Feature... Creative Rankings 2007

Creative Juice’s Bangkok Insurance TV work wowed juries the world over last year, bagging gold at Cannes and Clios, and silver at One Show. A silver at this year’s Spikes, a good primer for Asian success at this year’s global shows, underlines that the creative spark remains bright. Other Thai agencies were far from idle however, with the likes of JEH United and Ogilvy also bulwarking Thailand’s reputation with repeated trips to the stage.
 

Nevertheless this was more than just Thailand’s year, with creatives working in Australia and Singapore also making their presence felt globally, with New Zealand and Japan not far behind. JWT, Ogilvy & Mather and Saatchi & Saatchi lay claim to the greatest geographical coverage in our list, with creatives from five different markets for each agency making the grade. On the whole, network success in our chart is highly dependent on stellar performances from individual offices however. Over two-thirds of the points accumulated by Saatchi & Saatchi creatives were from Singapore for example, while standout performances by TBWA offices in New Zealand and Thailand were enough to propel it into the number two slot for network performance.
 

Similarly the Australian offices for Lowe and Y&R — Lowe Hunt and George Patterson Y&R respectively — ensured both did well in terms of awards. It hasn’t necessarily been a good year for both offices however, with much of the creative team who crafted the winning work having moved on. They are now by no means alone. Over a third of the creatives in our top 100 have since left the network they won with. Awards give creatives profile and bargaining power, as well as the chance to go it alone. Creative success is at once a cause for celebration and a never-ending challenge for agencies, to ensure creativity continues undiminished year after year.
 

=1 Jon Chalermwong (pictured)
Associate creative director
Creative JuiceG1 Thailand
 

Rising from sixth spot last year, Jon Chalermwong’s star is shining even brighter, now sharing the top spot with Creative Juice team-mate Prangthip Praditpong.Starting his career as an art director at local Thai agency Single Mind Jon has progressed through some of Thailand’s most successful creative shops, working at Saatchi & Saatchi, Lowe and BBDO before arriving at Creative JuiceG1 Bangkok, currently home to some of Asia’s best creative talent. Jon says his advertising career only really took flight after meeting Ketchai Papronsil at Saatchis, now a film director at production house Phenomena Bangkok, a mentor and friend who gave him a whole new perspective on advertising.
Continuing a stellar 2005, Jon’s work continued to dazzle in 2006, winning golds at Cannes and Clios, several Bests at BAD, and silver gongs at One Show, AdFest, AWARD and the Spikes.

=1 Prangthip Praditpong
Creative director
Creative JuiceG1 Thailand

Crediting Suthisak Sucharittanonta,  BBDO Bangkok’s highly respected chairman and chief creative officer, as her mentor, Prangthip cultivated her talent for five years at BBDO Bangkok, working with the likes of Suthisak, Anurak Junsanji and Thirasak Tanapatanakul before transferring to Creative JuiceG1 three years ago. Having gained global acclaim with work for Tamiya Assembly Toys that hit the top of the Gunn Report’s chart of most awarded print ads in 2005, Prangthip’s creative efforts in 2006 have further bolstered her status in the industry, most notably for a series of TV ads for Bangkok Insurance that took Cannes and Clios gold, and silver at One Show. Award-winning work for Teleinfo Media, Wrangler and Yellow Pages, locally, regionally and globally, buoyed her to the top spot. A silver at this year’s Spikes meanwhile, for a Bangkok Life Insurance TV campaign promises to mark out another successful year ahead.
 

3 Richard Copping
Head of art
Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore
 

Born on the tiny Ascension Island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, and having lived in the West Indies and the Arabian Gulf, Richard Copping studied graphic design in the UK, working as a graphic designer in London before taking up an art director post at JWT. He relocated to Singapore seven years ago, working at BBDO and Bates, before  moving onto Saatchis in 2005. Pairing up with copywriter Jagdish Ramakrishnan has been an award-winning combination,leading to Best of Show at the Singapore Creative Circle for a campaign for Aware, while ads for Greenpeace picked up gold at last year’s Clios and silver at AWARD.

3 Jagdish Ramakrishnan
Creative director
Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore
 

With roots in Chennai, Jagdish Ramakrishnan, or ‘Juggi’, worked for several agencies in India before moving to Singapore in 1995, where he has gone on to become one of Singapore’s most lauded and consistent creative talents. This year he defended his reputation with wins at Cannes, the Clios, D&AD, and One Show for both Aware and Greenpeace. Runner-up as Creative of the Year at Media’s Agency of the Year Awards last December, losing out to two ECDs, Ramakrishnan heads an award-winning team that includes fellow Top-10 Saatchis Singapore creative, Richard Copping. Citing animal rights, wine, and travel among his many interests, outside of the advertising community Ramakrishnan volunteers with Acres, an animal welfare group, and also acts as a guide for the Nature Society.  

5 Roger Makak
Copywriter
Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore
 

Deciding that his imagination could be put to better use in advertising, Roger Makak abandoned a promising career in tourism in Jakarta, getting his first break at Saatchi & Saatchi two years ago on the strength of his book of unpublished cartoons. Since then he has picked up an impressive awards haul, including Cannes silver and AdFest gold for Lego and Print Best of Show at Singapore’s Creative Circle for Aware. Besides ideas, Makak is also passionate about wildlife, hiking, photography, drama and Southeast Asian martial art, Silat.

6 Verity Butt
Copywriter
WhybinTBWA Auckland
 

Verity Butt always knew she wanted to be involved with media, starting her career as a radio copywriter and announcer before switching to ad agency creative on a friend’s recommendation, who told her it was much more fun. After a year at Axis Ad School, Butt joined WhybinTBWA where she was to continue working with her Ad School mentor, ECD Andy Blood. ‘Be the Ball’ for addias stormed the world, picking up D&AD Yellow Pencil, a Grand Clio and Cannes gold, but  Butt cites her work for Multiple Sclerosis as the work she is most proud of.

6 Karen Maurice-O’Leary
Art director
WhybinTBWA Auckland
 

With her heart set on a creative career, but not sure how to start it, Karen Maurice-O’Leary initially worked as an account director at a marketing agency before taking the plunge and enrolling with Axis Ad School. A year later she took the job at WhybinTBWA, partnering with Verity Butt and her former Ad School mentor, ECD Andy Blood. The ‘Be the Ball’ campaign they worked on was one of the year’s smashes, taking a D&AD Yellow Pencil, a Grand Clio and Cannes gold back to New Zealand. Creatives should trust their instincts, she feels, and remain slightly naïve, so they never get to know the limitations of what can be done.
 

8 Kulvadee Doksroy
Associate creative director
Ogilvy & Mather Thailand
 

After a strong showing in Media’s annual Creative Rankings last year, with a slot in the top 20, Kulvadee Doksroy has broken into the uppermost tier this year, with work for WWF globally getting a nod at Cannes, Clios and One Show, and regionally at AdFest and the Spikes. Gongs for press ads for Indothai Sport and Stanley Works also helped cement her creative pedigree. Kulvadee has been with Ogilvy Thailand for more than 10 years, joining the agency after completing her studies at Chululongkorn University. She has worked with creative luminaries such as Wisit Satsanatieng, Anunux Junsanchai, Korn Tepintarapiraksa, Wisit Lumsiricharoenchoke, and Gumpon Laksanajinda, all very different people, she points out, both in style and the way they work, but united by their sense of humour.

8 Richard Maddocks
Creative director
Colenso BBDO Wellington
 

Already seen as one of the region’s most-awarded creatives, with top 20 places in Media’s annual creative rankings for the past two years, Best of Show accolades in New Zealand’s Axis awards and nods at all four global shows our rankings cover put Richard Maddocks into this year’s top 10.

10 Sumanto Chattopadhyay

Group creative director
Ogilvy & Mather Mumbai
 

Having figured out in college that he didn’t want a pin-stripe suit as his daily fashion staple, Sumanto Chattopadhyay quickly found a passion for copywriting following a win in a student competition for a French Tourism slogan. Chattopadhyay first found his footing at Response, then went on to work for Ogilvy Calcutta, eventually moving onto Ogilvy’s Mumbai office, where silvers at Cannes and One Show and regional golds at AdFest andthe Spikes for IAPA print ads elevated him into our top 10 this year,
Chattopadhyay also acts, taking on the role of Buddha in the play Life of Gautama Buddha, which toured both Singapore and the US on a world tour.

Creative rankings methodology
 

Media’s fourth annual creative ranking, compiled in association with TNS, assessed the performance of more than 1,500 creatives working in Asia-Pacific, based on wins at 16 selected international, regional and national award shows.
 

The award shows included were, from 2006: Cannes, Clio, D&AD, One Show, Australia’s AWARD, the Hong Kong 4As Creative Awards, the Singapore 4As Creative Circle Awards, the Tokyo ACC, LongXi in China, New Zealand’s Axis Awards, Malaysia’s Kancil Awards and the BAD awards in Thailand; and, from 2007: AdFest, Media’s Spikes (Asian Advertising Awards), AdFest, India’s Abby Awards and the Creative Guild Awards in the Philippines. Points were allocated on the type of award given — golds scored higher than silvers and bronzes. A weighting system was also used depending on the show in which the prize was awarded — international shows had the highest weighting, followed by regional shows and, finally, national awards.
 

As the rankings aim to recognise Asia’s up-and-coming creative stars, executive creative directors and regional creative directors who held their senior positions when they worked on the winning ads are featured in the network table and not in the main rankings, highlighting their overall contribution to the network and their mentoring role to creative teams.
 

Network results are based on the points accumulated by creatives in the top 100, with points from creatives who worked at different agencies allocated by the awards won for each respective agency.