The Ideal Form of Artist Tie-Ins: A Conversation with androp's Takahito Uchizawa and Shota Aratani

Daiichi Sankyo Healthcare's cold medicine "Lulu" launched the " Medicine Box Project: Connecting Families" campaign, offering handmade medicine boxes crafted by traditional Japanese artisans as prizes in a lottery. For the fourth installment, themed around "family bonds," they released the campaign song "Tayori feat. Shota Aratani," written by androp, alongside a web movie.

Immediately after release, the song received overwhelmingly positive feedback, including comments on the music itself. Artists also shared sentiments like "The song was easy to create" and "It became an important song/project for us." Their voluntary PR and information sharing efforts led to an increase in campaign entries.

What kind of communication is needed to build an ideal relationship between artists, advertisers, and creators? androp's Takahito Uchizawa and Shota Aratani, along with Dentsu Inc. planners Shishu Hagiwara and Shota Suzuki, discuss this topic.

(Facilitator: Shota Suzuki, Dentsu Inc.)

【 About Daiichi Sankyo Healthcare】
Daiichi Sankyo Healthcare operates its OTC pharmaceutical business based on the Daiichi Sankyo Group's corporate philosophy of "providing pharmaceuticals that meet diverse healthcare needs." Currently, the company is expanding its business domain beyond OTC pharmaceuticals into functional skincare, oral care, and food products, promoting "self-care" where individuals proactively protect and manage their own health.
 

Common Ground Between the Campaign Theme "Family Bonds" and androp's Music

Suzuki: I'm truly grateful to Mr. Uchizawa and Mr. Aratani not only for creating such wonderful music this time, but also for their proactive cooperation in the PR efforts. Thanks to them, we received an overwhelmingly positive response. The client was delighted, and I believe it was a project that made everyone involved, including us, happy.

Hoping to see more artist collaborations like this in the future, I'd like us to discuss today how everyone communicated and advanced the project. First, could Hagiwara-san please briefly recap the project overview?

Hagiwara: The "Medicine Box Project: Connecting Families" is a campaign initiative for Daiichi Sankyo Healthcare's comprehensive cold medicine "Lulu." Based on the concept that keeping medicine readily available at home is an act of caring for family, it aims to convey the bonds and warmth of family. Alongside a web movie, we ran a gift campaign where winners received an original "Lulu" medicine box crafted by traditional Japanese artisans.

For this fourth installment, we released a web movie focusing on the feelings of a mother and her daughters who are leaving home for Tokyo in the spring, accompanied by the original campaign song "Tayori feat. Shota Aratani" written by androp.

Suzuki: How did the project come together, including the casting of androp and Mr. Aratani?

Hagiwara: As we explored themes of family bonds, we discussed with the client wanting "warm, honest visuals." We felt music would be key to conveying that warmth and authenticity. I'd always felt a natural warmth in androp's music that evoked memories, and above all, I thought Uchizawa-san's rich vocal tone would perfectly match the emotional temperature we sought. After that, I immersed myself in listening to androp's songs, even going to their live shows, to develop the concept further.

Suzuki: We went to see Uchizawa-san's solo acoustic event together at the end of the year, right?

Hagiwara: Yes, Suzuki invited me. Seeing the live performance, I was struck once again by his wonderful voice, of course, but what really stuck with me was the warm atmosphere created by everyone—the performers and the audience alike—all smiling.

Uchizawa: I was so happy you made the effort to come see the live show during what must have been a busy time at the end of the year. That's when you first approached me about it, and I immediately thought I really wanted to help.

Hagiwara: I immediately proposed Uchizawa-san to the client, and I remember the person in charge knew androp too and responded, "Actually, is that okay?" The idea for the collaboration with Aratani-san came later, but that was also sparked by Suzuki-san, right?

Suzuki: That's right. When Hagiwara-san consulted me about wanting to expand their target audience to younger demographics, Araya-san was the first person who came to mind. About two years ago, I saw a truly amazing collaborative live performance between Araya-san and Uchizawa-san at one of Uchizawa-san's solo acoustic events. I think I pushed it to Hagiwara-san with incredible passion (laughs).

Hagiwara: I'm embarrassed to admit I first learned about Aratani-san then, but his warm, evocative voice that conjures the lyrics' imagery was incredibly captivating and moved me. Also, for the video's composition, I wanted to carefully depict both perspectives: the parents supporting their child moving to the city and the young person moving there. So, a collaboration between androp, popular with a wide audience including the parent generation, and Aratani-san, who has passionate support from younger audiences, was absolutely the ideal scenario.

Suzuki: It coincided perfectly with Araya-san taking a new step as a solo artist, so we felt a strong affinity with the story depicting departure. Plus, both Uchizawa-san (from Aomori) and Araya-san (from Fukuoka) have experienced moving to Tokyo, so we thought they could infuse the song and lyrics with all kinds of feelings.

Araya: When I was first approached, I was already a fan of androp, so I felt incredibly honored—even a bit intimidated—to be asked to participate in Uchizawa-san's song! But when Suzuki-san explained the concept of "departure" and "moving to the city," just as he did now, I remember it really clicked for me.

Grasping the core concept from multiple project proposals sparked inspiration

Suzuki: We hold an orientation before composing, right? Was there anything you paid particular attention to during that?

Hagiwara: Since I've never composed music myself and don't have extensive musical knowledge, I focused on conveying the core concept rather than specifying the melody or tempo.

Uchizawa: There was a lot of freedom, right? He gave us a few androp songs as references, saying, "This kind of thing might work. But feel free to think outside the box," leaving us just the right amount of breathing room (laughs).

Suzuki: Which do you two prefer—more freedom, or clear conditions on the song style or lyrics?

Araya: More than conditions, I think it's important to understand what the other person values. For example, when someone mentions a song they like, I want to know what specific aspects they appreciate about it.

Uchizawa: If someone just says "Do whatever you want," it feels too broad. Having some conditions might actually make it easier. That said, for this project, getting such a solid proposal was huge. They shared about five different concept proposals with us, and each had a clear concept. That let us pick keywords and build our vision from there.

Hagiwara: We often narrow down and share only the final or strongest proposals, so I did wonder whether sharing all the ideas was necessary.

Uchizawa: Actually, receiving multiple proposals helped me grasp the essential concept common to all the ideas.

Suzuki: That perspective is actually quite fresh. We tend to think stripping away unnecessary information makes things easier, but it's the opposite.

Uchizawa: Of course, it depends on the person, but for me, grasping the overall picture tends to spark inspiration more easily.

Araya: True. Getting lots of information might actually be preferable.

Hagiwara: By the way, regarding references earlier—this time, the entire project team listened extensively to androp's songs and carefully selected only their tracks as references. Which approach do you think is better: focusing solely on one artist for easier creation, or including other artists for a broader perspective?

Araya: Either way is fine with me. Hearing other artists' songs can spark inspiration, like thinking, "If it were me, I'd try this." Though if someone said, "Just copy someone else's song," that would be a bit of a problem (laughs).

Uchizawa: I agree with Araya-kun. I guess it varies by person. So, it might be good to communicate and understand each person's style before making suggestions.

androp × Shota Aratani: Weaving Shared Feelings into Lyrics

Suzuki: When you received the brief and started making the demo, was there anything Uchizawa-san focused on?

Uchizawa: The visual plot and timing for "Spring," "Cherry Blossoms," and "Moving to Tokyo" were fixed. But musically, I didn't just depict spring; I expressed the story of all four seasons through the lyrics. The entire song has a sense of seasonal transition, but when you connect only the parts used in the visuals, it becomes spring.

Hagiwara: That really surprised me. The proposal only outlined a spring story—how could it expand so much?

Uchizawa: Also, since Lulu itself has decades of history, and the story tied to the medicine box will continue indefinitely, I didn't want this song to feel like a fleeting, one-off piece. So, I consciously chose universal language for the lyrics, not modern slang, aiming for something you could sing at a graduation ceremony. For instance, instead of writing "memories that won't fade," I used the phrasing "memories that won't vanish."

Hagiwara: You created four demo versions for us, each with a different direction, and every single one was truly wonderful. Plus, you delivered them in about two weeks from the initial briefing, right? I thought, "You're a genius!"

Uchizawa: That was all thanks to the clear concept in the proposal.

Suzuki: We're turning into a mutual praise session here (laughs). How did the client react?

Hagiwara: We narrowed it down to one of the four proposals and presented it, and they were very pleased and gave immediate approval.

Suzuki: Getting a one-shot approval is amazing. It's not uncommon to get revision requests depending on the project. By the way, with tie-ins, I imagine there might be requests to tweak lyrics or melodies. How much leeway do you allow for such discussions?

Uchizawa: I'm the type who wants to keep working until the client is 100% satisfied. Of course, it has to be something I'm personally satisfied with too, but I want us to both be happy and create something great.

Araya: Same here. There might be lines we can't cross, but we want to give it our all up to that point.

Suzuki: What did you think when you first heard this song, Aratani?

Araya: The lyrics were amazing; I was drawn into the story. Even though I didn't write the song myself, so many parts resonated with my own feelings. I received it with my vocal parts already assigned, but rather than practicing the song, I listened to it over and over while walking along train tracks or under blue skies, letting it soak into me. It was such a luxurious time, and I still think about it quite often.

Uchizawa: Actually, I wrote these lyrics after we decided to collaborate with Araya-kun. When we first met and talked, I felt we shared similar experiences—growing up in different parts of Japan, moving to Tokyo, and facing similar struggles and worries about our music careers. I poured that feeling into the lyrics, thinking Araya-kun would surely relate. When I actually heard his vocals during recording, I cried.

Araya: I love all the lyrics, but especially the part "seeing the slightly crumpled words 'Stay strong'" really hit me hard when I sang it.

Uchizawa: Man, I cried. I couldn't believe I was crying so much so early in the morning (laughs).

Suzuki: By the way, I have this strong image of Aratani-san singing songs rooted in black music, including your band work. But this track has a different flavor, right? Did that feel fresh to you?

Araya: Absolutely. I'd never released a song like this before, so while I was happy, I also felt anxious. Writing my own songs feels like a higher hurdle, but since I got to ride on a song Uchizawa-san wrote, it ended up expanding my own possibilities. I feel like it was a really great experience.

Uchizawa: I see, I see. Good work, then (laughs).

It's crucial for everyone to share the same passion and move in the same direction

Suzuki: Could you share your thoughts again on what this song has become for both of you?

Araya: It's a song that resonates with me now. I sometimes imagine how I'll feel hearing it when I become a parent someday. It's a song that makes me want to work hard so I can sing it with pride when that time comes.

Uchizawa: It's become a song that's important to my musical life, one I want to keep singing forever. And I'm truly glad I got to create it with Araya-kun. I'm grateful for the opportunity to have done so.

Suzuki: Thank you so much for providing such an amazing song. Hagiwara-san, looking back on this project, what do you think is most important for achieving an ideal artist collaboration?

Hagiwara: I think the most important thing is for everyone—the client, the artist, the creators, the planners, and the sales team—to share the same level of passion and move in the same direction. This time, Uchizawa-san and Araya-san were both such warm and kind people, and I feel it was great that we could create an environment where everyone respected each other.

Uchizawa: Hagiwara-san's unpretentious demeanor and his approach of interacting without putting up walls were also significant factors.

Suzuki: Since androp handles their own management, being able to communicate directly with Uchizawa-san was also a plus, right? I think most planners and creators rarely get the chance to talk directly with artists, so they might end up being overly cautious or holding preconceived notions.

Hagiwara: Honestly, even when we worked with THE CHARM PARK for the third installment last time, I had this slightly intimidating image of artists.

Suzuki: What kind of image?

Hagiwara: Like if you give your opinion, they'll get angry. Or they won't listen to you. Like all the decisions are left entirely up to the artist.

Uchizawa: That's the worst impression, isn't it? (laughs)

Hagiwara: Apologies, but I had that preconception. Meeting THE CHARM PARK, and now Uchizawa-san and Araya-san, made me realize it was a prejudice. I truly felt that communicating with genuine respect allows us to connect and support each other.

Uchizawa: I really felt that respect. More than anything, they passionately showed us the direction they wanted to go with this project. That really motivated us to work together, aiming in the same direction to create something great. That kind of passion from the creators definitely comes through to the audience, right? Sharing the same passion and aiming in the same direction – I think that's incredibly important.

Suzuki: I know some corporate PR staff and advertising agency people feel hesitant or uncomfortable about artist tie-ups. I hope they see that mutually beneficial collaborations like this are possible, and that wonderful artist tie-ups increase in the world. Thank you so much for today!