Saturday 9 June 2007

BBDO Asia will be hosting the Young Lotus


BBDO Asia will be hosting the Young Lotus Workshop at the Asia Pacific Adfest awards in Thailand next week. Now in its fourth year, the objective of the Young Lotus is to develop fast rising creative talent from across the region by extending/challenging their creative skills and exposing them to senior advertising talent.
This year BBDO Asia Pacific is launching an innovative approach to the Workshop. An approach that will see 30 young creatives from 15 different countries participating in the first reality based workshop of its kind, ever. During the 48 hours the creative development for the workshop takes place, the participants will be recorded and taped, leaving no part of the development process out. The ‘real’ process of each creative will then be observed and judged.
Inspiring the young talent at the Workshop will be Chris Thomas, Chairman & CEO BBDO Asia Pacific, Peter Souter, Deputy Chairman and CCO, AMV BBDO London, Suthisak Sucharittanonta, Chairman & CCO, BBDO Bangkok, David Guerrero, Chairman & CCO, BBDO Guerrero/Ortega, and Simon Bond, Regional Director, Proximity Asia.
Discover the Young Lotus in action and experience: The First Advertising Reality Show - Enter The Lotus at Adfest 2007.
For more information, visit http://www.enterthelotus.tv/

What is the AdFest Young Lotus Workshop?


What is the AdFest Young Lotus Workshop?

Asia Pacific Advertising Festival wishes to recognize and encourage the rising stars in the region and offer creative young bloods a direct chance to earn a winning place on the AdFest stage. The Young Creative Workshop will create an environment that allows them to develop skills and learn from award-winning creative directors/gurus and sharpen their talents so they can compete amongst themselves in the lively atmosphere of AdFest. The Workshop will be facilitated by a select group of “trainers”, collectively called the Young Lotus Workshop Committee. It will take place over the course of 2 or 2 and a half days prior to AdFest itself. The format will consist of speaking slots from “trainers” and a workshop element. Attendees will be coached, briefed and given a work assignment to be completed within 24 hours, which will be judged and a winner selected. A major benefit is that the work will be judged by the Young Lotus Workshop Committee. Winners will be announced at some point during AdFest and presented with an award on stage. The winning works will also be exhibited during the event. All participants will be invited to be delegates for the AdFest event.

Craig Davis, Regional Executive Creative Director, Saatchi & Saatchi Asia/Africa has offered to chair the first Young Lotus Workshop Committee in 2004. The Committee would be selected by the AdFest Organizing Committee and agreed with the Chairman, prior to invititation. The second year was chaired by Linda Locke from Leo Burnett Singapore, and this third Young Lotus Workshop in 2006 is chaired by Tay Guan Hin, Regional Executive Creative Director, JWT Singapore.

Objectives of the Workshop

1. To train and sharpen young creative minds to develop effective concepts
2. To support and stimulate new creative young bloods in the region
3. To help the Asia Pacific advertising industry compete in a global market
4. To elect and provide exposure for the most talented young creative team
5. To encourage young creative to strengthen team relations for the workshop

Who should be the attendees ?

It is expected that attendees to the Workshop will be selected through local ad associations. Each association from the AdFest Organizing Committee will select two candidates (preferably 1 art director and 1 copywriter with English speaking skills) to represent the association as a creative team and send them to the Workshop. This can be done through a national competition or by other local selection means. The age of candidates attending the Young Lotus Workshop will be limited to no more than 30 years of age (born in 1976 or after) no month restriction with 1-5 years experience in the advertising field.

The total number of candidates is anticipated to be no more than twenty-six (thirteen national teams). Associations on the AdFest Steering Committee will have first refusal for the places. These are 1) Mumbai (STACA), 2) Seoul (KFAA), 3) Jakarta (PPPI), 4) Tokyo (JAF), 5) Beijing (CAA), 6) Bangkok (AAT). Other city associations that have expressed and interest are 7) Kuala Lumpur, 8) Ho Chi Minh, 9) Singapore, 10) Manila, 11) Taipei, 12) Colombo, 13) Dhaka, 14) Hong Kong, 15) Karachi and 16) Kathmandu.

Benefits of the Attendees

1. A chance to work with a selection of the best creative practitioners from the Asia Pacific advertising
industry
2. Absorb essential creative know-how from world-class advertising gurus
3. Learn techniques and tips directly form successful creative
4. Meet your peers and build on your industry contacts
5. Build strong team skills

YOUNG LOTUS WORKSHOP


YOUNG LOTUS WORKSHOP
What is the AdFest Young Lotus Workshop?
Asia Pacific Advertising Festival wishes to recognize and encourage the rising stars in the region and offer creative young bloods a direct chance to earn a winning place on the AdFest stage. The Young Creative Workshop will create an environment that allows them to develop skills and learn from award-winning creative directors/gurus and sharpen their talents so they can compete amongst themselves in the lively atmosphere of AdFest.
The Workshop will be facilitated by a select group of “trainers”, collectively called the Young Lotus Workshop Committee. It will take place over the course of 2 or 2 and a half days prior to AdFest itself. The format will consist of speaking slots from “trainers” and a workshop element. Attendees will be coached, briefed and given a work assignment to be completed within 24 hours, which will be judged and a winner selected. A major benefit is that the work will be judged by the Young Lotus Workshop Committee. Winners will be announced at some point during AdFest and presented with an award on stage. The winning works will also be exhibited during the event.
All participants will be invited to be delegates for the AdFest event.
Craig Davis, Regional Executive Creative Director, Saatchi & Saatchi Asia/Africa has offered to chair the first Young Lotus Workshop Committee in 2004. The Committee would be selected by the AdFest Organizing Committee and agreed with the Chairman, prior to invititation. The second year was chaired by Linda Locke from Leo Burnett Singapore, and this third Young Lotus Workshop in 2006 is chaired by Tay Guan Hin, Regional Executive Creative Director, JWT Singapore.

FESTIVAL UPDATE 2007


Planet Japan sweeps up on AdFest’s final night. Tokyo agencies win Best of Category Lotus Awards

Best Direction goes to TV commercial from McCann-Erickson Mumbai.

Agencies from Tokyo walked away with Best of Category for Film, Radio, Cyber and Contagious Innovation Lotus Awards at the gala dinner for AdFest 2007, held at PEACH, Royal Cliff Beach Resort in Pattaya, Thailand.

Film Lotus

Out of a total of 895 film entries which was slightly down on last year, the festival gave out twenty-nine bronze, fifteen silver and three gold TV awards this year. Winning agencies were from Bangkok, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Mumbai, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo.

John Hunt, worldwide creative director of TBWA Johannesburg was chairman of the Film judging panel. He commented, “Asia Pacific is the place to be both economically and intellectually and this is reflected in the quality of the work that the TV judging panel saw. The trend for the category overall is upwards, although the top two to three percent have stayed static, which is why there were fewer gold awards given.”

The three gold awards were won by McCann-Erickson Mumbai for Happy Dent Teeth Whitening Gum, Hakuhodo Tokyo for Toyota Cars and DDB Sydney for Napcan. Hakuhodo Tokyo also climbed the stage to receive the highest accolade for Best of Film.

Happy Dent Teeth Whitening Gum

Hakuhodo Tokyo for Toyota Cars


Film Craft Lotus

Film Craft awards were presented at the gala dinner. Out of the 200 entries received, there were six ‘best of category’ awards won on the night.Awards were shared between Auckland, Mumbai, Sydney and Tokyo.

McCann-Erickson Mumbai picked up Best Directing and Best Production Design for its work on Happy Dent Teeth Whitening Gum.

Best Editing was awarded to Taiyokikaku Tokyo for its work for Walkman. Two awards made their way to Sydney. @radical Media won Best Special Effects for Toyota Prado and Publicis Mojo Sydney scooped Best Use of Music for its work on Tourism Victoria: Melbourne.


Taiyokikaku Tokyo for Walkman

Finally, the Sweet Shop Auckland accepted the award for ‘Best Cinematography’ for Short Black.

There were no awards given out for Best Original Music, Best Sound Design or Best Animation.

Nelson Ng, managing director and editor of Touches in Hong Kong was chairman of judges for the Film Craft panel. This is the third year for Film Craft Lotus Awards at AdFest and the number of entries have grown every year.

Radio Lotus

Best of Radio and Gold was awarded to ADK Tokyo for its commercial for Jino Forestino.

Tony Hertz, owner of Tony Hertz: Radio and Other Clever Advertising and chairman of the radio judging panel said, “For Best of Show, we were looking for a radio commercial that painted a visual picture for the listener as well as being a good idea that was exceptionally well executed.”

As a new category for Lotus Awards, there were 133 entries. Twelve Radio Lotus Awards were presented, including four bronze, five silver and two gold awards, plus Best of Radio. The second gold award was won by Mudra Communications New Delhi for ‘Rape Campaign’, on behalf of Big 92.7FM. Winning agencies were from Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Mumbai, New Delhi and Tokyo.

Cyber Lotus

GT Inc Tokyo won Best of Cyber for its work for XBox 360. The award was one of four golds given for Cyber entries. The other three golds were picked up by Dentsu Incc. Kansai Osaka for Smoking Manner, ADK Tokyo for Pepsi Nex and Hakuhodo/Hakuhodo DY Media Partners for ‘amotesando akarium’.

Benjamin Palmer, chief executive officer and chief creative officer for The Barbarian Group, Boston was chairman of the cyber judging panel.

In addition to the four gold and Best of Cyber awards, the judging panel selected nine bronze and six silver Lotus Awards from 304 outdoor entries. The winning agencies were from Beijing, Nagoya, New Delhi, Osaka, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo.

360 Lotus & Contagious Lotus for Innovation

The two final categories of 360 Lotus and Contagious Lotus for Innovation were newly introduced to AdFest this year. Both judging panels were chaired by David Droga, creative chairman of droga5, New York. He believes 360, which covers integrated campaigns should be the most important category of AdFest as he explained, “This category is where clients are spending most of their marketing budgets these days.”

On judging, he said, “For Best of 360, the judges were looking for a core solid idea that was improved by each medium or channel that was used for the campaign.”

For this year, no piece of work met the criteria strongly enough so there was no award given for Best of 360. However, there were three awards given out of the 44 entries received. Weiden & Kennedy Shanghai won bronze for Nike China, Hakuhodo Inc. Tokyo won silver for Oxyride Battery and Dentsu Inc Tokyo won a gold award for its work on Napster.

In its first year, there were 49 entries for Contagious Lotus for Innovation Awards. There were three nominations for Best of Show, which was awarded to Hakuhodo Bangkok for Oxyride Batteries. Explained David Droga, “The Oxyride Manned Airplane Project was the ultimate product test and created its own momentum”.

Contagious Lotus for Innovation is sponsored by Contagious, the global intelligence resource. The category has been introduced in response to the changing media environment. It champions the pioneering spirit and celebrates breakthrough thinking from the inventive and innovative minds of Asian creativity.

Jimmy Lam, President of the AdFest Working Committee says, “Over the last couple of years at AdFest, it has become increasingly obvious that good ideas are springing up in unconventional as well as traditional media. While there is every merit in judging a piece of work in its ambient media orinteractive category, creativity knows no boundaries and we felt it was time that this was acknowledged independently”.

The agency with the highest tally of Lotus Awards was Ogilvy & Mather Singapore, with thirteen awards. BBDO Bangkok was placed second with eight awards. Ogilvy & Mather Bangkok was the third most awarded agency with seven Lotus Awards to take home.

All in all over the three-day event, 182 awards were given out across eight advertising categories (excluding Film Craft and Print Craft), in response to 5,012 entries from over five hundred agencies in forty-eight cities around the region this year.

Bangkok was the most awarded city with a total of fifty awards, while Singapore came second with thirty-eight awards. Mumbai was the third most awarded city with twenty-four awards.

While the Lotus Awards aim to reward and recognize outstanding creativity, AdFest itself is equally a forum of learning and exposure for the creative industry in Asia Pacific. 1600 delegates attended, from junior creatives to regional creative directors, production houses, agency management and advertisers.

Awards Summary
Best of Show Brand Aagency City
TV Toyota Cars Hakuhodo Inc. Tokyo
Press Clima Bicycle Lock Leo Burnett Bangkok
Outdoor Wrangler BBDO Singapore
Cyber Xbox360 GT Inc. Tokyo
Radio Jino Forestino ADK Tokyo
Contagious for Innovatio Oxyride Batteries Hakuhodo Inc. Tokyo

Awards Summary
TV Craft Brand Production House City
Directing Happy Dent Teeth Whitening Gum McCann-Erickson Mumbai
Editing Walkman Taiyokikaku Tokyo
Cinematography Short Black Sweet Shop Auckland

Top Awarded Agencies
No # Aagency City No# Awards
1 Ogilvy & Mather s Singapore 13
2 BBDO Bangkok 8
3 Ogilvy & Mather Bangkok 7
4= Creative Juice/G1 Bangkok 6
4= JWT Bangkok 6
4= BBDO Singapore 6
4= JWT Singapore 6

For further information : Jimmy Lam, President
AdFest Working Committee
Tel. (084) 599 7576
Email: jimmy@longyinreview.com
Sara Fielding, International PR
AdFest Working Committee
Tel. (083) 113 4920
Email: sarafie@hotmail.com

Gold Lion at the Cannes International


ROARING like never before, Malaysia charged ahead to leave the rest of Asia dazed in its wake with a fierce haul of 5 Gold 3 Silver and 3 Bronze Cannes Lions this year. For the first time in 53 years, Malaysia beat powerhouse nations like Japan, Thailand, China, Singapore and India to lead the field as the No. 1 Creative Nation across Asia! Our stars - Tan Kien Eng, Edmund Choe, Edwin Leong, Adrian Miller, Ted Lim, Huang Ean Hwa, Lee Szu-Hung, Steve Hough and their eager cohorts from award-wining agencies ARC Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi, JWT, Lowe & Partners, McCann-Erickson and Naga DDB.



NOTABLE WINS BY AGENCY
(Click on link to view details)
JWT Interface
Bates Lowe & Partners
Arc Worldwide Naga DDB
BBDO Saatchi & Saatchi
TBWA Draft FCB
McCann Erickson M&C Saatchi

Growing Centre of Creative Excellence

Much can also be said about Malaysia’s world-class production values for TVCs. In fact, a few years ago, Malaysia won Best for Production Design at AdFest for Passion Pictures work on Malaysia Airlines. We have in our stable production shops like Passion, Pegasus, Carrot, PRS, Barney, Chilli Pepper, Filmpoint, Planet, Regional Films, Applebox, Axis, Black & White Films, A Plus and a host of new comers who are just raring to go. Jobs come from various markets: China, Philippines, India, the Middle East and even Korea (as in the case of A Plus). We also play a hub role for regional and international productions, most recently being the support for a worldwide shoot for global brands VISA and Shell.

One Malaysian spot, Toyota VIOS shot by Passion also made it as the first Malaysian TVC to win a Cannes Lion last year!



Malaysia’s Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC), a take on Silicon Valley, encourages free flow of ideas and convergence of technologies in the content age. Tax-free incentives, special-status permits for foreign talent and a government-supported industry initiative have all come forward to push Malaysia onto the world stage of creativity.

“Malaysian post production facilities are capable of producing work of international standards and have clientele from around the globe,” says Geoff Millichamp, President of POSTAM (Post-Production Association of Malaysia) who is very upbeat about the post-pro scene in Malaysia.

On the post production side the active players are Mfx, VHQ, APV, Twisted, Mirage, BaseCamp, and Liquid.

Geoff, who also runs post-house Mfx says, “In the last 12 months, more efforts by the government have been evident to promote content – specifically animation, games and long form content.”

The founder of Mfx, Moon Chan, adds with pride, “Mfx is the only Design, Animation & Effects House from Malaysia to be listed in Asia Image’s ‘Leading Asian Post facilities 2006’. This is the second consecutive year Mfx made the list. It’s with good reason it’s listed, as Mfx continues to win awards from all over the world.”



One of Mfx’s projects, Comfort Fabric Conditioner - "Cloth Speak" for Ogilvy & Mather, Mumbai is a finalist in the London International Awards for Computer Animation category. It’s the only entry from an Asian country to make the list and uses the latest in Syflex software to create realistic cloth simulations. The “actors” themselves are pieces of clothing, each with their own characteristics based on famous Bollywood characters. Produced over a number of months, this fully 3D film has had widespread acclaim and success in India.

Mfx’s WWF - Save the Tiger, another project commissioned by Ogilvy One Worldwide, Mumbai was the also screened at the 2006 Hiroshima Animation Festival in July. It was the only television commercial chosen from a truly international field of animation films, recognized for its creativity and animation skills.

Even universities and colleges specialising in marketing communications and its inherent technologies have helped springboard this creative thrust. IAA-backed schools like Institute of Advertising Communication Training (co-owned and run by the 4As and 2As), The One Academy, Limkokwing University (which now has a campus in London!), a Parsons Design institute and more, have delivered students capable of winning international advertising competitions for renowned brands over the years. Real work for eal clients. In fact, a Malaysian Student also got invited to D&AD in London this year to receive his accolade!

Advertisers in Malaysia has long known everything was available at their doorstep – from world-class creativity, cutting-edge strategies to best practice production values. Client like DHL, UPS, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble have developed, created and shot their work here in Malaysia. Unilever, for example, produce much of their ice-cream work out of Malaysia. What springs to mind immediately is Wall’s Selection TVC campaign titled "Macarena" and "Moo Everywhere" for Moo Sandwich, done by McCann Erickson Malaysia.

SOME HIGHLIGHTS:

McCann Erickson won every single major international award - Clio, Cannes, D&AD, London International Awards, One Show, Australasian Writers and Art Directors Association, AdFest, Asian Advertising Awards and Young Guns - as well as being rated in the Gunn Report’s top 20 for the most creative advertisement.

Y&R won London International Advertising Awards (nine awards), Cannes Lions (four awards), D&AD Global Awards (two awards), One Show (one award), Asian Advertising Awards (three awards), and Asia Pacific Advertising Awards (five awards). This year, Y&R Malaysia performed better than other regional offices, emerging as the best Y&R agency in Asia. The Malaysian agency also ranked just behind Y&R Chicago in terms of international awards, outdistancing Y&R offices in Milan, Mumbai, Frankfurt, Buenos Aires, and Beijing.

Lowe & Partners’ international award-winning print ad for the Land Rover Owners Club, called “Directions”, has been named the fourth most awarded print ad in the world for 2006, according to the recently released Gunn Report on global creative standards. It is the first time a Malaysian print ad has appeared in the modern Creative Top Ten worldwide rankings and follows unprecedented exposure for Lowe Malaysia, with “Directions” being awarded a Gold Lion at the Cannes International Advertising Festival, Silver at the Clio, Gold and Silver at the Asian Advertising Awards and two Silvers at Malaysia’s own Kancil Awards.

Linda Locke, this year’s Chairwoman of the Outdoor Lotus Awards


Linda Locke, this year’s Chairwoman of the Outdoor Lotus Awards, thinks Outdoor advertising is growing in a big way. “With the pressure for brands to stand out from the crowd, coupled with the increasing cost of media, I expect more clients to be willing to utilise the outdoor medium in fresh and exciting ways so as to create word-of-mouth buzz as a more cost-effective way of communicating,” she says.

In fact, Linda thinks Outdoor is becoming a very dynamic media regionally with Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Greater China and increasingly, Singapore doing some of the most dramatic work in Asia.

Australia and New Zealand, she says, have always used the medium to great effect.


She cites the examples of the most exciting work in Asia recently. “In Hong Kong, bus shelters created by the Society for Community Organisative have been used to house the $20 bills reflecting that that''s all it takes to house homeless people. In Singapore, pairs of legs were discovered poking out of dustbins in the business district encouraging people to reeducate themselves at Singapore Institute of Management. In Malaysia, giant straws for Arts & Earth warn people of the danger of pollution and fountains dramatically highlight the absorbency of Scott’s Kitchen Towels. In Thailand, a giant comb straddling the chaos of power lines dramatises the benefit of P&G''s Rejoice tangle free shampoo. And in Japan, NTT ‘Filled the city with questions’, she says.



These are all examples of how the outdoor market is growing with more innovation than ever before, she says. “Bus-stop shelters, LCD displays on barges plying the Shanghai Pudong river, whole buildings wrapped in cables that turn them into digital billboards, MRT tunnels turn into giant flip books, hanging grips on trams become ties, pillars become giant tea packs, pavements, lift doors, traffic lights, the sky, fountains - anything and everything becomes a medium in outdoors,” she says.

Linda, who recently judged the Crestas, Cannes Outdoors and the Kodak Gongs, doesn’t think that judging the AdFest will be much different from the other shows, “except that the geography will be contained to Asia Pacific.” She says, however, “I do hope though that the category will be clear as it was confusing judging in Cannes where point of sale and posters, ambient were all mixed up with outdoors.”

And what would she be looking out for? “My criteria will be – ‘It could only work in the outdoor medium''. It has to be fresh, innovative and really leverage the medium to bring alive the idea for the product or brand,” she says.

Piyush Pandey, executive chairman and national


Piyush Pandey, executive chairman and national creative director, O&M India, is all set to be a judge at the Asia Pacific Advertising Festival Awards, 2007. Pandey will be the Chairman of the Press Lotus.In an interview with agencyfaqs!, Pandey talks of print as a category, the scope for improvement in Indian advertising, and what's unique this time about judging at the Asia Pacific AdFest.

Q. Since you're no stranger to the AdFest (having judged it previously as well), perhaps, you can throw light on what's different this year in terms of categories, the judging process, or perhaps even the quality of entries from across the world.

A. The AdFest has evolved over the years and, after having studied all the international shows and their trends, I do not think that there is anything radically different in terms of the categories or processes followed by the AdFest. It is pretty robust anyway. As far as the entries are concerned, they are in the process of being received and it's a bit early in the day to make a comment on any pattern.

Over the last many years, Asia has been extremely strong and talented in print, and I look forward to an interesting week, judging along with the other eminent members of the jury. One significant thing about this year's jury chairmen is that they are all highly acclaimed individuals. They include the jury chairmen for the last three years from Cannes.

Q. How do you perceive print as a category and medium vis-a-vis the others?
A. Print is an interesting category and, just when you think that nothing more can be done with print, the fraternity has the ability to surprise you yet again. Compared to film, it is a less expensive medium and, therefore, a lot of creative people, including the very junior ones, get the opportunity to experiment and express themselves through print advertising. This makes creativity flourish year after year.



Q. On a comparative note, do you believe it's tougher to be creative in print than in other media?
A. I don't think one can compare media in terms of the degree of difficulty in creativity. Every medium is as easy or as difficult as the other, and print is no exception.

Q. What do you think are India's chances at the Ad Fest this year? What sort of entries are you expecting - the wacko, creative kind, or the more strategic ones?
A. I have never speculated on awards, therefore I'm not in a position to comment on India's chances. However, India is a fast emerging creative nation, and the Asian fraternity will have a lot of expectations from her. In my mind, what you termed 'wacko' vis-a-vis strategic ads is not something mutually exclusive. Every ad has to be strategic in its direction and creative in its expression.

Q. When comparing Indian print work to that from other countries, in what area do you think there's scope for us to improve, where do you think we're lagging behind? Alternatively, what is strong and distinct about India's print campaigns and which is a unique selling point in our favour?
A. India is never short of ideas and it's comparable to any other country in the world. However, Indian clients are still to get used to investing in print production the way other countries do. If there was a way to compare the cost of photography, illustration, and time spent, I think there a huge difference between India and many other countries. Yet it's on the back of great ideas that India has performed well from time to time. I look forward to many more such ideas this year, too.

First 50 Radio Entrants to AdFest invited


First 50 Radio Entrants to AdFest invited
to Tony Hertz’s Radio Workshop



HONG KONG, January 17, 2007 - Mr Jimmy Lam, Sub-committee Chairman of Speakers and Judges for the Asia Pacific Advertising Festival proudly announced the addition of a Radio Workshop conducted by highly-acclaimed radio guru Tony Hertz at AdFest 2007.

The informative half-day workshop titled “Radio for Art Directors” has limited places, and is by invitation only. At the workshop, Tony will coach creatives on what makes a good radio commercial, and how to bring that good commercial to greatness.




Tony is a highly-respected professional in the field of radio advertising, and is the Chairman of the first-ever Radio Lotus Awards. His passion for radio has spanned 34 years and 4 continents, and he is an award-winning CD and owner of his own Radio Creative/Production companies, Hertz: Radio and Other Clever Advertising Ltd. He was also on the first Cannes Radio Lions jury in 2005.

Early birds will get an exclusive invitation to this enriching workshop. The first 50 agencies or companies to submit their entries to the Radio Lotus Awards at AdFest 2007 will each get a ticket to attend this enriching workshop. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how to do great radio!

Jimmy Lam is Appointed President


Jimmy Lam is Appointed President of
the Asia Pacific Advertising Festival


BANGKOK, 1st February 2007 - With immediate effect, Mr. Jimmy Lam, previously Sub-Committee Chairman of Speakers and Judges, has been promoted to President of the AdFest Working Committee, with overall responsibility for operational activities and for driving AdFest to become the unsurpassed industry event in Asia Pacific.

Jimmy has been instrumental in the development of AdFest, right from the initial conceptual stage through to its emergence as the largest creative awards and industry forum in Asia Pacific.

Vinit Suraphongchai, chairman for the event praised Jimmy as the creative powerhouse between the development of the Lotus Awards and the instigator of alliances between creative and production industries. “He has been an active and tireless member of the team that has built AdFest, sparing what little time he could from his regular Agency work. As with all award-winning creative work, AdFest is 10% idea creation and 90% hard work. Without Jimmy, the festival would be half the size it has become.”



Says Jimmy Lam, “I am honoured to accept the position of president and see great opportunities to develop ideas and involve more people from the Asia Pacific creative industries. As a catalyst for creative development in the region, both within and between different sectors, AdFest has no equal”.

After graduating in 1976 from Hong Kong Baptist University, majoring in Communication, Jimmy started as a Chinese copywriter in Hong Kong and rose through the ranks to Creative Director, and then Executive Creative Director & CEO of multi-national agencies.

Within his 30 years of creative experience, he took a sabbatical of four years to fulfill a dream to be a TV commercial film director before returning to become Regional Executive Creative Director of D’Arcy Asia Pacific and Chairman of D’Arcy Asia Pacific. Three years after his creative leadership D’Arcy Asia Pacific jumped up from the15th to the 8th most awarded agency networks at the 2002 Creative Ranking by Campaign Brief Asia Magazine.

He is currently Creative Advisor to Dentsu Asia and Dentsu Inc and Publisher & Editor of the Longyin Review, the creative show case magazine devoted to Chinese language advertising.

As well as being a pivotal member of the AdFest Working Committee, Jimmy also initiated the Long Xi Worldwide Chinese Creative Awards in 1998.

Look out for the Remarkable Five at AdFest 2007


BANGKOK, February 07, 2007 – Look out for the Remarkable Five at AdFest 2007. For the third year running, the Japan Association of TV Commercial Production Companies (JAC) has invited five young directors from the region to create a short film each for an exclusive screening at the AdFest.

Each film is about 5 minutes long, and is built loosely around the year’s AdFest theme. This year’s theme is “Turning 10”. In previous years, 2006 and 2005, the themes were “What’s next” and “Fear no change” respectively. AdFest has seen a very interesting diversity in the films created through the years, as a result of each director’s cultural background and individual perspective.

The film screenings are part of JAC’s Speakers Session, which have always been immensely popular at the AdFest and played to a full house. At AdFest, the five directors of the year will share their insights - the whys and hows - on their films.

This year, the five directors are Ms. Kyoko Funakoshi from Japan, Ms. Samantha Scott-Blackhall from Singapore, Ms. Marian Basa from the Philippines, Mr. Rezaur R Khan Piplu from Bangladesh, and Mr. Ben Fisher from New Zealand.



The organizers of AdFest feel strongly that creative support industries such as print and film production contribute to the event. It has been instrumental in forging strong relationships with production houses and industry associations around Asia Pacific. This has enabled AdFest to become a focal point for inspirational developments such as the Young Directors Reel, where five directors that are new to the business are asked to develop a short film on a given theme.

2007 will feature as the 10th Asia Pacific Advertising Festival; a significant year, and one where the best creative work from every corner of the Asian advertising community will be celebrated.

The JAC Speakers session will be held at AdFest 2007, which takes place from 13-17 March 2007 at PEACH, The Royal Cliff Beach Resort in Pattaya, Thailand. For registration and entry details, please visit www.adfestawards.org.

Young Lotuses battle


Young Lotuses battle it out
at creative competition


Bangkok, 21 February 2007 (AdoiMagazine.com) - Mr Jimmy Lam, President of the Asia Pacific Advertising Festival, proudly announced the 4th Young Lotus Competition. With this competition, AdFest seeks to recognize and encourage the rising stars in the region and offer creative young blood a chance to earn a winning place on the AdFest stage.

The Young Lotuses are made up of national champions from Asia, who will work in partner-teams under a select group of “trainers”, collectively called the Young Lotus Workshop Committee. This year, the Young Lotus Workshop is run by BBDO, and chaired by Suthisak Sucharittanonta, Chief Creative Officer, BBDO Bangkok.

The Workshop takes place over two or two and half days prior to AdFest itself. This includes a full day of speaker sessions by industry heavyweights; Simon Bond, Proximity Asia; Alex Lim, BBDO Singapore; David Guerrero BBDO Guerrero/Ortega; Suthisak Sucharittanonta, BBDO Bangkok and Chris Thomas, BBDO Asia Pacific, who will speak on topics from Art Direction, to Advertising in a New Environment. After that, the partner-teams will spend 24 gruelling hours working on a real brief, which will be judged by the Young Lotus Workshop Committee.

The winning team will be announced at the AdFest and will be presented with an award on stage. The winning works will also be exhibited during the event.

The Young Lotus Competition is renowned for polishing and refining the gold potential that is inherent in talented young creatives. It creates an environment that allows them to develop skills and learn from award-winning creative directors/gurus and sharpen their talents so they can compete in the lively atmosphere of AdFest. With the confidence they have acquired from this competition, Young Lotuses have gone on to win awards at other shows in the region and internationally.

AdFest launches online magazine


AdFest launches online magazine, ‘adfestbuzz’
Advertising Festival (AdFest) recently launched ‘adfestbuzz’, a portal that would serve as a unique platform for ad lovers in Asia Pacific to connect with AdFest. (Advertising Festival, 10 Oct 06 20:52)
The media partners for this website include agencyfaqs.com (India), Modern Ad (Beijing), Longyin Review (Hong Kong), CM Journal (Japan), Adoi (KL/JKT), AdInformation (Korea), Adobo (the Philippines) and ADM (Taiwan) to help develop editorial content.


‘Ad News That Really Matters In Asia Pacific’ is the slogan of this online magazine. The aim of the website would be to enhance the awareness of AdFest in the Asian Pacific region.


‘adfestbuzz’ would focus on attracting key decision-makers and influencers in the advertising agencies, marketers from multi-national and local companies in the region as well as non-creatives including brand consultants, researchers, headhunters, strategic planners, media professionals, PR and direct marketers.


It is must be noted here that 2007 will witness the 10th anniversary of AdFest and the launch of ‘adfestbuzz’ comes hand-in-hand with this event.


One of the important purposes of the website is to announce the latest developments of AdFest 2007. It shall cover news concerning award categories, judges, speakers and the programme details and arrangements of AdFest 2007.


It would also feature interviews of ex-judges, speakers of AdFest and upcoming young creative stars who participated in Young Lotus Workshop held by AdFest.


Jimmy Lam, chairman, sub-committee for speakers and judges, and publisher, ‘adfestbuzz’ says, “We hope that ‘adfestbuzz’ can act as a bridge to allow advertising, production and marketing people in our industry to keep in constant contact. ‘adfestbuzz’ is unparalleled as it utilises the strength of AdFest, which is a successful ad awards event, as a magnet to attract those ad lovers.”


According to Lam, the primary target audience of ‘adfestbuzz’ is creative people including creative directors, copywriters, art directors, film directors, producers, editors, photographers, designers and interactive professionals.


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Disclaimer: If you have any questions regarding information in this press releases please contact Advertising Festival. Please do not contact Myadbase, we will be unable to assist you with your inquiry.

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Runner-up spot goes to Beijing


Tokyo team wins Young Lotus Award after workshop moderated by BBDO Asia Pacific

Runner-up spot goes to Beijing, a close second.

The 4 th Young Lotus Workshop at AdFest 2007 was moderated by BBDO Asia Pacific and attended by twenty-eight young creatives from fourteen countries, including Bangkok, Beijing, Colombo, Dhaka, Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Mumbai, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo.


The fourteen national teams presented their creative ideas to the BBDO team, which then voted in a secret ballot to short-list seven Young Lotus entries. The winning commercial was from Team Tokyo, with Beijing a close runner-up and Manila also a finalist.

Suthisak Sucharittanonta , chairman & CCO, BBDO Bangkok and David Guerrero, chairman & CCO, BBDO Guerrero/Ortega Manila said, “We were looking for a fresh idea and great crafting skills were an added bonus. The winning entry showed an astonishing level of craft and had a clear, single-minded idea with a surprising twist at the end.”

The judging panel and workshop moderating team included Chris Thomas - Chairman & CEO BBDO Asia Pacific, Suthisak Sucharittanonta - Chairman & CCO, BBDO Bangkok, David Guerrero - Chairman & CCO, BBDO Guerrero/Ortega and Simon Bond - Regional Director, Proximity Asia, Andy Wilson – Regional Planning Director. BBDO Asia Pacific and Farouk Madden – Executive Creative Director, BBDO Singapore.

The participants were assigned a real brief, “You can do good things in Pattaya”. They were introduced to the Office of the Mayor of Pattaya City, who provided background to the brief. The teams were then asked to produce a TV commercial using the latest Nokia N931 mobile phone and video camera, which answered the brief.


David Guerrero explained the concept. “The Nokia N93i is at the cutting edge of today’s digital age. We wanted to give Young Lotus the chance to make consumer-generated content and at the same time, make a real-time film of how they achieved it.” As part of the exercise, each national creative team was given a N93i phone and told to go out and get footage in Pattaya City to edit into their commercial.

Fourteen independent cameramen were used - one for each team – to video the entire creative process. Delegates at AdFest could watch the story unfold as the edited highlights were revealed each day. This is the first time this has been attempted at AdFest.


Chris Thomas, chairman and CEO of BBDO Asia Pacific said, “The real task for each team was to recognize ‘Brand Pattaya’, identify the positives for the resort and build a compelling argument to convince tourists to come”.

Suthisak Sucharittanonta was impressed with the level of technical skill shown by the Young Lotus contenders. “The teams filmed their own footage and then edited and crafted a commercial from the results, without any help from professionals. The exercise shows how fast digital media is advancing and advertising skills are changing.”

The exercise has proved to be a great training tool. The edited film will be given to the participants as a memento and used to promote Young Lotus at AdFest in the future.

Young Lotus Workshop is part of AdFest’s long-term commitment to provide a learning forum for the creative industries of Asia Pacific and is conducted every year. Participants are selected by national advertising associations. The workshop and attendance of participants is funded by AdFest.

For further information : Jimmy Lam, President
AdFest Working Committee
Tel. (084) 599 7576
Email: jimmy@longyinreview.com
Sara Fielding, International PR
AdFest Working Committee
Tel. (083) 113 4920
Email: sarafie@hotmail.com