Presented at SUNBELT XXXIV

1. SNA & HER
More than a marriage of convenience
John McCreery, The Word Works, Ltd

2. DEFINITIONS
•
SNA: Social Network Analysis
•
HER: Historical and Ethnographic Research

3. LITERATURE REVIEW
A burgeoning literature spanning sociologies of culture and social network methods
has for the past several decades sought to explicate the relationships between
culture and connectivity. A number of promising recent moves toward integration
are worthy of review, comparison, critique, and synthesis. Network thinking provides
powerful techniques for specifying cultural concepts ranging from narrative
networks to classification systems, tastes, and cultural repertoires. At the same time,
we see theoretical advances by sociologists of culture as providing a corrective to
network analysis as it is often portrayed, as a mere collection of methods. Cultural
thinking complements and sets a new agenda for moving beyond predominant
forms of structural analysis that ignore action, agency, and intersubjective meaning.
Abstract from Mark A. Pachucki and Ronald L. Breiger ,“Cultural Holes: Beyond Relationality in Social Networks and Culture.”
Annual Review of Sociology, 2010, 36: 205

4. A CLASSIC PROBLEM
•
The world is divided into things comprehended by
mathematics and things for which, if the mathematics
exists, it hasn’t been discovered yet.
•
Difficulties arise when only the things comprehended
by mathematics are taken to be real and everything
else only epiphenomenal.

5. A BIFURCATED WORLD
•
Naturwissenschaft v Geisteswissenschaft
•
Science v Humanities
•
Quants v Quals
•
Modelers vs Interpreters

6. TODAY’S PROPOSITION
USING REAL DATA FROM AN ON-GOING PROJECT

7. THE RESEARCH PLAN
•
Credits data from Tokyo Copywriters Club
Advertising Copy Annual: 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996,
2001, 2006
•
Social Network Analysis with Pajek (SNA)
•
Historical and Ethnographic Research (HER), Trade
Press and Interviews

8. THE DATA 1981-2006
Ads
Creators
Roles
3634
7018
22907

9. WHO IS IMPORTANT HERE?
Top 10 by Participation Rate
Rank
Value
Id
Top 10 by Co-Creators
Rank
Value
Id
1
244.0000 Nak190
1
421.0000 Sas3
2
172.0000 Sas3
2
345.0000 Nak190
3
139.0000 Soe903
3
332.0000 Oka258
4
126.0000 Aki264
4
289.0000 Iwa101
5
90.0000 Oka258
5
254.0000 Oos113
6
89.0000 Iwa101
6
210.0000 Tad27
7
84.0000 Mak65
7
206.0000 Sig283
8
84.0000 Kas90
8
199.0000 Aki264
9
71.0000 Oka1165
9
198.0000 Saw8
10
67.0000 Oos113
10
173.0000 Soe903
1. Participation rate:=2-mode actor degree; number of ads
2. Co-Creators=1-mode actor degree; have worked together

10. WHY DOES THE ORDER
CHANGE?
Top 10 by Participation Rate
Rank
Value
Id
Top 10 by Co-Creators
Rank
Value
Id
1
244 Nak190
1
421 Sas3
2
172 Sas3
2
345 Nak190
3
139 Soe903
3
332 Oka258
4
126 Aki264
4
289 Iwa101
5
90 Oka258
5
254 Oos113
6
89 Iwa101
6
210 Tad27
7
84 Mak65
7
206 Sig283
8
84 Kas90
8
199 Aki264
9
71 Oka1165
9
198 Saw8
10
67 Oos113
10
1. Nak190 (Nakahata Takahashi)
2. Sas3 (Sasaki Hiroshi)
173 Soe903

11. K-NEIGHBOR DISTRIBUTIONS
K-neighbors of Nak190
Cluster
Freq
Mode at K3
Freq%
0
0
1
0.0142
1
345
4.9159
2
2519
35.8934
3
3172
45.1981
4
4
610
8.6919
5
5
69
0.9832
6
6
6
0.0855
1
2
3
0
12.5
25
37.5
50
K-neighbors of Sas3
Mode at K2
Cluster
Freq
Freq%
0
0
1
0.0142
1
421
5.9989
2
3246
46.2525
3
2489
35.4659
4
506
7.2100
5
5
52
0.7410
6
6
5
0.0712
7
7
2
0.0285
1
2
3
4
0
12.5
25
37.5
50
1. K-neighbor distribution from 1-mode network projected from 2-mode network
1. Total ego-networks are same size (6722 of 7018 creators, with 296 unknown)

12. TEAM SIZE BY MEDIA
TV
No. of Ads
Other Media
914
2720
Min
1
1
Max
31
17
9.000
5.00
10.1575
5.0085
4.3250
2.0443
Median
Mean
Std. Deviation
1. Team size=2-mode event degree; creators per ad
2. On average, TV teams are twice as large as teams
for other media

13. BY MEDIUM & AGENCY
Nak190 by Medium
Cluster
Freq
1. TV
Sas3 by Medium
Freq%
Cluster
40
16.3934
2
0.8197
3. Newspapers
92
37.7049
3. Newspapers
4. Magazines
36
14.7541
4. Magazines
5. Posters
68
27.8689
6
2.4590
Freq
2. Radio
6. Other
1. TV
67
38.9535
6
3.4884
31
18.0233
4
2.3256
5. Posters
51
29.6512
6. Other
13
7.5581
2. Radio
Sas3 by Agency
Nak190 by Agency
Cluster
1. Dentsu
2. Hakuhodo
4. Other
Freq
Freq%
Freq%
Cluster
43
17.6230
8
3.2787
193
79.0984
1. Dentsu
4. Other
Freq
Freq%
168
97.6744
4
2.3256

14. BREAKDOWN BY YEARS
1981, 1986,1991,1996, 2001, 2006

15. TWO OVERLAPPING BUT
VERY DIFFERENT CAREERS

16. DIFFERENCES BY YEAR &
MEDIA
Sas3 by Year and Media
Nak190 By Year and Media
1981
1981
1986
1986
1991
1991
1996
1996
2001
2001
2006
2006
0
20
TV
Radio
40
Newspapers
Magazines
60
Posters
80
Other
0
20
TV
Radio
40
Newspapers
Magazines
60
Posters
80
Other

17. NAK190 (1981)
Nakahata Takashi (Nak190) is
already an established figure; had
won his newcomer prize and
become a TCC member in 1970
His winning ads are all for
“Other” agencies, primarily Sun
Ad, which he joined in 1972 and
works with art director Kasai
Kaoru (Kas90)
The majority are print, primarily
newspaper ads; but his TV
commercial for Tory's whiskey
wins the Grand Prix at Cannes

18. 1986, A Rival Appears
Nak190
Sas3
Sasaki Hiroshi (Sas3)
is a newcomer, with
only three winning ads
He works for Dentsu,
Japan's largest agency
First ads are print ads,
one newspaper, two
magazine ads; a pattern
typical for young
copywriters

19. 1991, Sasaki Rising
Nak190
Sas3
Sasaki’s network is
growing
Nakahata is involved
in ads produced by
Dentsu and
Hakuhodo; but most
of his work is still for
Other agencies
Sasaki is now doing TV

20. 1996, The Rivalry Peaks
Nak190
Sas3
Sasaki’s network is
growing
Nakahata continues
to work primarily for
Other agencies. Sasaki
is Dentsu all the way
(the blue, I discover, is
a coding error)
Both are doing more
TV

21. 2001, Sasaki Surges
Nak190
Sas3
Sasaki’s network is
larger than Nakahata’s
Nakahata, Other;
Sasaki, Dentsu
(again the blue is a
coding error)
Note the diversity of
media in Sasaki’s ads.
He is now a senior
creative director in
charge of large
campaigns

22. 2006, Nakahata Declining
Nak190
Sas3
Nakahata’s network
now resembles the
one with which Sasaki
started out
Nakahata’s three
winning ads were all
done for Dentsu
All three of Nakahata’s
winning ads are TV
commercials

23. WHO DID THEY WORK WITH?
Top two quartiles of generalised core distribution

24. NAK190 (1981)

25. NAK190 (1986)

26. NAK190 (1991)

27. NAK190 (1996)

28. NAK190 (2001)

29. SAS3 (1986)

30. SAS3 (1991)

31. SAS3 (1996)

32. ANZAI TOSHIO
SASAKI’S BIG BREAKTHROUGH
“OF COURSE KYOTO, LET’S GO”

33. SAS3 (2001)

34. SAWAMOTO YOSHIMITSU
The Softbank “White Family”
Another huge success for Sasaki
Another huge topic for cultural analysis
Softbank Mobile has topped the CM Popularity rankings for a
sixth consecutive year making it the first company to achieve the
feat. The 'White Family' series is of course the commercials
behind Softbank's success on the chart, which is compiled by CM
DATABANK.
!
The series, which stars a dog as the father, Kanako Higuchi as the
mother, Dante Carver as the brother, and Aya Ueto as the
daughter, continued its trend of unusual casting with appearances
by comedian Sugi-chan, talento Reina Triendl, pop duo Every
Little Thing and Hollywood actor Tommy Lee Jones
!
What the success of this commercial says about how Japanese
families now see themselves is a very interesting question,
indeed.

35. SAS3 (2006)

36. CONCLUSION
•
From SNA to HER
•
From HER to SNA
•
Every turn of the cycle generates new questions
that lead to richer descriptions and deeper
understanding

37. THANK YOU