21st AC Japan Advertising Student Awards Ceremony Held

AC Japan held the award ceremony for the 21st "AC Japan Advertising Student Award" on Tuesday, March 25, at Scramble Hall in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo.

This award, now in its 21st year, seeks to foster understanding of public service advertising and cultivate a sense of civic responsibility among students by soliciting and honoring advertising works themed around public service. Entries were solicited in both the "TV Commercial Category" (30-second TV commercials) and the "Newspaper Advertisement Category" (15-column newspaper ads). This year, the TV Commercial Category received 330 entries from 45 participating schools, while the Newspaper Advertisement Category received 734 entries from 35 participating schools.

Judging focused on criteria such as "whether the work is outstanding as a public service advertisement, sparking interest and awareness among people" and "whether it possesses the unique sensibility of students and ideas/themes brimming with originality."

TV Commercial Category Grand Prize Award Ceremony

In the TV Commercial category, the Grand Prize was awarded to "The Baton of Dissatisfaction" (Nagaoka University of Art and Design, Lead Creator: Shino Koyama), which addressed the theme of "customer harassment." The work used a relay format to depict the shifting roles of "customer" and "store clerk," posing questions about the current state of customer harassment.

TV Commercial Category Grand Prize Winner: "The Baton of Dissatisfaction"

The Runner-up Grand Prize went to "Small Trash Can?" (Tokyo College of Music, Lead Producer: Masashi Todate), themed around "Recycling." It highlighted the fact that cigarette butts are often found inside cans delivered to recycling plants, prompting reflection on proper disposal etiquette.

TV Commercial Category Runner-up: "A Tiny Trash Can?"

In the Newspaper Advertisement category, the Grand Prize was awarded to "Arrow Scammers" (Tohoku University of Art and Design, Lead Creator: Takeshi Sudo), themed around "Special Fraud." It emphasized the importance of developing the habit of judging truthfulness and safety for oneself, without being swayed by misinformation or sweet temptations.

Newspaper Advertising Category Grand Prize: "Arrow Scammer"

The Runner-up Grand Prize was awarded to "Cold Noodles, We'll Keep Going" (Okayama Prefectural University, Lead Creator: Rika Hirata), themed around "Global Warming." Using familiar motifs, it conveyed the reality of changing seasonal lengths and the urgency of global warming.

Newspaper Advertising Category Runner-up Prize: "Cold Noodles, We'll Keep Serving Them"

The two TV commercial entries (30 seconds) will be broadcast on 11 BS commercial stations, and the two newspaper ad entries (15 columns total) will be published in five national newspapers. Each will be featured as an "AC Japan Advertising Student Award Winner" over the course of one year starting in July.

Additionally, Special Jury Awards, Excellence Awards, and Encouragement Awards were decided in both categories.

Greetings from AC Japan Executive Director Kenichiro Nishibe

[21st AC Japan Advertising Student Awards]
Organized by: AC Japan
Supported by: BS Nippon TV, BS Asahi, BS-TBS, BS TV Tokyo, BS Fuji, WOWOW, BS10 Ten, BS11 Eleven, BS12 Twilby, BS Shochiku Tokyu, BS Yoshimoto, The Asahi Shimbun, Mainichi Newspapers, The Yomiuri Shimbun, The Nikkei, Sankei Shimbun (in no particular order)

◼️About AC Japan
AC Japan, a public interest incorporated association, was established in 1971 as the Kansai Public Advertising Organization. It became the Incorporated Association Public Advertising Organization in 1974 and changed its name to AC Japan in 2009. It is a private organization aiming to contribute to society and public welfare by disseminating messages deemed beneficial to society, such as "public manners" and "environmental issues," through various advertising formats. Its activities are funded by membership fees from approximately 1,000 member companies and individual members. Its most distinctive operational features are the free provision of advertising space by member media outlets and the contribution of creative ideas by member advertising agencies. Recognized for the high public benefit of its volunteer activities involving numerous private companies nationwide, it became a Public Interest Incorporated Association in 2011.