Koshi Uchiyama is "truly honored" to win The Grand CUP 2009
ADFESTbuzz caught up with Koshi Uchiyama, Creative Director at GT Inc in Tokyo, to find out how it feels to be the ultimate winner of one of the world’s hardest-to-win awards shows, THE 2009 GRAND CUP.
How does it feel to win THE GRAND CUP?
Koshi: We're very excited to hear this news. And we are truly happy and honored that people from different countries and cultural backgrounds have equally given us a high evaluation for our work.
Why do you think 'Love Distance' was such a popular campaign, not just in Japan but globally?
Koshi: I think this became a popular campaign globally because we were able to attract attention by giving people a fresh "wow" element in a product that is essentially difficult to surprise people.
What was the strategy behind the campaign?
Koshi: We did not define our target to a certain generation or gender, and aimed for an expression that would not rely on words but be clearly understood and empathized with.
THE CUP’s ‘genius loci’ philosophy makes a nice fit with ADFEST’s tagline, ‘Made in Asia’. Do you think it is important to embrace local cultures as the inspiration for fresh ideas in advertising?
Koshi: The realm of cyber creativity has always been the birthplace of continuous innovative ideas. However, on the other hand, it seems as though the possibilities of expression brought about by today’s technological innovation have mostly been revealed. As such is the situation, I feel that the “diversity of Asia” may possibly provide a breakthrough. “Made in Asia” holds the possibility of representing unique, Asia-made ideas as well as becoming a keyword for us to assess “what our strength is” as a region.
Watch Love distance campaign >>
On the photo: Koshi Uchiyama, Creative Director at GT Inc in Tokyo
Koshi: We're very excited to hear this news. And we are truly happy and honored that people from different countries and cultural backgrounds have equally given us a high evaluation for our work.
Why do you think 'Love Distance' was such a popular campaign, not just in Japan but globally?
Koshi: I think this became a popular campaign globally because we were able to attract attention by giving people a fresh "wow" element in a product that is essentially difficult to surprise people.
What was the strategy behind the campaign?
Koshi: We did not define our target to a certain generation or gender, and aimed for an expression that would not rely on words but be clearly understood and empathized with.
THE CUP’s ‘genius loci’ philosophy makes a nice fit with ADFEST’s tagline, ‘Made in Asia’. Do you think it is important to embrace local cultures as the inspiration for fresh ideas in advertising?
Koshi: The realm of cyber creativity has always been the birthplace of continuous innovative ideas. However, on the other hand, it seems as though the possibilities of expression brought about by today’s technological innovation have mostly been revealed. As such is the situation, I feel that the “diversity of Asia” may possibly provide a breakthrough. “Made in Asia” holds the possibility of representing unique, Asia-made ideas as well as becoming a keyword for us to assess “what our strength is” as a region.
Watch Love distance campaign >>
On the photo: Koshi Uchiyama, Creative Director at GT Inc in Tokyo
