FOCUS: AGENCY OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2000 - Asian Ad Campaign of the year - A salute for Sunday; for maintaining its standard of excellence

Category: Asian Ad of the Year Winner: Sunday Agency: BBDO To describe the reaction of the general public as "perplexed" when BBDO unveiled the very first of its ads for the Sunday mobile phone network would be an understatement. One of the agency's three television commercials showed a man standing in central Hong Kong, not doing anything much ... and then breaking wind. Up popped the tagline, "Feels like Sunday". Another of the spots featured nothing but a close-up of a woman's breasts, and the same tagline. And despite the murmurings of discontent and criticisms of the creative concepts, BBDO carried on the way it had started off - with creative executions that were light years removed from what was then the norm in terms of advertising for telecom companies. Even BBDO's win of the account from incumbent Saatchi & Saatchi in late 1997 was cause for controversy. Saatchis had held the account since Sunday's launch in September that year, and when Sunday parted ways with Saatchis, then-CEO Clara Wong told MEDIA that she believed the agency had been "unfairly dumped" (MEDIA, December 19, 1997). For BBDO, however, the win was both a triumph and a relief, for the agency had earlier lost the USdollars 13 million SmarTone business to Leo Burnett. Then-regional ECD David Alberts, one of the founders of the now-defunct Hub, described Sunday as "an innovative and progressive company that truly believes in advertising". In an industry where people usually have to eat their words, Mr Alberts' praise is especially sweet as Sunday has indeed proven to be everything he said, and more. And more importantly, in an industry where the creative work of an agency is usually at the mercy of staff who come and go at the blink of an eye, BBDO has stood head and shoulders above the rest in maintaining the quality, concept, humour and sheer enjoyment factor in all its work for Sunday. Mr Alberts and those who worked on the original BBDO campaign for Sunday back in 1997 may have long moved on, but in place now is a young, fresh, exciting team of creatives who constantly break the mould with unusual, unexpected creative. Over the three years since BBDO took over the account, the Sunday ads have earned awards and recognition in various shows, including MEDIA's Asian Advertising Awards and the Hong Kong 4As Kam Fan Awards. The strength of the creative work is further underlined by the fact that the awards are being won for executions in all forms of media, and in both English and Chinese languages. But it's not just peer group recognition that the BBDO Sunday work has earned: also giving the ads a thumbs-up over the years is the general public - last year, Sunday commercials scored highly with Hong Kong TV viewers in the Top Ten TV Recall surveys conducted by Market Behaviour Hong Kong, tying for top place with competitor Hutchison Paging & Mobile Communications. In a market where companies seek to protect their corporate image with cautious and conventional ad campaigns, Sunday's efforts have been a breath of fresh air. Despite being a newcomer in an industry dominated by brands backed up by Hong Kong's leading conglomerates, Sunday's extensive use of humour and daring creativity enabled it to break through the telecom marketing clutter. Sunday's strategy stands as proof that celebrities and grand productions are not enough to lure and sustain viewers' attention. The decision to award Sunday the title of Asian Ad of the Year 2000 is in recognition of the ongoing and consistent levels of excellence that the brand and its agency have achieved in Asian advertising.

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