Never mind that clients are chopping and hoarding budgets. Never
mind that ad sales have hit the floor and are unlikely to scale last
year's lofty heights for a long time to come.
It's that time of the year again when the media industry can behave
publicly the way we presume it does privately the rest of the year.
Check out back issues of media if you're new to the antics of Hong
Kong's media and advertising set. Yes, we're speaking of the SOPA Ball,
or as it should be renamed, the Sodom and Gomorrah bash. This year's
theme is Bollywood, after Bombay's over-the-top movie-making
machine.
But it's The Economist team, led by Rupert Harrow - how does he manage
to look dashing even if he's wearing what appears to be a woman's
sari?
- that has the head's up on SOPA. Their CD invitation for the November
10 gala is something of a mini Bollywood production. Harrow has roped in
ad industry mates - from OMD's turbanned Mike Cooper and Euro RSCG's
David Morgan to M&C Saatchi's Ian Thubron incarnated as Durga, the
multi-arm goddess - in starring roles.
Then again, no one would ever accuse Harrow of doing things by
halves.
On a recent outing, we hear the man bounded up Kota Kinabalu in a flash
and then proceeded to mark his territory.
