What the judges are looking for is, in comedy terms, a joke so dangerous it would make the TV explode during a family gathering

A story told by Shigesato Itoi and Masakazu Taniyama, who are like gods of the copywriting world, after looking at entries for a newcomer award.

This is practically an urban legend in the copywriting world. One day, when asked about the newcomer award entries during a 'Hobonichi' project, Itoi reportedly cut them down with this.

“Could you tell us if there were any copies among this year's newcomer award entries that you liked?”
↓
“There weren't any.”

“There weren't any”—that’s some serious destructive power, isn't it? That even Itoi-san didn't have a single thing he 'liked'.

The reason is even more brutal: 'Because everyone is too good at adjusting.' If you only hear the surface of this, you might think, 'Wait, isn't that a compliment?'

It's not. Just like when a new employee is told, 'You're very agreeable,' it's the most mundane labeling disguised as a compliment.

Because smart kids enter the advertising industry, they read ahead of their bosses' checks and the judges' 'tastes' like AI, and end up putting out 'safe-of-the-safest' copies with all the edges filed off. It's like a nutritional drink with a plain package sitting on a convenience store shelf. It might work, but you don't feel like picking it up.

Taniyama-san said this: 'I want to see something with more explosives in it. I don't mean do something antisocial, but in comedy terms, it's like a risky sketch you wouldn't be able to watch during a family gathering.'

What these pros, who are like special-grade cursed objects, are looking for is unpredictable noise, the kind that makes a CRT television suddenly explode.

For people like us who are studying, thinking, 'I want to make a splash with my writing!', this is a story that goes beyond being painful to hear—it's painful enough to make your ears fall off.

After all, because we want to get 'better,' we scour writing techniques, read how-to books, and work as hard as if we were studying for entrance exams, polishing our 'adjustment skills' thinking, 'Maybe I can win an award if I write in this format!'

But the more we study, the only things that come out are 'excellent honor student works.'

What the pros are looking for is unpredictable 'madness,' like Yusaku Matsuda suddenly ad-libbing on set, making you go, 'What on earth is this?!' Beyond studying, there are always only 'serious honor students.'

This is the difficulty of creativity, its hell, and in a sense, its infinite freedom.

If it were a certification exam or a university entrance exam, the answer would be clear. There are thick strategy books that say, 'Do this and you'll pass.' All that's left is to keep turning the pages with sheer grit. It's a test of stamina.

But the world of creation is different.

There are techniques and forms. But even if you create something exactly according to them, the judges will pass over your work with the same coldness as someone ignoring a new convenience store dessert, thinking, 'Yes, textbook style! Next!'

That's why 'weird middle-aged men' or people who 'think like aliens' who haven't studied seriously sometimes suddenly snatch the Grand Prix. Beginners' luck is like that too.

Because their heads are filled with nothing but unpredictable and dangerous chemical reactions, like a disposable camera.

The task is simple: 'Discard the strategy,' 'Abandon the adjustments,' 'Make the TV explode during the family gathering in your head.'

Grit won't work. Standard forms won't work. In a sense, it's a kind of hell that is both gentle and as incomprehensible as 'ganguro' gal makeup.

But the way you solve it is up to you. If you compete in a place where you don't have to worry about what the judges think, your 'recklessness' will become a one-of-a-kind explosive.

Let's surprise the world with our words.

Thank you for reading. Will you do it, or won't you? I'm looking forward to seeing the size of your explosive.

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[Image courtesy of Sachiwa]

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