Life-size creatures gaze out from between the news articles on the pages as part of Okinawa Cellular Telephone Company’s advertisement: “Before we become an endangered species.”
This unprecedented advertising project, which hijacked the Okinawa Times and the Ryukyu Shimpo newspapers, caused a huge stir. In this article, we will introduce the thoughts of the advertiser and the two newspapers behind these newspaper advertisements, as well as the behind-the-scenes story of their creation.
Okinawa, one of the world’s leading hotspots
Areas with a high diversity of plant and animal species and a high concentration of endangered species are called “hotspots.” The Japanese archipelago has been designated as a biodiversity hotspot, and Okinawa in particular is known as one of the world’s leading hotspots. Okinawa’s culture and lifestyle are based on its unique environment, but the recovery of biodiversity has plateaued since around 2010, and in recent years, an increasing number of ancient plants and animals have become endangered species. Preserving the richness of nature has become an urgent issue for Okinawa.
In the midst of this, in 2023 Think Nature, a startup company from the University of the Ryukyus that provides solutions related to biodiversity and ecosystems, developed an app called DugongsAI, which shows information on Okinawa’s biodiversity. Using big data on biodiversity and AI, the app allows you to see on a map the marine areas where dugongs live and the locations with the greatest number of species for each biological taxonomic group. It was developed based on the idea that in order to protect Okinawa’s nature, it is first necessary for many people to understand the value of biodiversity.
The company that sponsored this development is Okinawa Cellular Telephone, the advertiser that placed the ads that we are introducing today. Okinawa Cellular Telephone was established in 1991 as a communications company for the people of Okinawa Prefecture, and is supported by the people of Okinawa and various businesses.
Okinawa Cellular Telephone is also actively involved in activities to protect the local environment.
Based on the belief that “biodiversity is the future asset of all humanity and a source of economic activity,” the company’s activities aim to halt the loss of Okinawa’s biodiversity and pass it on to future generations. In June 2023, Okinawa Cellular Telephone signed a partnership agreement with Think Nature with the aim of realizing nature positivity in Okinawa.
Okinawa Cellular Telephone wanted to not only raise awareness of the existence of the DugongsAI app, but also to remind the people of Okinawa and the world, who take for granted the abundance of nature, that it is a precious asset. And with the desire to make people realize the need to continue to protect this treasure, the advertising production project was started.
Conveying our thoughts directly and correctly
As a first step in protecting Okinawa’s nature, we thought we should first convey the richness of that nature. On top of that, how could we convey the message that “biodiversity is the future asset of all humanity and a source of economic activity”? We wondered if there was a method of expression that could convey a sense of surprise in a simple and easy-to-understand way… After considering various ideas, we came up with a creative idea in which life-size plants and animals that live in Okinawa would look out and appeal to us from between the gaps in the news articles we read every day.
To emphasize the message that there are things more important than today’s news, we focused on using newspapers as a medium. Taking over both Okinawa’s prefectural newspapers, the Okinawa Times and the Ryukyu Shimpo, on the same day would create a big impact. The Ryukyu Shimpo featured flora and fauna with a “land” theme, while the Okinawa Times featured flora and fauna with a “sea” theme.
However, when trying to place an advertisement with an unusual shape, we have to edit out parts of the adjoining newspaper articles, and the number of words in these articles also changes. This unprecedented project was made possible thanks to the understanding and cooperation of many people at both newspapers.
Messages that were posted are shown in the box below.
Before we become an endangered species
Like the creatures hiding in this newspaper,
Okinawa is home to many rare creatures that are endemic to this region of the world.
The reason for this is that throughout the Earth’s long history, this is a place where the climate changes between tropical and temperate,
and creatures have repeatedly migrated and settled on these islands, evolving in their own unique ways.
It is a biodiversity hotspot where a wide variety of life, including humans, lives side by side.
This is what we have inherited.
What does our “wealth” mean?
Is it economic wealth —or simply, money?
But the ultimate source of that wealth is nature.
Water, food, clothing, and the materials we use to build our houses and cars all come from nature.
The biodiversity that is “natural” or, in other words, taken for granted in Okinawa, is the natural capital that supports our lives.
Biodiversity will become an asset we can be proud of, both for our future survival and to enrich life in Okinawa.
To communicate and preserve this value,
Okinawa Cellular
supports the development and activities of DugongsAI,
an app developed by Think Nature that
lets you “see” the biodiversity of various parts of Okinawa.
A response unique to the newspaper medium
The visual impact of Okinawa Cellular Telephone’s newspaper advertisements was strong enough to engage even younger generations who don’t usually read newspapers, and they became an opportunity for many Okinawans to encounter Okinawa’s plants and animals, including endangered species. In addition to the newspapers, the Okinawa Times and the Ryukyu Shimpo also posted about the newspaper advertisements on their social media accounts. These advertisements were then quoted and posted with comments from the readers, which created a stir on social media, helping the advertisements to become known to people outside of Okinawa as well.
Furthermore, by using a newspaper as a physical medium that can be held in the hands, we received many inquiries from people who wanted to use it for educational purposes, such as in school classes.
This advertising work has won numerous advertising awards, including the Newspaper Advertising Award in the Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association’s Advertiser Division, a Silver Award in the Print Advertising, Newspaper Series category at the 77th Dentsu Advertising Awards, and the ADC award at ADC 2024. With the theme of a warning about biodiversity, The advertisement was acclaimed for its composition, which made full use of the physical size of the newspaper—a strength of newspapers that digital devices lack—and for the high level of craftsmanship in its execution.
The power of advertising, for the future
The feelings gained through this production are still nurtured within each and every staff member, strengthening their new passion and determination for future advertising productions. Creative director Nozaki said, “I want to come up with ideas that can expand many times over Okinawa Cellular Telephone’s desire to preserve Okinawa’s biodiversity for the future. I want to continue pursuing creativity that properly communicates with as many people as possible.” Art director Enamito also expressed his passion, saying, “Through the production of this advertisement, I want to create a design that will empower people who sincerely want to protect Okinawa’s nature.” Furthermore, Dentsu Okinawa’s Omi stated, “We share the passion of Okinawa Cellular Telephone, which is supported by local businesses and is loved by the people of the prefecture, and we would like to continue to work together in the future.”
These impactful newspaper advertisements were made possible by the joint efforts of Okinawa Cellular Telephone and the two Okinawan newspapers. We hope that these advertisements will spread the word about Okinawa’s biodiversity to more people and be a step toward protecting nature. We will continue to aim to spread the message of biodiversity widely through advertising and produce creative works that resonate with many people.
