ANALYSIS: Advertising - Asia rises up in the Gunn rankings. Asia's hopes of moving up the creative ladder lies with its biggest markets, China and India. By Alfred Hille

<p>That the West continued to dominate the third annual Gunn Report </p><p>comes as no surprise to the industry. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The United States and Britain put in a particularly strong performance </p><p>in the 'Most Awarded Commercials' and 'Most Awarded Print Ads' </p><p>categories of Donald Gunn's annual measurement of advertising agency </p><p>creativity worldwide. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But a pleasant surprise this year - this amid complaints that creative </p><p>standards are faltering in Asia as budgets head south - the region did </p><p>manage to grab some of the limelight. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Dentsu Japan emerged as agency of the year after grabbing top honours at </p><p>two pan-Asian shows - media magazine's Asian Advertising Awards and the </p><p>AdFest - as well as sweeping almost 60 per cent of the prizes at the </p><p>ACC, Japan's top advertising show. The world's agency Goliath also </p><p>turned in a strong performance at major international shows, including </p><p>Clio, One Show, New York Art Director's Club and Cannes, where it won </p><p>three Print Lions. One of the campaigns, which gave Dentsu a leg up was </p><p>its Bun-En Smoke Filter System television spot. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Leo Burnett, meanwhile, knocked off last year's winner BBDO to grab the </p><p>agency network of the year accolade, a feat made possible by significant </p><p>contributions from a number of its Asia-Pacific offices - Bangkok, Hong </p><p>Kong, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo and Sydney. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The results underlined the point that size is an important factor for </p><p>success. It was a fact that was not lost on Gunn - the former director </p><p>of worldwide creative resources at Leo Burnett - who commented: "Dentsu </p><p>is, of course, by far the biggest advertising agency in the world and, </p><p>therefore, do the most ads." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Ditto for the world's big-spending advertising economies of the US and </p><p>the UK. Bates Asia-Pacific executive creative director, Aris </p><p>Theophilakis, adds: "Being the biggest market and with a significant </p><p>number of agency professionals at a certain level and above, America has </p><p>a greater chance than any other nation of winning more awards. At major </p><p>international shows, it might have 1,500 entries compared with other </p><p>countries, which might have less than 150 submissions in total." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But by extrapolating the size argument, it could be debated that over </p><p>time Asia has only one direction to go - up. And the region's hopes are </p><p>pinned on two countries: China and India. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Memorable Asian campaigns highlighted in the Gunn Report were Saatchi & </p><p>Saatchi's Unicef TVCs, titled 'Someone Else's Child', in China, Ogilvy & </p><p>Mather's Cancer Patient's Aid Association, 'the Journey' commercial in </p><p>India and Euro RSCG's Swipe Miracle Cleaner promotion, 'Emperor of </p><p>Kowloon' in Hong kong. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But according to the region's top creatives, China holds the key. Leo </p><p>Burnett China/Hong Kong chairman and executive creative director, Eddie </p><p>Booth, says: "With Beijing now a member of the World Trade Organisation, </p><p>we'll see more quality ads. Adspend increases are likely to continue to </p><p>grow strongly and that will increase the number of ads coming out of the </p><p>country, from companies advertising internally to those looking at </p><p>foreign expansion, and that will increase its odds of winning more." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Bates' Theophilakis notes: "China is not quite there yet, but it is </p><p>becoming increasingly sophisticated. This is driven by client </p><p>expectation for greater insight that will set them apart from the </p><p>competition within an environment where competition is intensifying. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"With WTO, it will cause agencies to strive for the best." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The sentiment is underlined by the fact that India was the 19th most </p><p>awarded country this year, according to the Gunn Report, one place </p><p>better than last year. China, which did not figure in the rankings at </p><p>all in the past two years, jumped to 23rd spot. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Other notable Asian achievements included Bangkok's Matching Studio </p><p>making it to the fifth most awarded production company in the world. </p><p>Tohokushinsha Film in Tokyo and The Film Factory in Hong Kong and </p><p>Bangkok, held 10th and 11th places respectively. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In addition, Suthon Petchsuwan of Thailand was the best-performing </p><p>advertising director in Asia, with a ranking of fourth in the world. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Overall, the Fox Sports TV/NBA ad, created and developed by Cliff </p><p>Freeman & Partners, was the most awarded commercial in the world. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The print category was taken by Volkswagen and its agency Arnold </p><p>Worldwide for the third year running. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>THE GUNN REPORT 2001 - HOW AGENCIES STACK UP </p><p>Category Winner </p><p>TV Campaign of the Year Fox Sports/NBA Campaign "Utah"/ </p><p> "San Antonio"/"LA" etc. </p><p>Print Ad or Campaign of the Year Volkswagen of America "Jumper"/ </p><p> "Lettuce Girl"/"Bulls"/ </p><p> "Bee Man" etc. </p><p>Country of the Year USA </p><p>Advertiser of the Year Volkswagen </p><p>Production Company of the Year Partizan (New York & London) </p><p>Director of the Year Traktor (Sweden & USA) </p><p>Agency of the Year Dentsu (Japan) </p><p>Agency Network of the Year Leo Burnett </p><p><BR><BR> </p>