Diary: M&C on fire with big spectacle at HK4As awards spectacular

Surely this was taking our criticism of its call for entries a little too much to heart? Thankfully, we soon found out that the two events were unconnected and it was instead M&C Saatchi's attempt to 'Make Some Noise', as per the theme for this year's awards.

For any worried souls out there, the flaming spectacle passed off without incident, and was not caused by an adverse reaction involving M&C's Thierry Halbroth and peroxide hair dye. Rather, the HK4As creative committee asked several agencies to come up with a one-minute video illustrating the 'Make Some Noise' theme. While M&C chose to showcase its entry - 'M&C Saatchi on Fire on 05' - on stage, a number of others went the video route. The undoubted highlight may well have been Publicis Asia's Shaun Branagan, displaying a definite understanding of noise - if not tune - in an elegant didgeridoo solo.

Another Publicis type making some noise is regional chairman Guillaume Levy-Lambert. Not content with making two speeches at Media's Agency of the Year (AOY) awards, Levy-Lambert clearly felt compelled to take things further after being named Regional Agency Head of the Year. Accordingly, he took out a full page ad in the Straits Times, running a letter from his executive assistant to the PA of Singapore Airlines' CEO.

Flushed with success, Levy-Lambert informs Chew Choon Seng that he has been a "loyal and very happy Solitaire PPS member for more than 10 years," and that he has "some exciting and wonderful business ideas" he would like to share with him. Unfortunately, the attempt was rebuffed by an SIA spokesman, proving that the curse of the AOY awards is alive and well.