Yoshihiro Yagi on Love, Courage and Craft
When it comes to modern day advertising and marketing, it may seem that the head rules the heart, as the industry’s obsession with data and technology grows. But one area that is full of heart is craft. That’s where we find people pouring their love and care into their work - and that’s what Dentsu Inc ECD, Yoshihiro Yagi, is looking forward to exploring at this year’s Cannes Lions. He’s the president of this year’s Industry Craft Lions.
Here he catches up with LBB’s Laura Swinton, digging into the enduring care of craft and the tech disruptions that are transforming it.
LBB> What do you hope to learn from your time in the jury room this year? Is there anything in particular you will be looking out for?
Yoshihiro> What do brands love? What aspect of the brand did creative teams empathize with that led to their craft? I want to learn more about the love and courage of various people and brands.
LBB> Looking at last year's Grand Prix winner Hope Reef, what collaborations do you think will have been most important to ensure that became a Grand Prix winner at Cannes Lions?
Yoshihiro> Taking a look at last year's Grand Prix winner, ‘Hope Reef’, you can see that it wasn’t done for the sake of creating something exciting, nor innovating or winning awards, but rather for the sake of fixing the problem at hand and turning an amazing idea into reality – uniquely human impulses we act upon without even stopping to think. The result is wonderful innovation and awards.
I am sure that both the clients and the production staff will be connected by the desire to send a message to the world as artists, transcending a purely profit-based relationship
LBB> AI has exploded this year, making big strides in image creation and writing - is AI capable of ‘craft’? And how is AI making us rethink the notion of craft?
Yoshihiro> It is difficult to answer this question because I do not know everything there is to know about AI, but I certainly feel that AI has improved the efficiency of intellectual production. However, as I alluded to earlier, humans sometimes deviate from logic and act impulsively out of a feeling of emotion, which stirs up powerful reactions in others. When dealing with human beings, logic is not enough to capture people’s hearts and minds. Craft is not something that can be created by analysing past data, but rather something that comes from feelings about what a brand should look like in the future.
For example, the limitless number of words that can be generated by ChatGPT enables anyone to easily turn an idea into language, and this overabundance will lower the value of words. Conversely, you could also predict that the value of things that cannot be put into words will increase.
This is not to say that I am completely against AI. Designers’ tools have evolved from brushes and paint to computers, and I believe AI can also produce wonderful results as one such tool, depending on how it is used. In terms of craft, I believe the role of AI will be to enable more people to do the things creators around the world have been doing, while humans will be responsible for creating new kinds of happiness and excitement that nobody has experienced before. Both will be important.
LBB> This year, LBB’s Cannes theme is Better Together - how do you think the industry can come together to address the big issues facing the world?
Yoshihiro> In the relationship between companies, agencies, and consumers, it is important not only to have economic connection such as orders and purchasing behaviour, but also to be in a state of leadership and follower-ship relationship with the brand, where the customer shares the brand's ‘future aspirations’.
The advertising industry has contributed greatly to economic development with its creative prowess. However, future innovation cannot be created out of the same economically rational thinking that has been used up until now, namely, ‘If we do this, we can make money’, which also leads to unnecessary competition. Now that people enjoy an abundance of goods and services, their minds are evolving, and they are beginning to see the need to contribute to society in the right way.
This is expressed in very human values, such as kindness and connection. I believe our industry should continue to observe people, as it has been doing thus far.
