People :
The 58th Dentsu Student Advertising Essay Award
First Place in Individual University Student Award
Mr. Shingo Koenuma

Born 1983 in Kanagawa. Studied at Toin High School. Graduated from the Waseda University School of Commerce this March. Former member of Prof. Onzo's seminar. Hobby is reading (up to 100 comic books and 10 hardcover books per month). Currently works for Tokyo Electric Power Co. Inc.,

“Japanese Advertising 10 years From Now” was the topic of this year's Dentsu Award. In another 10 years we can expect a significant diversification of values. In his award-winning essay, Shingo Koenuma predicts the growth of a “mature disparate society” and considers the role of advertising in such a society. “People will long for linkage to others because everyone will be looking along different vectors. Our information society will be flooded with incomplete tidbits of information. It will be an society without narratives, and narratives are what is most important for advertising. Advertisement will come to act as a bond between people and play a major role in connecting the disparate society.”

Shingo has a charming and infectious grin. He is easy-going but has a unique personality that draws you to him. He read 100 documents and 50~60 books to write this essay. “I tend to build up my ideas as if I were working in modeling clay, so I'm good at expanding my ideas. Conversely, I found it difficult to cut back my essay to make it fit into the word limit. It was great fun, though!”

“We tend to pick up an item or book without thinking too much about the many people involved in the producing them. I was fascinated by that idea and became intrigued with advertising. The members of Prof. Onzo's seminar are all energetic and full of vitality. They are sharp, sensitive, and always reaching out for something new. I gained something very precious from them.”

He had always longed to enter Waseda since his junior high school days and he really enjoyed his 4 years there. “You get inspired from many different people trying hard to do many different things. I like it because they don't easily give up on things. After the ‘100 km Hike’, we were told that the distance was actually more than 100 km. Everyone was screaming, ‘No way!’ but their faces were full of smiles. I love Waseda students because they can thrive on and even enjoy adversity. I think they are GREAT! ”

Shingo received the Alumni Association's Waseda Spirit Award at the graduation festival. Having completed a rewarding and fulfilling campus life, he has taken the first step in his new career.