Considering the Purpose and Potential of Creative Directors: Part 1 ~ A Conversation Between Yuya Furukawa of Yuya Furukawa Office and Tatsuyuki Fujihira of Hakuhodo/SIX ~

In an era where brand purpose has become the norm and creators are expected to generate diverse actions beyond advertising,

To explore the significance and potential of creative directors in this era, a special dialogue between two creative directors—Yuya Furukawa of the former Dentsu Inc. and current Yuya Furukawa Office, and Tatsuyuki Fujihira of Hakuhodo/SIX—was realized as a joint project between Web Dentsu Tsūhō and Hakuhodo Center Dot Magazine.

Fujihira, who advocates and practices the "PJM Method"—an approach to elevate purpose into action—and Furukawa, who recognized the importance of defining "reason for being" long before purpose became a buzzword and embodied it through his own creative work.

Both men, who have consistently valued purpose and raison d'être, share their perspectives on the future of the creative industry and the role of the creative director.

Everyone talks about "expanding creativity"—but what's the purpose?

Fujihira: I believe the role of the creative director is changing significantly within major trends like DX (Digital Transformation). Today, I'd like to discuss this with Mr. Furukawa. Let me start by talking about the theme of "expanding creativity."

Furukawa: Historically speaking, the expansion of creativity is a topic from the 2010s. For creatives, this was a 100% positive change. The purpose of creative work hasn't actually changed. Whether it's a company, a country, or a large organization, the core goal is to increase the client's social value. This includes raising awareness and selling more.

If the goal remains the same, having diverse means at your disposal is obviously better. Furthermore, it's about leveraging these expanded new methodologies to extend creativity into areas we haven't previously targeted. This includes business strategy, business development, social initiatives, and anything harnessing new technologies. Essentially, the current and future position of creatives is this: "Any work where creativity is the core is our domain, and that is our fundamental raison d'être."

However, expansion itself isn't the goal. The primary purpose should be "enhancing a brand's social value by identifying and solving problems." The sequence should be that "using methods not previously employed is acceptable to achieve this." Yet, sometimes the expansion of creativity itself becomes the goal, leading to a case of putting the cart before the horse where quality doesn't improve.

The domain or discipline itself holds no inherent meaning. What matters is how many people it resonates with and moves—in other words, quality and the results it delivers are everything. Without that, nothing changes. The crucial question is whether the work enables the brand to earn trust and respect.

Fujihira: You're absolutely right about means and ends often getting reversed. Lately, I feel like just trying a new field or category—regardless of results—gets praised with a "Well done on the expansion!" kind of commendation. Sure, it's a tough environment for ads to work, so challenging new areas is important. But I sense a danger that our "unchanging strengths," starting with creativity, are becoming stale.

From a purpose perspective, I believe that alongside "solving problems," discovering the "meaning" – why this brand is tackling this particular challenge – is equally important. Even when expanding, I think it won't be meaningful unless both of these are the starting points.

On top of that, I feel like there's a growing lack of that allure or pheromones—something Mr. Furukawa often talks about—in projects tackling new categories.

Furukawa: What I often say is that professional creatives need both correctness and beauty. This beauty encompasses enjoyment, excitement, and all that illogical, wild stuff. In ancient Greek terms, it means needing both the Apollonian and the Dionysian.

In actual creative direction, I personally separate conceptual work (Apollonian) and expressive work (Dionysian) for now. Because their timelines and functions differ. However, the crucial perspective is this: when they blend, how much power do they wield? Both are absolutely essential. The way they connect is the key—it's what ultimately generates that pheromone effect. But since this operates in the illogical realm, it's not 100% guaranteed.

Brands evolve relationships with people in the sequence: love → trust → respect. This isn't about specs. Parts, predicates, adjectives – that's not truly capturing customers yet. It's about falling in love with the whole, without even knowing why. That's the unique creative ability that contributes to elevating brand value.

Furthermore, in our work, this effect must connect to the brand's meaning. Having pheromones without meaning might work in fine art, but it's meaningless in the commercial creative work we do. The concept itself and how it's expressed—the so-called creative aspect—must be charming; otherwise, it's inadequate.


Fujihira: I've gained some Apollonian experience in new disciplines, but I've reflected that I lack Dionysian experience. That's probably why the final output lacks allure. In disciplines like business or services, we tend to get satisfied with being evaluated purely on convenience, or specs. I need to be careful about that.

On the other hand, I also think this is a tricky area. New fields often involve broader scopes, more stakeholders, and require expertise across different disciplines. It can be hard to commit to the same level of quality across all areas. Amidst this struggle, I sense a mood that says, "Given the current position of ad agencies, won't it just get harder and harder to do new, good work?"

Furukawa: I think it's the opposite. Rather, I see it as an opportunity. First, there aren't many success stories in new categories. It's pretty empty out there. The reason is probably that people aren't doing it because they genuinely want to.

The work that turns out well starts with the mastermind's own sense of purpose, driven by a personal mission that transcends mere company work. Advertising makes it easy to clarify what needs to be done, but in new fields, staying true to your own sense of mission, intuition, or desire—that Dionysian element, to use the earlier metaphor—becomes crucial. I believe this is essential for pioneering new categories.

Also, simply put, work you've never done before is bound to be fun. I started doing store development, business development, artist production, and so on, but first, you have to decide you're a complete amateur. It's really true. However, what you learn from advertising work is how to align your own ideas with what others are thinking, both explicitly and implicitly. Essentially, it's the skill of creative direction, and this is highly transferable to any job requiring creativity. Once you have that skill, it's best to start thinking from the perspective of what you want to do. One definition of a creative director is someone who realizes their own vision by leveraging everyone's strengths. Because the act of planning is about falling in love with that plan.

Fujihira: When I reflect on how I used to approach good work, I was multiplying in this order: "What is 'good' (needed) for society → What is 'good!' (something I want to do) for myself." From now on, I want to start by considering the individual's desire for "good!". Balancing external motivation and internal drive is tricky.

At the beginning of "planning" and "operating," the creative director

Fujihira: Next is the theme of "Liberating Creativity." How can creativity be unleashed to transform industries into more enjoyable directions?

Transformation can be painful and difficult, so I sometimes wonder if things are okay as they are now. But honestly, I don't feel like we're heading in a particularly good direction. I'm afraid we might end up in something like a "Creative Factory."

Furukawa: It's about the future of professions, isn't it? I think it boils down to the commoditization of work and the motivation problem. How much can capable people tolerate so-called commodity work? It's also the conflict between work that doesn't change no matter who does it and work that changes significantly depending on who does it. I believe the essence of the so-called work-style problem lies in designing motivation. It's also about what kind of professions we'll shape as an industry going forward.

Fujihira: Compared to when I joined, short-term projects where we're called in during the advertising phase have steadily decreased. While participating in the strategy phase is a given, we're also involved in what comes before advertising – creating programs, producing artists, developing services. If you want to label it, it might be the "upstream" domain, but for me, it feels closer to being called in at that vague, initial moment when something is just starting to take shape. And the more we engage in these long processes with clients and partners, the more I feel we're distancing ourselves from commoditized work.

Furukawa: I think that's only natural. Expanding and liberating creativity is, I believe, the very essence of so-called diversity. It boils down to increasing the number of new players on the planet. Minorities like women, ethnic minorities, and people with disabilities haven't been able to properly participate as players in the game being played globally. After all, women only gained the right to vote in the US a mere 100 years ago.

Those who haven't been players until now possess perspectives, abilities, ways of thinking, and ideas—in other words, creativity—that current players lack. As the entire planet becomes increasingly complex, we need more diverse viewpoints. This expands the collective intelligence of humanity. It's a very 2020s kind of expansion.

Fujihira: Saying "Let's expand into management and business domains!" might sound a bit overzealous. But if I reframe it as "I want to be the first person called upon when someone wants to create something that didn't exist in the world until yesterday," then I think I can continue enjoying my work going forward.

Furukawa: The demand for creativity in phases well before output has increased dramatically. Or rather, I believe you can't direct effectively or produce appropriate output without starting from that point.

Especially recently, with the growing focus on purpose and non-financial value, more executives are valuing creativity. As creativity becomes a core competency in more scenarios, I think framing the expansion of creativity we discussed earlier within this context is more accurate.


To be continued in Part 2

【What is the PJM Method?】
A practical planning methodology that redefines companies and brands from the perspectives of Purpose, Job, and Moment to develop the customer experiences the brand should provide.
・P = Purpose (The brand's reason for being in society)
・J = Job (The true reason consumers pay for that brand and its competition)
・M = Moment (The real, fleeting instant when consumers desire that brand)
For details, refer to Mr. Fujihira's book "Creative Marketing: The PJM Method for Creating New Customer Experiences Starting with Purpose" (Gendai Shorin).