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.
