“Advertising Elementary School” 20th Anniversary: Lessons for Creating the Future in Hokkaido

At a new school established during an era of population decline, children took on the challenge of creating a commercial to shape the future of their community.
On July 15, 2026, a special class organized by Dentsu Inc.’s social contribution initiative, “Advertising Elementary School,” was held at Nakafurano Gakuen in Nakafurano Town, Hokkaido. This event was part of the “Hometown Commercial” program—an extension of “Advertising Elementary School,” which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year—and was attended by 23 fifth-grade students.

The children took a fresh look at the town where they live and, while discussing with their classmates “who to target, what message to convey, and how to convey it,” produced a 15-second commercial skit. They then took on the challenge of filming it, and plan to extend their learning beyond the classroom—including proposing to screen the video at local tourist information centers.

Schools, communities, and businesses: this lesson, where the strengths of each entity converged, also served as an opportunity to consider what new possibilities the “Advertising Elementary School”—with its 20-year history of connecting people and society through communication—can create in new educational settings.

A New School Born Out of Population Decline

Nakafurano Town is located almost in the center of Hokkaido. In this town of approximately 4,400 residents, the declining birthrate has reduced the number of elementary schools from six to three.

Rather than viewing this change merely as a challenge requiring school consolidation, the town saw it as an opportunity to consider “how to shape school education for the future.” Following these discussions, “Nakafurano Gakuen,” a compulsory education school integrating three elementary schools and one junior high school, opened in April 2026.

The key concept behind the school’s design is “connection.”
The school connects with the community; elementary and junior high school students; and different academic subjects. Furthermore, it fosters connections with nature, history, businesses, local government, and the people living in the community. The goal is for each student’s learning to lead into the future.

The school aims not only to impart knowledge but also to nurture the ability to think independently and engage with the local community and society through collaboration with others. This educational philosophy aligns with that of the “Advertising Elementary School,” which fosters children’s “thinking skills” and “communication skills” through the creation of commercials.

These ideas are put into practice through “Integrated Studies” classes.
At Nakafura Gakuen, the school has appointed a dedicated Integrated Studies teacher—a rarity among compulsory education schools nationwide—and has designed an inquiry-based learning program that spans all nine years of schooling.

At the center of this effort is teacher Yudai Watanabe.
Mr. Watanabe has been leading hands-on learning experiences where children engage with society—such as product development utilizing local resources and collaborative projects with companies. His efforts have been highly recognized, and he was selected for the “100 Teachers Opening the Future Through Entrepreneurship Education” feature in the August 2026 issue of *Forbes JAPAN*. This special “Advertising Elementary School” class was also conducted in collaboration with Mr. Watanabe.

What “Advertising Elementary School” aims to cultivate is not the ability to find answers, but the ability to think

“Advertising Elementary School” is a social contribution initiative launched by Dentsu Inc. in 2006. Its purpose is not to teach advertising production techniques.
Rather, through the process of creating commercials, it aims to foster students’ ability to think practically about “who to communicate with, what to convey, and how to convey it,” while keeping the audience in mind.

In this lesson as well, the children began by writing down the charms of Nakafurano Town.
Lavender, beautiful scenery, delicious agricultural products, and abundant nature—
While many attractions were listed, simply listing them wouldn’t move people’s hearts.
“Who do we want to reach?” “What feelings do we want to evoke in them?” As the children engaged in repeated discussions with their peers, their perspective gradually shifted from “the town’s characteristics” to “the town’s value.”

Facing questions with no single correct answer and shaping their own unique expressions through the exchange of ideas—it is precisely this process of trial and error that “Advertising Elementary School” has always valued as a form of learning.

In class, some children excelled at brainstorming ideas, others at communicating through drawings, and still others at energizing the group through acting. There are many different roles involved in completing a single commercial.
That is precisely why it was so impressive to see opportunities emerge for each child to showcase their unique strengths.

For this class, Dentsu Inc. copywriter Megumi Tatebayashi, art director Tasuke Yoshimori, “Advertising Elementary School” secretariat member Noriaki Kano, and Toru Oyama of the Active Learning “How About This?” Research Institute participated as advisors to support the children in developing their ideas.

Learning That Reaches the Community Leads to the Future

After the class, Teacher Watanabe reflected as follows:

“The children have a good understanding of Nakafurano Town’s beautiful scenery and local specialties. However, they struggled to distill these elements into a single concept, such as ‘Nakafurano Town is [X].’ In fact, identifying that concept is the most crucial aspect of creating a 15-second commercial. The advice from Dentsu Inc. employees—professionals in commercial production—was a tremendous help.It was incredibly inspiring to see everyone in the classroom seriously asking, ‘Is there a better way to phrase this?’ and working together to refine their wording.”

This class doesn’t end with the presentation of the commercial skit. Moving forward, the children will film and edit their work into a video, with the goal of screening it at “Ekimae BASE33,” a tourist information center that opened this summer. They also plan to take the initiative in negotiating screening rights with the facility themselves.

As the 15-second commercial they created for Nakafurano Town reaches the local community and they receive feedback, this will lead to new learning experiences that cannot be gained within the classroom alone. Mr. Kano stated, “‘Advertising Elementary School’ values connecting schools, the local community, and society through communication, and creating opportunities for children to think for themselves, express their ideas, and collaborate with others to forge a path toward the future. Through this encounter, I once again felt the potential for the insights on communication cultivated by school education and the corporate sector to resonate with one another.”

Celebrating its 20th anniversary, “Advertising Elementary School” will continue to value dialogue with schools and local communities, giving back to society through the power of communication, and supporting initiatives that foster learning that enables children to shape the future.