PRIVATE VIEW: Geoff Naus

Now that all us gweilos have recovered from flying virgin spit and

the horror of having plastic chicken feet waved at us by manic Hong Kong

writers and art directors, it's time to get back to work. So here

goes:

This is a goodlooking, compelling collection of print ads for the Army

Recruitment Centre in Singapore. But I wonder about the premise. Perhaps

I've watched Platoon too many times but I imagine that those considering

joining an armed force, even if it's in the kitchen detail, would want

to view themselves, deep down, as warriors. But this campaign begins to

blur the line between the army and the Red Cross. Doctors and nurses may

tend to the weak, but soldiers protect countries. Two very different

states of mind. So the question is, how will would-be warriors react to

a campaign that appeals to their sensitive, nurturing side? I have my

doubts. On second thoughts, maybe it's not a bad thing for armies to

start recruiting soldiers who don't want to fight wars.

Nice directing. Nice editing. Nice wolf. But as I followed the hero

couple through all the crumbling bits and pieces of Hong Kong's

murderous cityscape, a strange thing happened: I started to feel that

living in a place where buildings shed their unwanted bits on top of

people's heads could actually be darkly exciting. A sort of urban

Russian roulette. Hell, it might be dangerous, but it's a sure-fire way

to get a pretty girl to hold your hand. I enjoyed this commercial for

the Hong Kong Government's Buildings Department. Perhaps I shouldn't

have.

Simplicity is something that's sexy to talk about, tough to do. I give

this Refresh campaign full marks for shedding the unnecessary, and my

gut tells me it'll probably be effective as hell. But how simple should

simple be? Slapstick is fun and it gets your attention, but on its own

it can wear out real fast. When that happens, it's simply annoying. Call

me greedy, but I expected a little surprise at the end of each spot, if

for no other reason than to be rewarded for surviving the manic product

assault. I smiled when I saw these spots for the first time. I wonder if

I'll still smile when I see them for the 20th time.

In one of the TVCs for Prudential Unit Trusts I'm shown a yacht at sea

and I'm asked: "What do you see?" Well, I see a yacht at sea. And maybe

a voyage to exotic places. And a horizon that promises me endless

freedom.

But I'm obviously quite retarded in the "what do I see" department

because, just then, the answer pops up and tells me that maybe what I'm

actually seeing is "a market for solar powered vehicles". Now I'm lost.

I thought they were talking to me. And then at the end, I find out that

while I'm seeing these markets for solar powered vehicles, Prudential is

busy seeing opportunities in the world of unit trusts. I know nothing

about unit trusts.

And now I never will ...

Ah, the trusty "unexpected items wrapped in pages from the client's

newspaper/magazine" idea. Currently or recently used in Asia by a

leading financial magazine, I think. But I'm not putting down this work

for the Print Advertising Organisation of the Philippines (PRADO). I

like this incarnation a lot. It's simple, classic and strong. And it

single-mindedly gets across the idea that newspapers will stimulate my

thinking, my knowledge and, hopefully, my colleagues into thinking I'm a

pretty smart guy. So what if it's not a new idea - if it hasn't been

used in the Philippines before, it'll get noticed. Hey, if every ad had

to be 100 per cent original, there wouldn't be a column like this.

How does one write a hundred words about an idea that says it all

without using a word? Apparently Laforet Harajuku is an edgy collection

of boutiques in Japan, This poster makes me want to check it out. It's

as simple as that.

1. ARMY RECRUITMENT CENTRE

Project: Army Recruitment

Client: Army Recruitment Centre, Singapore Government

Brief: To highlight the fact that the Singapore Army has been actively

involved in overseas humanitarian missions and United Nations

peacekeeping activities.

Agency: Mandate Advertising International

Creative director: Paul Hume

Copywriter: Cecil Hamilton

Art director: Eric Chow

2. BUILDINGS DEPARTMENT

Project: Buildings Department

Client: Hong Kong Government's Buildings Department

Brief: To alert people to the dangers of not maintaining buildings

properly

Agency: PMP

Creative director: David Wong

Copywriter: Vincent Tse

Art director: Iris Sam

Production House: Cinetech

3. REFRESH

Project: Smoking Room, Motorbike, Shoes

Client: Unilever

Brief: For Unilever Indonesia's "Refresh" odour removing product

Agency: BBH

Creative director: Steve Elrick

Copywriter: Todd Waldron

Art director: Kelly Pon

Production House: Renaissance Film Singapore

4. PRUDENTIAL

Project: We See Opportunity

Client: Prudential Unit Trusts

Brief: To launch Prudential Unit Trusts in Singapore

Agency: Leo Burnett, Singapore

Creative directors: Linda Locke, Tay Guan Hin, Alex Shipley

Copywriter: Alex Shipley

Art director: Sachin Ambekar

Production House: Moviola

5. PRADO

Client: PRADO

Agency: DDB Philippines

Brief: To encourage people, especially the younger generation, to read

more

Creative director: Roger Pe

Copywriter: Roger Pe

Art director: Rhio Vargas

Production House: Calypso Makati

6.LAFORET HARAJUKU

Project: Laforet Grand Bazaar Summer Sale

Client: Laforet Harajuku

Brief: To announce the start of a sale on clothes for kids and teenagers

Agency: Dentsu

Creative director: Yuji Tokuda

Art director: Yuji Tokuda

Production House: Taki Corporation