Ghibli's Gamble: Exclusive Translation of Toshio Suzuki's Interview on the No-Ad Approach
A translated clip revealing Studio Ghibli President Toshio Suzuki's bold PR plan for "How Do You Live?"
Studio Ghibli and Director Hayao Miyazaki’s most recent film, How Do You Live? (or its new localized English title, The Boy and the Heron) has been making headlines this summer for its fascinating marketing strategy—or lack thereof. The animation studio hasn’t put out a single piece of advertising or any information regarding the movie except for this one image:
We’ve kind of all been in awe/confusion about it. Somehow, it feels like a marketing stunt that only someone like Miyazaki could pull off—but it turns out that it wasn’t the legendary director who came up with the plan, but Studio Ghibli’s president, Toshio Suzuki.
Earlier this month at the opening ceremony of the Friday Road Show and Ghibli Exhibition, Suzuki shed some light on why he chose to go with such a fascinating strategy for Miyazaki’s final film. I loved hearing Suzuki’s thought process, and I’ve translated the article here below for you to check it out too. Here’s the link to the clip itself:
The Translation
And without further ado:
Reporter: (Referencing the lack of advertising for How Do You Live?) “Could you tell us what Director Miyazaki has said about the lead up to this latest release—or rather, could you give us a comment on what his thought process has been like, or—”
Ghibli President Toshio Suzuki: “Yes, alright then, I’ll tell you. Here’s what [Miyazaki] said: ‘I wonder if we’ll be alright without any advertising…’ (laughs). That’s what he said. Then he told me, ‘I’m getting worried.’ And then, even though he’d say, ‘Suzuki, I believe in you,’ he’d still tell me, ‘I’m worried’ (laughs). That’s how it went.
“And well, as for me, and you might think “What’s this guy on about now?” when I say this, but I think that movie advertisements these days give away quite a lot about a film’s content. And when I looked at the ads for a lot of the films out there, it seemed like they just completely overwhelm the viewer with information, and it can sort of dampen moviegoers’ interest in a film.
“So I thought, okay then, what if we just do a bit of publicity for the film, and nothing more? But as I continued to think about it, I wondered, “What would everyone think if we did no advertisements at all?” And I—and these were all just my thoughts—I thought, in this information age, what if something that there’s no information on could become entertainment? I was thinking along those lines.
“Now, as far as whether this approach is going to go well or not, I don’t know. I really have no idea, but as for me, I’m moving based on the belief that it will.”
The Japanese transcript:
Reporter: 宮崎監督の最近の言葉とか声というかですねこの公開の前にしたなんかなんか語ってらっしゃることをちょっと少しだけ教えてーコメントというかですねどういうことを公開前に思っていらっしゃる発言をされているかと—
Ghibli President Toshio Suzuki: はいじゃあ答えます。「宣伝なくて大丈夫かなー」(laughs) 本当に言ってます。「心配になってきた」って。「鈴木さん、信じるよー」と言いつつ。「心配だな」これです。
まあ、僕自身がね、今さらお前は何を言うんだと言われるかもしれないけれどかなり宣伝の中で作品の内容を伝えてきた方だと思うんですよ。でその後いろんな作品を見てたら頭からけつすまでいろんな情報が出すぎちゃってるって事がね、僕もしかしたら映画を見る方のその興味を何て言うのかな少し削いでるそんな気がしてたんですよね。
だとしたら最初うちはね通り一遍の宣伝だけやってねそれ以上のことをやらないそのぐらいに止めようと思ってたんですけれど何か色々考えてるうちにね一切宣伝がなかったら皆さんどう思うんだろうと考えてみたんですね。で、僕のこれ僕の考えですよ多分もしかしたらこれだけ情報の時代ね情報がないことがもしかしたらエンターテインメントになるそんな風に考えさせていただいたんですよね。
これでこれがねうまくいくかどうかはに関してはやっぱり分かりません本当にわかんないんだけれど僕としてはそれを信じてやるということで今やってるところです。