel, is the true appeal of the content business. In either case, you become a parent. You pour passion and love into your child—the content—and as a result, more people can share in that content. Experiencing that growth is the greatest joy of all.

The program's exit becomes the gateway to a new world

The 'Dialogue Project' I'm introducing this time is a social entertainment initiative by Dialogue Japan Society. Dentsu Inc. is not only investing in the venture but also taking on creative direction as part of the CBDC team, with me personally serving as Creative Director.

This content features three programs. The settings are spaces that are extraordinary for each participant: "in the dark," "in silence," and "after aging." Participants split into small groups and engage in "dialogue" through various methods.

・Dialogue in the Dark

This program offers dialogue in complete darkness. Guided by visually impaired experts—the attendants—participants navigate a pitch-black space where nothing can be seen, no matter how hard one strains their eyes.

Participants carry a "white cane," a cane for the visually impaired, but in the darkness, their only guides are the attendant's direction, the voices of their group members, and the sensations from their own hands and soles of their feet. Everyone sharpens all senses except sight and focuses on interacting with others.

The key point is that it's not just about walking while calling out to each other. For example, we form a circle in the dark to talk, play catch with a ball containing a bell, or even drink beverages. Through these experiences, participants come to realize that "sometimes, not seeing allows you to see."

In Dialogue in the Dark, you form a group, take a white cane, and enter the darkness.

・Dialogue in Silence

This program lets you experience dialogue "in the silence." Participants wear headsets that completely block out external sounds. Together with an attendant who is hearing impaired, you spend time transcending the barrier of words.

We often assume that "communication only happens when we voice our thoughts," but even in a silent space, we can fully "converse." For example, expressing emotions like joy, anger, sadness, and happiness solely through facial expressions, or using gestures to represent familiar objects and animals.

Even if you feel shy at first and struggle to communicate effectively, gradually the walls between hearts come down. Even strangers meeting for the first time, or people speaking different languages, become friends. In the silence, concentration, observation, and expressiveness sharpen, and you gradually experience a liberating sense of freedom.

・ Dialogue with Time

The final content introduced is a dialogue with the "accumulation of years," meaning a conversation about "how one lives." The facilitators are seniors aged 70 and above. People who lived through the turbulent postwar era and still pursue their dreams today... By listening to stories only those with deep experience can share, we aim to shatter the negative perceptions people often hold about "aging." We hope this becomes an opportunity for participants to encounter their own future, prompting questions like: "What does it mean to grow older?" and "Is it about good aging, not anti-aging?"

Furthermore, participants are asked numerous questions like "At what age do you think someone becomes elderly?" and "Do you believe people can grow at any age?" to help them uncover their own thoughts on aging.

Feedback from those who experienced this roughly 90-minute session included surprised reactions like, "Facing another person head-on holds so much potential!" and "The darkness and silence were scary, but there was something deeply reassuring within them!" Participants also shared that it dramatically heightened their awareness, prompting them to consider, "Am I truly listening to the other person's voice?" even in everyday communication.

Honestly, when I first experienced "Dialogue in the Dark," I was struck by lightning. I felt the exit of the experience was the entrance to a new world. Simultaneously, I reaffirmed that diving into the unknown is inherently a joyful thing. Since then, I've cherished the keyword "dialogue with the unknown." And I wanted to wholeheartedly spread this experience, one I can truly recommend from the bottom of my heart.

Creating a pleasant sense of unease to get as many people as possible to experience it

In creative direction, my greatest focus is conveying the excitement of "dialogue with the unknown" through a single catchphrase and a single visual. I consciously aimed to transform the question "What is this?" into the realization "Ah! So that's what it is!" I believe that taking a moment to think "What is this?" helps it stick in your mind. I call this a "pleasant sense of unease."

Dialog in Silence Poster

For example, with "Dialogue in Silence," we paired a visual of someone making the "shh" gesture with the copy "Let's chat." This seemingly mismatched combination sparks curiosity: "Chat in a world without sound?"

Dialog with Time Poster

For "Dialogue with Time," the visual shows a baby, a girl, an adult woman, and an elderly woman walking somewhere. They're actually walking on tree rings, and we deliberately aimed for viewers to pause and wonder, "What is this?" The copy "Let's go meet the future" then prompts the question, "My future? What does that mean?" creating a structure that sparks curiosity.

Main Visual for the Dialog Business Workshop

Furthermore, "Dialogue in the Dark" also offers the corporate-focused " Dialogue Business Workshop," emphasizing its role as a learning environment. Its creative direction also employs a single line of copy and a single catchphrase. We treated speech bubbles as "=" symbols and placed the copy: "Dialogue in the dark makes everyone equal."

2020: Dialogue Museum "Forest of Dialogue" Opens

In the fall of 2019, the " Dialogue Attendant School " opened to train attendants who would work at the museum.

On June 25th, we placed a newspaper advertisement recruiting attendants.

Newspaper Ad for "Dialogue Attendant School" Attendant Recruitment
"People with disabilities and the elderly are by no means weak. Rather, living with inconveniences, they know how to connect with people and understand the inherent warmth within humanity. That is precisely why they may be the gentle change-makers needed to create the necessary shifts for Japan's future." (Excerpt from ad text)

Wanting to convey the message that this school creates new role models, I wrote the copy: "Being blind, deaf, or aging can be transformed into incredible abilities."

And in 2020, the Dialogue Museum "Forest of Dialogue" will open.

Here, people of all ages, genders, and abilities—regardless of disability—will interact and experience the Dialogue Series. We aim for it to be a place where, through dialogue with people you wouldn't normally meet in daily life, you can discover your true self and make new discoveries.

Guided by the many more engaging attendants trained at the "Dialogue Attendant School," we hope many people will experience "dialogue with the unknown." Please look forward to it!