says the Cannes and Clio juror and 30-year Dentsu veteran.
Negative criticism from the West in assessing Asian advertising according to its yardstick is of limited value. Asian creatives may rightly tell the West that it is simply "none of their business", he suggests. "There is no value to the creative execution which is all the same. We do not need to be the same; we must be ourselves."
Suggesting that the time has come for Asia to redraw the world creative map, Kagami went out on a limb to say that the terrorist attacks on the US last year may have a positive impact.
"It might sound strange to say, but the tragedy of September 11 provided verification of the need for change and a trigger for creatives to do something new."
Since the start of the US-led war against terrorism, there has been a deep sea-change of emotion in Asia towards the West. Like countless anti-globalisation protestors, Kagami does not believe in a global market or global communication. But neither does he advocate controversial nationalism; what Kagami suggests instead is that it is time for Asia to take the reins.
In so saying he treads a tricky path between multinational globalisation on the one hand, and the need to "focus on local
on the other.
Dentsu Inc is the largest agency in the world and Japan remains the US' third-largest export market. For all that is said of consumer-relevant, great creative which gets results, universally, more than 90 per cent of the world's advertising is mediocre.
This is by no means an Asian malaise. Asia, like the West, is equally caught between advertising extremes of mediocre, but paid-for and run (of-the-mill) advertising and highly-awarded, scam pro bono work.
Kagami advocates simplicity at all times : "If you care only about money - please your client. If you care only about awards - please yourself. If you care about results - please the audience".
In the final analysis however, Adfest's roster which runs through every category of big brand names, it is food for thought at least, to find the best of TV advertising award for Adfest should go to the Japan Advertising Council 'Whale', a campaign which is for and about the advertising industry.
Kagami remains positive. He urged delegates at Adfest to speak out, pointing to the tongue-in-cheek 'Kanako' campaign of Japanese cable provider for inspiration. In Kanako, an older Japanese man and ex-boxer returns to the ring to fulfill the wish of an ailing daughter. Raging Bull-like, the older boxer sends his contender crashing to the floor in the final minutes, while the daughter is seen sitting up in bed watching TV. She is elated, tearful and much recovered. But when we cut to the screen we find that she is actually watching a romance drama on one of the cable provider's many channels.
Was it significant that he chose to highlight an ad which portrays a Westerner crashing to the floor, out for the count? All Kagami would say was: "No comment."
With three out of seven of the top craft awards going to Dentsu and Hakuhodo Tokyo and Dentsu's third best of TV win in a row, Japan remains Asia's centre of excellence for TV and print craft this year.
