DIARY: All you need to know about ... the "IT" creatives of Asia

Who is Asia's "it" creative person, the spark who lights up the regional campaigns? Apparently the wannabe list is inches long. Singapore Quite a toss-up in this town. There's Matt Cullen and Gary Tranter, soon to be ex-Batey Ads. Since they're bound for Hong Kong in June, it will take the pair out of the running and leave the field open to FCB's Eric Yeo or Sion Scott Wilson, a newcomer at Saatchi & Saatchi, who's no doubt expected to fill the large shoesleft by David Droga. Ho Chi Minh City Richard Irvine and K.C. Arriwong, former CDs at Leo Burnett Vietnam, and Mike Sands, ex-Saatchi & Saatchi, are the names being tossed about. Why? They've apparently had the most influence on pumping up creativity in this town. Tokyo Yoshimitsu Sawamoto of Dentsu who scooped up the 2000 Creative Director of the Year by JAAA (Japan Advertising Agencies Association) and was also selected its "2000 Creator or the Year". Nothing like an award to cement one's credentials. Taipei The vote goes to Albert Huang, who nurtured his creative spark at JWT and O&M before starting his own business - Simply Ads. Huang's public service campaign for a hospital in Taiwan reportedly drew plenty of public attention. Manila Melvin Mangada, who recently jumped ship to add his name to Santiago & Puno after 14 years at his first company Ace-Saatchi, is a clear favourite in this town. He's relatively young, has plenty of awards and is entrepreneurial to boot. Hong Kong A very limited selection here. Paul Chan of BBDO came up tops.

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