Naoki Tanaka Worries Creative Process He Loves “May Not Be Passed On” To Future Generation

Naoki Tanaka, chief creative officer at Dentsu Lab Tokyo, is concerned “the [creative] process I enjoy may not be passed on to the next generation.”

Rapid advancements in technology mean creatives are grappling with a seismic shift similar that of painting to photography, he told LBB on a visit to dentsu’s Sydney offices. But even after the camera was invented, creatives still participate in “painting and drawing in this era. We still enjoy that process.”

Despite believing “the creative process in advertising should be the same,” he added that may not always be the case. 

“The new generation is less passionate and ambitious to join this industry, so that's why [we could have fewer] creatives, but the importance and the necessity of creativity is high. In the future, creatives will be in high demand.”

Research Departments: The First Relay Runner 

Collaboration is an essential part of any creative’s job, but Naoki said research divisions are not considered early enough in the process.

“The advertising division and marketing division are like the last runner in a relay, but the creative industry should also work with the first runner – the research divisions.”

He pointed to the 2025 Cannes Entertainment Lion Grand Prix winner: Hyundai and Innocean Seoul’s ‘Night Fishing’, a 13 minute thriller shot entirely on the Hyundai IONIQ 5’s car-mounted cameras. Naoki said it is  an example of what can happen when research teams are involved from the beginning of a project, adding “they needed to discuss with technology teams what kind of camera the car has, what kind of sensors the car has.

“Most of the award winning work had been studied [in the] very beginning phase, not only in the advertising or marketing phase.”

His mission for Dentsu Lab Tokyo, the holdco’s R&D unit – and for creative R&D more broadly – is about emotion as much as it is technology.

“Selling a product, making a brand [people] love, and solving societal issues are, at the core, totally the same – we need to touch people's hearts, move people's hearts. Laughing, smiling, getting excited, and wondering are the greatest power and most sustainable energy, I believe, to make society move forward. That's why we are doing creative R&D.”

Another reason Dentsu Lab is focused on creative R&D is to create work that will “make people change their minds.”

The most efficient way to do so is to “make things [people] didn't expect, and technology helps us to make totally new forms of expression and experiences. 

“That's why we have researchers, and we [start our research] in the past. In 100 years, creativity has had a lot of trial and error, including Gogh, Picasso, Beethoven. We understand the most recent line, now we need to go beyond this line. Creative R&D means digging in the past and developing the future.”

Japan Understands “Limit Of AI’s Possibilities”

With AI use on the rise globally, Naoki believes the technology has already reached its peak in Japan, with interest in the tech now waning because “we understand the limit of AI's possibilities.”

“Every day, Google and OpenAI release a new version of Gen AI – people are less surprised about the results these days. It was like iPhones. When the iPhone 3 came out, everyone was so excited. Then 4 came out, 5 came out, and people were less excited, [realising] there's not much improvement.”

While advertisers “tried using Gen AI to make TV commercials and graphic posters,” the result was work that was “acceptable, but it's not perfect. It leaves us with a bit of an odd feeling.”

He agreed it’s useful for the automation of repetitive, everyday tasks, but when it comes to creativity, “Gen AI is a copy-maker.”

“AI learns maybe 100 years of creative history, from Van Gogh to Picasso … this is a great reset of creation. That's that good thing and a bad thing for us,” Naoki said.

“The making process, trial and error, and drawing [brings us] happiness. AI picks up this happiness, but we need to go beyond the next phase. As I mentioned, AI is just a copy-maker – we need more tuning, we need more prompts, we need creativity so AI has the potential to make new things.”

Combining Creativity And Accessibility 

At Dentsu Lab, Naoki’s resume includes multiple campaigns that help the disabled community express themselves in new ways. ‘Project Humanity’ used electromyography sensors to detect muscle signals and control avatars in the Metaverse, enabling people with  amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to express themselves physically in digital spaces. And ‘All Players Welcome’ let people with disabilities express themselves creatively through technology, including with a real-time music performance via eye movement.

In 2021, he also worked on two of the most viewed events in the world – the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games – as a creative director for the Sports Presentation project and the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games.

“Doing the Paralympic work, I met a lot of para-athletes and para-performers. They have great creativity and great talent, but in this society, the rules of the system [make it hard for them] to participate in the society as a player,” he said.

“It's easy not to notice bad things or something that doesn't work in our society, but those people who have disabilities have the power to see that. We would like them to help us change society.

“At the very beginning of these projects, I talk and talk and talk with them. What do you think of this? What do you want to make of this society? That [gives us the] idea about what kind of interface to have so we can help them join and participate in this society as a player. We have to listen, listen, listen, to their opinions and their minds.”

Creativity needs to be harnessed to drive messages home and solve business and social problems, he said. Whilst “everyone understands what is correct and what is wrong,” Naoki noted, “they cannot act and move based on their mind [alone].” 

“In Japanese schools, teachers put up signs in every corridor [that say] do not run – but every student runs. [Not only do we need to give messages] very directly, we need to touch their heart. That's a starting point to change their opinion, their attitude, and action.

“When many people realise that, it can lead to moving a society – even a little bit, but you will move.”