French, Yu exchange blows in escalating row over scam ads
<p>The region's scam ads row has seen an escalation in hostilities, </p><p>with Hong Kong 4As chairman Jeffrey Yu trading verbal blows with Ogilvy </p><p>Worldwide CD Neil French. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In response to a letter from Mr French, Bates Asia president Yu </p><p>described Mr French as "irresponsible" (see page 8). </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Unless we take our work seriously, we will not be taken </p><p>seriously ... and we cannot attract the best calibre talent and raise </p><p>standards," Mr Yu said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr French upped the ante when he said: "Who cares if a few scam ads win </p><p>awards? It's not the Olympics. It's just a game: a side-show" (MEDIA, </p><p>November 10). However, the latest MEDIA-CNBC Asian Advertising Industry </p><p>poll (see page 20) found that 80 per cent of respondents believe that </p><p>scam ads either somewhat damage or seriously damage the industry's </p><p>credibility. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Senior creatives said that the issue must be resolved. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>D'Arcy group CD Francis Cleetus said, "The measure of a creative </p><p>person's ability is the number of awards under his belt, but if the </p><p>awards are in question, that would make it that much more difficult for </p><p>us. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Should we punish a creative who takes the initiative by coming up with </p><p>ideas before being formally presented with a brief from an existing </p><p>client? </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>I don't think so?" </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Creatives said an important first step was to define a scam ad. Most </p><p>said an appropriate definition could be: "an ad that was run without the </p><p>knowledge and consent of the client," a sentiment supported by a </p><p>majority of respondents in the MEDIA-CNBC poll. This was the definition </p><p>used by the Singapore 4As to weed out dubious entries at its recent </p><p>Creative Circle Awards. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>On whether ads which run once in fringe media like at 3am on TV, the </p><p>creatives offered mixed views. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Obviously those ones should be scrutinised more closely. However, if </p><p>the client knew about it and consented to it, who are we to say it's a </p><p>scam ad?" said Mr Paul Ruta, CCA judging panel president and CD of M&C </p><p>Saatchi Singapore. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>