She described the advertising industry in its entirety as being of less importance than pornographers; the British of being "greedy and horny" and people of "the land of the sinking sun and Malaysians as "a gentle race who like to eat, shag and eat and shag a lot.
It was a great spin. The audience who had been suffering under a presentation that had run more than a little dry for most - 15 people had already left mid-seminar before Yasmin came on - became riveted to their seats as the presentation skipped from one rude joke to outrageous political statement after another delivered in accents, which ranged from the highest 'Queen's English' to northern English 'Brummy'.
By the end of the hour-long presentation, Yasmin received a near standing ovation from her ad industry peers whilst the European and Asian press jostled for position to broadcast interviews live on French, Belgian and German TV. Invited to present at AdAsia India, Yasmin was subsequently invited to also be one of the Cannes jurors for next year.
Although Cannes figures were down this year, entrants from Asia are rising and involvement from Asian creatives is expected to increase amid ever-growing competition. This year saw an estimated US$1.7 million spent by the region for entries to Cannes alone and the amount of work making the short list from Asia has risen substantially. A total of 698 pieces of work in print made it to the short list and the region is currently celebrating a haul of 39 awards, including golds picked up by Lowe, Ogilvy & Mather and Wow Rapp Collins as well as a Grand Prix Media Lion, which was snared by the Sydney office of Universal McCann.
Significantly, of the 18 print awards which the region picked up, 14 came from Saatchi and Saatchi offices in Asia-Pacific capping a successful year for the network, which culminated in the Cannes Agency of the Year Award going to the London office. Led by ex-Singapore based creative director, David Droga, and ex-New Zealand based CEO, James Hall, Saatchis' London is the only operation to have a previous non-London experienced CD and CEO team at the helm.
This year may not be proving to be Burnett's best in terms of creative achievement. However, the industry is becoming increasingly driven by a global financial imperative that must increase involvement from Asian creatives at international award bodies like Cannes.
So Yasmin - outspoken, rude, witty, charming, intelligent and irreverent - heralds a significant change in the industry.
Yasmin, a devout ad woman, presented the work she is best known for - the Malaysian oil company, Petronas. A series of TVC campaigns which has been produced over the past eight years, it has taken on a unique role in Malaysian society and is considered among the great advertising works of Asia.
The work carries a strong anti-racist message and is unashamedly nationalistic.
While Yasmin's Asian Diversity presentation may well have shocked and entertained the audience, however, underlying this was a focused address to the advertising industry about how "sentimental story-telling sells, whether the creative standards are being acknowledged by international award bodies. Of the many things Petronas' advertising is, it is not by any account, a conceptually complicated work.
By and large, it is straightforward, but of high production value.
Yasmin describes them as sentimental: social vignettes with a moral.
Others refer to their nationalism and some go further and describe them as propaganda. In Malaysia, people say that Yasmin has a direct line to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad; unperturbed, she denies this though says she can understand why people might think it so.
Yasmin makes no bones at all of what she and the Petronas advertising is about: "I have a theory that, if the world were as sentimental as the people of Malaysia, perhaps it would not be in as much trouble as it is today. Instead of selling oil, or making empty promises about saving frogs and trees, they (Petronas) advocate humanitarian behaviour, respect for the culture of others, racial harmony, compassion, and humility.
"If I could sum up the spirit of Malaysia in one sentence, it would be this: it is that place where differences are not just tolerated, but embraced."
