This is a story about Lee Seung-yup's time with the Yomiuri Giants. He served as the 70th fourth batter in the club's history.

He hits a massive home run to the right-center field of the Tokyo Dome. The hit travels over 140 meters. It strikes the advertising board beyond the stands directly. Then, a large banner (7.43m tall × 9.53m wide) flutters. The cheers of surprised Japanese fans saying, "Eh~~?" echo vividly in my mind.

We are also quite familiar with it. Memories of historic Korea-Japan matches often overlap with it. Thanks to the unchanging scenery. It is the image of a gentleman with a pleasant impression smiling. It is a memory of the advertising photograph hanging in the outfield.

It has been 35 years. This is a considerable period in the history of corporations. For that long time, the advertising model has not changed and remains the same. The same person is always present in the photographs.

This is about the Japanese security company SECOM.

It was founded in 1962. Then, in 1990, it met its fateful advertising model, Nagashima Shigeo, the lifetime honorary director of the Yomiuri Giants, who uses the Tokyo Dome as their home. (At that time, he was already retired. He returned to the position in 1993.)

It is a bond formed once. It does not easily break. It continued for over 10 years and 20 years until just recently. It has already been 35 years. In fact, the two advertisers who were the founders have already passed away (in 2014 and 2023).

Farewell has come for both of them. This is due to the recent passing of the advertising model.

They cannot just let him go. The advertiser has prepared a special event. It is a plan like a reminder exhibition to revisit the old designs. The event, which started on the 17th, will continue for 9 home games until the 29th.

The first design was created in 1994. Since then, over 20 versions have been made. Among these, 15 will be carefully selected and presented to fans under the name "BOARD HISTORY."

In fact, there has not been much change in the design. The basic composition is similar. It is very simple and classical in style. The model is almost always dressed in a suit. And he conveys the brand image with a bright and trustworthy face.

Even the advertising slogan is the same. It has been a consistent copy for 35 years. Now, it has become a sentence known by everyone in Japan. "Did you do SECOM? (セコム、してますか)."

There is an additional sentence added for this exhibition. A message reading, "Mr., thank you for the memories" has been included. "Mr." is the nickname of the deceased. The media and fans gave him the nickname "Mr. BASEBALL."

The placement of the posting is at the original "that spot" in the Tokyo Dome. It is the farthest place in the right-center outfield seats. It is behind where the Yomiuri cheering squad gathers.

The large advertising boards in the Tokyo Dome are called "Big Boards." There are 6 on the left and 5 on the right of the electronic display. In total, there are 11. SECOM, modeled after Nagashima, is one of them.

A special prize will be awarded for hitting a large home run that lands on any of these 11 Big Boards. The prize money is 1 million yen (about 9.47 million won).

The longest hit to land on the SECOM Big Board was 150 meters. It was a home run hit by Lee Seung-yup (Chiba Lotte) in 2005 and Yoshinobu Takahashi (Yomiuri) in 2006.

SECOM has already completed succession work. Shohei Ohtani is taking on that role following Nagashima. Earlier this year, they also finished filming an advertisement. The video features pitcher Ohtani pitching against a younger version of Nagashima.

*** These days in the advertising market, if a model lasts more than 3 years, they are considered a long-term model. In our case, actress Kim Hye-ja is memorable for having endorsed a product for a long time. She represented Gaja's Dasida for 27 years (from 1975 to 2002). Actor Lee Deok-hwa has also been appearing in Hi-Mo ads for 26 years.

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