What happens when you take "advertising" out of advertising creators? It's seriously awesome!

I'm Takatoshi Nakao, Creative Director at Dentsu Inc. The theme of this series is "GachiTube," currently streaming to great acclaim on WOWOW. This "GachiTube" is a program we planned, which was brilliantly selected from about 800 proposals in WOWOW's 30th-anniversary program competition.

This is quite an accomplishment, so in this first installment, I'll explain why it won against such fierce competition, what passion we poured into the concept, and whether it might hint at Dentsu Inc.'s new core business direction.

Oh, and in the second episode, I'll be talking with the WOWOW team who chose this project and are now working alongside us as partners to make "GachiTube" the best show possible. Look forward to that too!

The solutions we'll be offering from now on aren't just "advertising"!

When tackling this program concept competition, my first thought was: let's not just submit something that's merely entertaining. My main job is advertising = being an advertising creator, so I wanted to create a program concept that fully leverages that expertise.

So, what's the defining characteristic of an advertising creator?

When I really thought about it... there are many professions called "creators" in the world. Musicians, painters, dancers, actors, and so on. What they all have in common is that they pour "what they want to say to the world right now" into their work or performance and present it to society. Then they pose questions like, "What do you think?" or "Do you relate?" I think that's truly amazing.

But advertising creators are different. Frankly, we don't really have much we want to do or express ourselves (laugh). We express things because someone asks us to. We create the most effective way to communicate, the most effective expression, to fulfill the wishes of the person who asked us.

To put it another way... advertising creators create solutions for clients. Among all the creators in the world, aren't we advertising creators the only ones who create solutions? I'm actually a little proud of that.

That's when I thought: let's apply our solution-creating abilities as ad people to program planning. Not just make an interesting show, but create a program that solves the challenges faced by WOWOW, the client who commissioned the competition. We usually solve problems through ads, but the most appropriate solution for WOWOW right now isn't an ad—it's a program! Let's solve their problem using a program!!

We identified three key challenges WOWOW faced:

Challenge ①: The population primarily watching video sites is steadily increasing. Capturing this video-viewing demographic is an essential challenge for every channel, not just WOWOW, and a matter of survival going forward.

Challenge 2: However, WOWOW hasn't sufficiently captured this video-viewing demographic with its core strengths: movies, music, and sports. Therefore, developing content that will grab their attention is urgent.

Challenge 3: As societal demand for video streaming is expected to grow exponentially, possessing truly "killer content" in this field is also an urgent priority.

Solving these challenges while also making the content incredibly entertaining...

Well, it's easy to say, but actually thinking it through is surprisingly difficult (laugh). After agonizing over it endlessly, we finally arrived at the program we proposed: "GachiTube."

This is a completely new kind of show: "Video Creators × Survival Reality Show × Educational How-To = Next-Gen Video Star Survival Training!" Seven teams of men and women of all ages dreaming of becoming star video creators gather. They post videos based on challenges set by star video creators serving as instructors. Based on the results, contestants are eliminated, and the last one standing wins.

First, let's talk about entertainment value: how fun is it?

Survival reality shows, like those where contestants fight for an idol debut, are a hugely popular genre right now. Combine that with the wildly popular world of video streaming, and it's guaranteed to be entertaining! Using the trendiest subject matter of video streaming, it creates real human drama and unscripted stories filled with friendship, tears, and betrayal.

But that's not all. Another key focus is making it an intelligent, educational "useful program."

Despite video streaming's massive popularity, there hasn't been a proper educational show teaching its know-how. We have shows for English conversation, gardening, fishing, DIY, and more.

That's why this show features star video creators as instructors who grade and critique everyone's videos. You'll get to learn tons of super valuable streaming video production know-how and unique insights from top creators.

When we actually filmed it, it became clear these are industry leaders who genuinely care about the future of video distribution. They shared insights like, "Wait, is it okay to talk about this?" – knowledge you'd never expect them to reveal. This alone makes the show well worth watching.

And now, another crucial solution.

By streaming this program...

① Attract video viewers to WOWOW
② Create a new traffic source to WOWOW from video sites
③ Develop unique content (a potential killer content) that merges streaming videos with programs, something no other broadcaster has
④ Position WOWOW as a pioneer in content distribution, leading the industry one step ahead

This plan effectively addresses WOWOW's challenges.

The key point is the concept of coexisting and creating the next visual culture together, rather than competing for supremacy with video sites.

"Unprecedented innovative programming concepts" × "Problem-solving power that rivals advertising." It's precisely this combination that led to our selection from over 800 proposals.

This victory, and the resulting program concept, came precisely because advertising creators shed the constraints of "advertising" and stepped outside its boundaries.

But this is just one example. I believe future advertising creators must shed the constraints of "advertising" in various contexts. This time, we removed the "advertising" constraints from the solution itself, but there are many other areas where we can break free from these limitations.

Let's use the know-how we've honed for creating "advertising" for others to craft "content" for ourselves!

Lately, I've been shouting everywhere about "using the power of advertising creators for things beyond advertising." Why did I start thinking this way?

Earlier, I mentioned how ad creators are unique in terms of creating solutions, but there are many other aspects of advertising that make it distinctly special.

First, advertising is made with someone else's money, not your own. When you think about it, that's incredibly unique. Other creators usually pay out of their own pockets to make things. That's why most creators are dirt poor until they become famous. They're pouring their own money into their creations. You could even say that because they're paying for it themselves, they have the right to pour into their work the messages they want to convey to the world.

But we advertising creators make ads with other people's money. So, instead of expressing what we want to say, we have to express what the person who paid us wants to say. Makes perfect sense.

Furthermore, if that ad fails, the only ones who lose out are the clients who hired us to create it. Even if the product doesn't sell, we ad creators don't suffer any financial loss (well, we do lose valuable trust, of course).

That's why I believe that when creating ads, I have to think about it more seriously than I do about myself. I have to feel responsible, as if my own life depended on the success or failure of that ad. Yes, advertising creators are protected by a unique system specific to advertising.

But, but, actually, in exchange for that, the rights to the ads we create belong to the client. And even if that ad becomes a huge hit and the product sells like crazy, no money comes directly to us. The client is the one who profits. In other words, up until now, in exchange for being protected by the "advertising" rules, we've given up the rights to what we create and the returns when it hits big. Because even then, we could still manage just fine.

But that was when there were plenty of opportunities to create ads. Lately, that's no longer the case. Advertising production has become a fierce competition for fewer and fewer opportunities.

That's precisely why I think we should break free from the shackles of "advertising" right now. In other words... let's step out from under the protection of the "advertising" system with courage!

This streaming program content is one example, but it applies to terrestrial TV shows, dramas, anime, movies, games, idols, artists, and more. The time has come to leverage the know-how we've cultivated through advertising production to create our own ideas, our own content, our own characters, and our own stars.

Methods vary—joint investment, production committee systems, etc.—but we take on the financial risk ourselves. In return, we properly own the rights to what we create and the rights to the returns if it hits big. In a word, it's "Dentsu Inc. creating and profiting from its own creations."

The market for content—video, games, characters, artists—will only continue to grow. Crucially, even as media and communication evolve, the core demand for content itself remains semi-permanent. What changes is merely how we consume it.

Moreover, in the world of living with COVID-19 and post-COVID-19, the demand for content consumption will only increase, and the appetite for new content will be voracious. In other words, there exists a market with enormous potential and future prospects, and I can't help but feel this is precisely where Dentsu Inc.'s new core business lies.

We will continue to create advertising, generously applying our experience and skills for our clients. But isn't it time we started using that experience and skill for ourselves too?

To all the advertising creators out there who are facing fewer opportunities to step up to the plate! Why not look further out into the world, step up to a different plate – one that isn't advertising – and swing that bat more and more?

Of course, stepping into the world beyond advertising means competing against new rivals you haven't faced before. But honestly, I believe advertising creators can really hold their own against people from other fields.

After all, as someone who took the leap out of advertising first, I'm winning in various places, being found interesting in various places, and getting all kinds of work in various places, just like the title of this column says.

Why?

Well, going back to the beginning, among all the creators in the world, we advertising creatives are a very special breed. We're good at thinking about people, we can come up with solutions, and we actually find it easier to generate ideas when we're restricted, limited, or have constraints imposed on us. Creatives like us, who are kind of weirdos, are pretty rare in other fields (laughs). That's why we can thrive tremendously even when we go into worlds beyond advertising.

Oh, there's one more thing I absolutely must mention.

Take, for example, the TV industry and the commercial industry. They both deal with video, but their approaches and cultures are completely different. For us, who create content assuming viewers will see it multiple times within a short 15-second slot, just working alongside people from the program world—who operate on a long-form basis with a single broadcast in mind—is incredibly stimulating. It's a precious opportunity to learn different values and perspectives on video, along with new know-how, and it really helps us grow.

That's why I strongly believe we should step outside the confines of advertising. Now more than ever, it's time to unleash the power of advertising creators beyond advertising!

So, what do you think? Did I convey how removing "advertising" from "advertising creators" opens up a massive field where you can truly shine, leads to new learning and growth, and even unlocks new business possibilities – making it seriously awesome?

The era where ad agencies only wield "advertising" is over. When we free ourselves from the shackles of "advertising," only infinite possibilities lie before us! Let's step outside advertising together!!!

Next time... we'll have a real talk with WOWOW, who adopted "GachiTube". Stay tuned!

[Program Overview]
"GachiTube ~ Next-Gen Video Star Survival Training ~"
Broadcast: Every Saturday at 9 PM (Partially Live) Total 12 Episodes
MC: Chocolate Planet

[For viewing methods and cast information, please visit the official program website]
https://www.wowow.co.jp/extra/gachi_tube/
*Past episodes are also available on WOWOW On Demand