ANALYSIS: Tigers in search of Lions - Asia-Pacific agencies are keeping fingers crossed ahead of the Cannes Ad Festival this month, in the hope that they'll be able to bring home more of the coveted

<p>There was a general feeling of excitement at this year's Best of the </p><p>Best Awards in Hong Kong, as Ogilvy Mumbai's anti-smoking ad 'The </p><p>Journey' made everyone sit up and take notice of the potential of </p><p>India's creative scene. There were a lot of good ideas on display that </p><p>night, prompting one industry journalist to call the work on show </p><p>"explosive, exciting, fresh and a match for the best creative work </p><p>anywhere in the world". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Next week, at the 48th Cannes International Advertising Festival, we </p><p>will find out if the work can live up to the words. While Asia-Pacific </p><p>agencies can impress us at home, do they have what it takes to bring </p><p>home some of the 2001 Lions? </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Last year, the region's agencies won 17 Lions, including two gold ones, </p><p>which were scooped by Results (an Ogilvy & Mather subsidiary) for a </p><p>Tobasco sauce ad in Thailand and O&M Singapore for its Scrabble </p><p>TVCs. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>To get an idea of the odds for agencies here winning it big this year, </p><p>media spoke with a few of the jurists who will be representing the </p><p>region at the festival next week. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>One thing is clear: if Asia's creative work is to stand out in the world </p><p>arena, it won't do so with multi-million dollar special effects or </p><p>international stars. As every creative director in the region knows all </p><p>too well, agencies here are nearly always forced to compete for </p><p>significantly smaller budgets than their counterparts in America and </p><p>Europe. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"One concern I have is that advertising tends to reflect the level of </p><p>energy created by a country's or a region's economic power," observes </p><p>Jun Fujishima, creative director at Dentsu Tokyo (Media Lions Jury). But </p><p>a poor budget is a poor excuse for failing to take home awards, as he is </p><p>quick to point out. "The answer to the budget problem is simply great </p><p>creative ideas." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"A bold idea," says Joji Kashu, vice-president and senior creative </p><p>director McCann-Erickson Japan (Press & Poster Jury), "reaches beyond </p><p>budgets and borders." Lots of money will never be a substitute for a </p><p>good creative team, agrees Christopher Jones, creative director - </p><p>Interactive at Sydney's Euro RSCG Interaction (Cyber Lion Jury). "Good </p><p>creative directors should be able to shine even with limited dollars to </p><p>play with." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>David Guerrero, the head of Manila's BBDO/Guerrero Ortega and a Cannes </p><p>regular for the last five years, believes that low budgets may actually </p><p>be an advantage when it comes to developing good creative, as it forces </p><p>agencies to "make more use of our everyday surroundings and locations </p><p>which can look fresh and interesting when seen from outside our </p><p>region". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>This approach of looking closer to home for inspiration is one that </p><p>Bhanu Inkawat, chairman and ECD of Leo Burnett Bangkok (Film Jury), </p><p>believes creates the best campaigns. "The Japanese really started us </p><p>thinking with their ads that had a strong Japanese flavour. They made </p><p>agencies in other Asian countries think, 'Can we do something like </p><p>this?' Not to copy the Japanese ideas, but to look closely at our own </p><p>culture for inspiration and ways to connect with our own audience." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>So what will these jurists be looking for? Bhanu, who also sat on a jury </p><p>at the last Clio festival, says that despite all the theories and books, </p><p>judging a good ad comes down to a gut feeling. "It's a process you're </p><p>doing Monday through Friday at work, but when you're at an awards show, </p><p>there are so many great ideas that it's difficult. When you sit through </p><p>six or seven thousand commercials, you look for something that really </p><p>speaks to your soul." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Chris Jones describes a similar approach. "I like ads that make an </p><p>emotional connection with the viewer. You watch the ad and say 'I know </p><p>that feeling'. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The art direction can be very simple. It's the humanity, the slice of </p><p>real life aspect, which appeals to me. I love lush productions. But does </p><p>the execution have a heart and soul?" </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>So where will those soul-striking ideas come from? The jurists can't </p><p>agree. Most picked Thailand, Singapore and Japan as the Asian </p><p>favourites, with China and India close behind. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Joji Kashu has a hunch that Korea will show off some good stuff this </p><p>year. "Korean agencies have been noticeable lately. The Korean economy </p><p>is doing well, and we've seen some strong work in the entertainment area </p><p>- movies, music, plays, things that are a bit more lively. I'd expect </p><p>that to have an effect on the ad industry." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But Chris Jones is more prosaic when he sums up his expectations: "I </p><p>haven't seen any brilliant work in Asia in the past year." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Yet most of the jurists agree that Asia-Pacific agencies will draw some </p><p>serious attention. And even if that doesn't happen, all is not lost. The </p><p>important thing, Fujishima says, is to have a good time. "I've attended </p><p>AdFest and the Clio Awards, but this is the first time for me to sit on </p><p>a jury at an international competition. I'm looking forward to meeting </p><p>judges from other countries, and hopefully enchanting them with </p><p>Asia." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Even if you don't win, you can still admire and learn from some great </p><p>work," Guerrero says. "Of course, it hurts if you don't at least get </p><p>some work on the shortlist. But then again, you're in the south of </p><p>France in the middle of June, so there's a limit to how bad things can </p><p>be." </p><p><BR><BR> </p>