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Introduction
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Introduction
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Introduction
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Introduction
was simple.
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Introduction
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction 2
Chapter 3 What does it mean to take your thought one step deeper? 29
Conclusion 123
Chapter 1
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Chapter 1 Wording that does not communicate
Interviewer: Congratulations!
Athlete: Thank you!
Interviewer: How do you feel?
Athlete: Uh, well… I’m really glad that I worked
hard for this.
Interviewer: Looking back on today’s game, what do
you think?
Athlete: Uh, well… I wanted to do my best and
give it my all.
Interviewer: Do you have a message for everyone?
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Chapter 1 Wording that does not communicate
“Uh, thank you very much for giving us the opportunity today
to present you with our suggestions. We have given the utmost
thought to an optimum project to enhance your company’s
performance. We would appreciate your consideration.”
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Chapter 1 Wording that does not communicate
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Chapter 1 Wording that does not communicate
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Chapter 1 Wording that does not communicate
It is not a big deal if the client doesn’t laugh at the joke. What
is important is they understand that this person wants them to
relax. Of course, jokes are better when they’re funny; but even
if it falls flat on its face, a joke told is better than a meaning-
less greeting because you are developing a relationship. And it
communicates because more thought has been given to what
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Chapter 1 Wording that does not communicate
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Chapter 1 Wording that does not communicate
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Chapter 1 Wording that does not communicate
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Chapter 2
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Chapter 2 Wording that has been carefully thought out
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Chapter 2 Wording that has been carefully thought out
Going back to the “cc” use, this function is often used to send
people a thank you note for attending a party held the previous
evening, for example. Young people in their 20s regularly use
email to say, “Thank you for the party last night.” Perhaps the
message would look like this:
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Chapter 2 Wording that has been carefully thought out
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Chapter 2 Wording that has been carefully thought out
Let’s rewrite the thank you email above. How does it sound if
it is written like this?
All I did was add one line mentioning how everyone worried
about buying gifts to bring back from business trips. Doesn’t
this simple addition turn it into words that communicate just
a little bit more?
The point here is not that you need to add a fancy word or
two in order to leave an impression. Besides, mentioning the
fact that everyone worries about what to bring back from a
business trip is hardly anything special. What is important, and
I will say this time and again, is the thought that goes into it.
If you really had a good time at the party and want to let
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Chapter 2 Wording that has been carefully thought out
everyone know that you did, you should think about it. If you
write that you had fun, you need to think about what it was that
you enjoyed so much.
You’re probably thinking, “Of course.” Please remember,
however, that it is surprising how little we do this. We stop
after we say, “That was fun,” “That was great,” or “I’d like to
do that again.” The only thing we might do is to use language
that sounds more mature or formal.
We need to think about what is beyond these words – for our
own good and to illustrate communicable wording. What was
fun? What was great? Or to be a bit more mature, what was so
meaningful? There is nothing wrong if the answer you come
up with is finding out for the first time that everyone worried
about what gifts to bring back from a business trip. Perhaps
you discovered that everyone, surprisingly, liked the same
pop artist. By adding one line, the people who were there last
night will probably remember the conversation thinking, “Oh
yes, we talked about business trips.” Then, for the first time,
you have communicated your thank-you message. It has gone
beyond a formality and created a mutual circuit of communi-
cation between you and the recipients. Moreover, for the first
time, you have truly given meaning to last night’s party.
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Chapter 2 Wording that has been carefully thought out
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Chapter 2 Wording that has been carefully thought out
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Chapter 2 Wording that has been carefully thought out
unkind) they are used to brush people off. The words have no
meaning other than format and appearance.
You must think about it. Which part of it is significant? What
exactly are you proactively planning to do? To what is utmost
effort being applied?
The wording that you have discovered as a result of thinking
should express your very own thoughts. This will communi-
cate to others, prompting them to say, “That makes sense.”
Of course, since they are your words reflecting your thinking,
some people may not agree. Should you care? Probably not,
because you have proof that your words got across. If someone
disagrees, you can ask why and talk it out. This may sound
like whitewashing, but this is how business is conducted. This
is how relationships deepen. I might even add that words
resulting from going that extra step can be called an idea
or a proposal and is something that will truly benefit the
company.
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Chapter 2 Wording that has been carefully thought out
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Chapter 3
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Chapter 3 What does it mean to take your thought one step deeper?
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Chapter 3 What does it mean to take your thought one step deeper?
carefully about what you consider fun and what makes you
happy. We are basically lazy, so most of the time we tend to
think that the first words that come to mind are good enough.
I’m not saying that first impressions are bad, or that inspira-
tions are mistaken. On the contrary, I think that first impres-
sions should be taken very seriously.
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Chapter 3 What does it mean to take your thought one step deeper?
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Chapter 3 What does it mean to take your thought one step deeper?
“Sweet.”
That’s all it said. It didn’t even resemble copy. The other stu-
dents snickered. I laughed, too. Then I decided to poke a little
further. This was the exchange that took place:
“Chocolate bars these days are too fancy. They add nuts, they
are filled with raisins, they are low in calories, and they end up
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Chapter 3 What does it mean to take your thought one step deeper?
When you dig into your imagination and discover your own
thoughts (i.e. I should focus on the value of chocolate – that it
is “sweet”), the wording you come up with will be more than
just “sweet.”
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Chapter 3 What does it mean to take your thought one step deeper?
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Chapter 3 What does it mean to take your thought one step deeper?
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Chapter 3 What does it mean to take your thought one step deeper?
deeper thought.
“Even idols talk straight when they take off their fancy
clothes. Radio.”
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Chapter 3 What does it mean to take your thought one step deeper?
This also shows that extra thought was given. The first impres-
sion was straight talk, but then the writer wondered why and
came to the realization that radio has less impact compared
to television so people don’t take it as seriously and let their
guard down. This is what makes them say things they didn’t
mean to. This person just put this thought into words.
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Chapter 3 What does it mean to take your thought one step deeper?
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Chapter 4
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Chapter 4 The four doors that make your thoughts deeper
This chapter will talk about what methods you can use to take
the extra step to deepen your thoughts.
Any copywriter is familiar with the methods I will introduce
here. I learned them when I was just starting out, but now I use
them in lectures and workshops as if I discovered them myself.
The methods I am referring to are the doors that help us
observe products and companies from various angles for the
purpose of writing copy from different perspectives. I will
explain what it means to deepen your thoughts and how it can
be useful not only for copywriters, but also for a great number
of people who need to create plans.
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Chapter 4 The four doors that make your thoughts deeper
Quite obviously, this is the door where you think about the
product or company for which the copy must be created.
Thinking about it may seem to be an obscure notion, but what
it means is to try and redefine the product or the company and
discover its essence.
Let’s use the chocolate theme again as an example. When you
define the product as it is, it is a sweet snack made from cacao
beans. At times it can be used to say, “I love you.” Sometimes
it makes people feel relaxed. It could be the enemy if you are
trying to lose weight. There are many definitions. What is
important here is to verify them as the first step to finding your
own thoughts, which is your original wording.
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Chapter 4 The four doors that make your thoughts deeper
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Chapter 4 The four doors that make your thoughts deeper
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Chapter 4 The four doors that make your thoughts deeper
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Chapter 4 The four doors that make your thoughts deeper
switch over? The answer was clear. It would be the people who
bought high-definition television sets. This was just before the
transition to terrestrial digital broadcasting, so the penetration
of high-definition TV was about 20%. These 20% were the
people who would buy a Blu-ray recorder, of course, because
anybody who is going to buy a machine that records high-defi-
nition programming would have to own a high-definition TV.
It took me a little while before I realized the obvious, but when
I did, this is the copy I wrote.
“What a waste!”
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Chapter 4 The four doors that make your thoughts deeper
could get you stuck if you start going round in circles, this is
what I was talking about. It happened with the Blu-ray project.
When I approached the subject head on, it was so many times
clearer than a DVD. There’s no mistake about that and it is an
important feature. However, it is also very possible that the
wording ends up simply being convenient for the communica-
tor. The person on the receiving end could very well respond
with, “My DVD is not so bad.” That is when you need to think
about whom you want your message to reach. Think about the
person on the receiving end. It is obvious but very important
when thinking about the words you want to communicate.
“What others want to hear, rather than what you want to say.”
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Chapter 4 The four doors that make your thoughts deeper
Perfect!
In this case, the message she needed to communicate was,
“Thank you for coming. I really missed you.” This is exactly
what she did, but here she used the concept of comparison.
By making this comparison, her message became far more
convincing.
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Chapter 4 The four doors that make your thoughts deeper
It is not often that you will find absolute value in this world.
Perfect products are very rare. In this day and age when the
volume of commodities and information is overwhelming, we
unintentionally seem to be viewing things relatively when we
make judgments. We look at two different things and wonder
which is more important. Instead of saying, “I want this!” we
say, “I prefer this to that.”
Because everyone does this nowadays, it’s best not to believe
that the product, company, or subject you are in charge of is
absolute. First establish a rival and think what aspects are
superior or inferior to what you have, and what would be the
best way to break through. This is an excellent process for
deepening your thoughts and finding the words you truly want
to communicate.
Having said that, I would like to stress the importance of
searching broadly for a rival. Unfortunately, our rivals are not
as easy to spot as customers sitting at another table in a hostess
club. Juice brand A’s competition is not necessarily juice brand
B. Consumers could be comparing it to tea or even mints. It is
important to establish all sorts of competition and think about
how you can win that battle. When you find an unexpected
rival, you might come up with a surprisingly new idea.
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Chapter 4 The four doors that make your thoughts deeper
This door makes you think about the relationship between the
product, company, and plan that you are in charge of and the
present era and society. You must be very aware of the times
and societal behavior. This does not mean that you have to
follow the trends, although of course you may if you choose to
or you can also intentionally go against them. Whichever the
case, the important thing is to understand the drift of the day
and age, and the mood of the people.
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Chapter 4 The four doors that make your thoughts deeper
before.
The world is made up of all types of people.
Still, Hitachi wants to continue creating.
Because our nation has always moved forward and surprised
the world by creating.
Right, Mr. Kurosawa?
Money games leave you feeling empty. Arrogant criticism is
not productive.
Let’s create. Let’s make something new, something that will
lead to the future.
See what is created by the 300,000 people of the Hitachi
Group.”
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Chapter 4 The four doors that make your thoughts deeper
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Chapter 4 The four doors that make your thoughts deeper
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Chapter 5
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Chapter 5 Wording to which the four doors give life
The four doors to make your thoughts deeper and to find your
own words:
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Chapter 5 Wording to which the four doors give life
These are examples of the kind of copy I see very often. They
are easy to understand and have a bit of humor. They are nice.
To be strict, however, the ideas are still a bit shallow. The
writers have not yet found what it is that they really want to
convey.
The same goes for “We’ve got some news you might like to
hear.” It looks like this person remembered the idiom “good
to hear” and put together the copy before fully exploring his
thoughts.
However, this phrase includes the type of first impression that
you need to treasure, as I mentioned in chapter three. “Good
to hear” also means that there is a scoop or some sort of bene-
ficial information. This is the biggest difference with the copy,
“Just lend us your ears.” In other words, the writer of this copy
must have had the first impression that radio delivers benefi-
cial information. The person should then put more value on
that first impression and think one step further. What could
that beneficial information be? Dig deeper. The moment the
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Chapter 5 Wording to which the four doors give life
It doesn’t sound like copy, does it? It looks more like a notice.
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Chapter 5 Wording to which the four doors give life
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Chapter 5 Wording to which the four doors give life
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Chapter 5 Wording to which the four doors give life
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Chapter 5 Wording to which the four doors give life
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Chapter 5 Wording to which the four doors give life
“Even idols talk straight when they take off their fancy
clothes. Radio.”
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Chapter 5 Wording to which the four doors give life
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Chapter 5 Wording to which the four doors give life
all four doors if you like. Each time you open a door, you are
bound to deepen your thoughts even more.
Now that we are here, let’s move right along and talk about
the competition door
If you are going to think about radio, first consider what the
competition is. The television will likely be the first thing that
comes to mind. As I mentioned earlier, it is important to delib-
erate broadly what the competition is, but it is not necessary to
forcibly establish a peculiar competitor who is not there. From
whom will you be taking customers away? From where would
you move people away? If you think it is television, consider
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Chapter 5 Wording to which the four doors give life
• Open the target door. Determine that the geeky type is your
target.
• Open the competition door. See yourself taking away cus-
tomers from television.
• Consider why the geeky types would think radio has more
benefits over TV.
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Chapter 5 Wording to which the four doors give life
Consider the copy, “We’ve got some news you might like
to hear.” If you think that the news someone would want to
hear is beneficial, keep that first impression in mind as you
proceed to:
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Chapter 5 Wording to which the four doors give life
As you can see, the person who pursues his thought per-
sistently prevails in the end.
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Chapter 5 Wording to which the four doors give life
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Chapter 5 Wording to which the four doors give life
• But there are many people who always leave the television
on.
• Then what can you “do at the same time” as you listen to the
radio that you cannot do while watching TV?
• How about ironing?
This copy was written from the target door. The target is the
comedy fan, but the competition door is also open. In fact,
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Chapter 5 Wording to which the four doors give life
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Chapter 5 Wording to which the four doors give life
This copy not only illustrates the physical aspect of not being
an obstruction, but also grasps a complete comparison of the
news content.
The thought process should be clear by now.
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Chapter 5 Wording to which the four doors give life
your thoughts one step at a time will lead you to copy like this:
“I don’t know its title, but I like the song that’s playing.”
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Chapter 5 Wording to which the four doors give life
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Chapter 5 Wording to which the four doors give life
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Chapter 5 Wording to which the four doors give life
“Did you know that you can listen to the radio on your
smartphone?”
This was another copy that was submitted. It doesn’t look like
copy or anything more than a notice, yet I think it’s good copy.
Compared to the very copy-like wording “lend me your ears”
that I mentioned earlier, at least a lot more thought has gone
into it and it reflects that the writer observed today’s societal
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Chapter 5 Wording to which the four doors give life
trends.
Upon hearing the word radio, most people will imagine an old
fashioned box-like radio, and the setting in which the radio is
used. But that is something of the past. Nowadays, radio has
jumped out of that box and into the Internet. There are all sorts
of tools available to access the radio now. We must capture the
sense of the current era.
“Lend me your ears” sounds more like copy than “Did you
know that you can listen to the radio on your smartphone?”
but copy is all it sounds like. A clear, present-day observation
will show you that the latter piece of copy communicates more
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Chapter 5 Wording to which the four doors give life
effectively.
The era/society door in other words is all about how well you
observe the present day and society.
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Chapter 5 Wording to which the four doors give life
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Chapter 5 Wording to which the four doors give life
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Chapter 6
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Chapter 6 Deepening your thoughts even further
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Chapter 6 Deepening your thoughts even further
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Chapter 6 Deepening your thoughts even further
Why did you think that comedy on the radio was better than
comedy on TV?
What is the difference between radio and television?
Radio communicates through sound, and the sound it delivers
determines its worth.
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Chapter 6 Deepening your thoughts even further
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Chapter 6 Deepening your thoughts even further
Having said that, the opposite is also true. This is the process
of turning universality into a story.
You can shift the focus on things around you. Think about
it in relation to yourself, your family, or your partner. Such
thought process can lead to copy like the one I brought up in
the previous chapter:
“I don’t know its title, but I like the song that’s playing”
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Chapter 6 Deepening your thoughts even further
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Chapter 6 Deepening your thoughts even further
I would like to talk about the way you can deepen your
thoughts when establishing and setting words in place.
You may find more repetition here, but please bear with me as
I believe this is extremely useful.
You must clearly ascertain what it is that you want to do with
the wording.
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Chapter 6 Deepening your thoughts even further
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Chapter 6 Deepening your thoughts even further
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Chapter 6 Deepening your thoughts even further
own.
By increasing the variations, you increase the number of pro-
cesses in which to deepen your thoughts, adding to your intel-
lectual wealth.
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Chapter 7
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Chapter 7 Things that interfere with the process of deepening your thoughts
In chapters five and six I went into detail about how to deepen
your thoughts in order to write wording that communicates.
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Chapter 7 Things that interfere with the process of deepening your thoughts
that gets in our way – the enemy that exists within us.
It is not as frightening as it sounds; it is just a kind of mindset.
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Chapter 7 Things that interfere with the process of deepening your thoughts
Copywriters who are just starting out often write things like
this:
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Chapter 7 Things that interfere with the process of deepening your thoughts
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Chapter 7 Things that interfere with the process of deepening your thoughts
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Chapter 7 Things that interfere with the process of deepening your thoughts
Adhering to consistency
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Chapter 7 Things that interfere with the process of deepening your thoughts
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Chapter 7 Things that interfere with the process of deepening your thoughts
ordered. They don’t worry about what their bosses are going
to say because they are the boss.
If what they say today is different from what they said yester-
day, they don’t worry about it because today’s idea is fresher.
They are wiser today than yesterday.
I have no idea about these people’s lives, but as far as work
is concerned they are as inconsistent as they come, and that
impresses me.
When I say that they can do what they want, I mean that they
are free from their previous selves. They do not make deci-
sions that conform to their previous statements. True leaders
are always free to make the best decisions regarding issues
at hand based on the newest information.
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Chapter 7 Things that interfere with the process of deepening your thoughts
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Chapter 7 Things that interfere with the process of deepening your thoughts
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Chapter 8
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Chapter 8 Last thoughts before the conclusion
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Chapter 8 Last thoughts before the conclusion
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Chapter 8 Last thoughts before the conclusion
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Chapter 8 Last thoughts before the conclusion
to factual information.
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Chapter 8 Last thoughts before the conclusion
hard and steady process, but I found the people involved very
dedicated and reliable.
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Chapter 8 Last thoughts before the conclusion
copywriting style.”
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Chapter 8 Last thoughts before the conclusion
enthusiasm.
Immediately after the earthquake, all sorts of wordings were
expressed to appeal to people or to get them involved such
as, “Thank you for your cooperation,” “You are not alone,”
“Let’s connect,” and so on. These expressions were necessary
to spread awareness so that the public would see the situation
in Tohoku as their own. However, I believe that it is time now
to change the direction of the language. Rather than saying this
and that to others, we need to take a look at ourselves.
Words that try to appeal to others become emotional, as I
mentioned earlier. This is natural because you are appealing
directly to someone’s heartstrings. The techniques of wording
are used in that direction and before you know it, as Ikezawa
says, your words “include a certain amount of lies and exag-
geration, and it looks flashy and appealing.” (Although as a
copywriter, I probably should be angry that he called this a
copywriting style.)
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Chapter 8 Last thoughts before the conclusion
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Chapter 8 Last thoughts before the conclusion
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Conclusion
Conclusion
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Conclusion
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Conclusion
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Conclusion
accomplish that.
However, the final objective I hope for is to establish good
relationships with others, and that is what I will aim for as I
continue to write.
It may seem like I am getting sidetracked at the end, but I
do believe that the reason people use words is to build good
relationships.
Words exist not for convincing others, forcing them to obey,
or winning an argument. Its basic purpose is to establish
relationships.
In the future, as I continue to write, if I acquire new tech-
niques of words, I would like to write another book.
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Conclusion
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Takuya Isojima
Creative Director / Copywriter
Dentsu Communication Design Center
Accomplishments include:
* Hokkaido International Airlines
“AIR DO wo tsubuse!” [trans. Crush AIR DO]
* Hitachi Ltd.
“Tsukuro.” [trans. Let’s create]
* Asahi Kasei
“Kinou made sekai ni nakatta monowo.” [trans. Something
that didn’t exist in the world before yesterday]
* SONY
Eikichi Yazawa series “Mottainai!” [trans. What a waste!]
* JR Kyushu / Kyushu Shinkansen
* Launch Campaign
“Shuku! Kyushu” [trans. Celebrate! Kyushu]
* Asahi Kasei Homes / Hebel Haus™
“Kangaeyo. Kotae wa aru.” [trans. Let’s think. There is an
answer.]
* KIRIN
Nodogoshi (Nama) “Goku goku, shiawase.” [trans. Gulp,
gulp (also means extremely), so happy]
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Think about it.
We are not geniuses who can suddenly come up
with marvelous ideas.
Published by: Dentsu Inc.
Planning by Takeshi Ichikawa
Tatsuya Ogawa
Toyokazu Onuma
Translated by: Pauline Baldwin
Edited by: Ryoko Sugio
Illustration by: Hirosuke Yoshimori