PRIVATE VIEW: Geoff Naus

<p>Now that all us gweilos have recovered from flying virgin spit and </p><p>the horror of having plastic chicken feet waved at us by manic Hong Kong </p><p>writers and art directors, it's time to get back to work. So here </p><p>goes: </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>This is a goodlooking, compelling collection of print ads for the Army </p><p>Recruitment Centre in Singapore. But I wonder about the premise. Perhaps </p><p>I've watched Platoon too many times but I imagine that those considering </p><p>joining an armed force, even if it's in the kitchen detail, would want </p><p>to view themselves, deep down, as warriors. But this campaign begins to </p><p>blur the line between the army and the Red Cross. Doctors and nurses may </p><p>tend to the weak, but soldiers protect countries. Two very different </p><p>states of mind. So the question is, how will would-be warriors react to </p><p>a campaign that appeals to their sensitive, nurturing side? I have my </p><p>doubts. On second thoughts, maybe it's not a bad thing for armies to </p><p>start recruiting soldiers who don't want to fight wars. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Nice directing. Nice editing. Nice wolf. But as I followed the hero </p><p>couple through all the crumbling bits and pieces of Hong Kong's </p><p>murderous cityscape, a strange thing happened: I started to feel that </p><p>living in a place where buildings shed their unwanted bits on top of </p><p>people's heads could actually be darkly exciting. A sort of urban </p><p>Russian roulette. Hell, it might be dangerous, but it's a sure-fire way </p><p>to get a pretty girl to hold your hand. I enjoyed this commercial for </p><p>the Hong Kong Government's Buildings Department. Perhaps I shouldn't </p><p>have. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Simplicity is something that's sexy to talk about, tough to do. I give </p><p>this Refresh campaign full marks for shedding the unnecessary, and my </p><p>gut tells me it'll probably be effective as hell. But how simple should </p><p>simple be? Slapstick is fun and it gets your attention, but on its own </p><p>it can wear out real fast. When that happens, it's simply annoying. Call </p><p>me greedy, but I expected a little surprise at the end of each spot, if </p><p>for no other reason than to be rewarded for surviving the manic product </p><p>assault. I smiled when I saw these spots for the first time. I wonder if </p><p>I'll still smile when I see them for the 20th time. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In one of the TVCs for Prudential Unit Trusts I'm shown a yacht at sea </p><p>and I'm asked: "What do you see?" Well, I see a yacht at sea. And maybe </p><p>a voyage to exotic places. And a horizon that promises me endless </p><p>freedom. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But I'm obviously quite retarded in the "what do I see" department </p><p>because, just then, the answer pops up and tells me that maybe what I'm </p><p>actually seeing is "a market for solar powered vehicles". Now I'm lost. </p><p>I thought they were talking to me. And then at the end, I find out that </p><p>while I'm seeing these markets for solar powered vehicles, Prudential is </p><p>busy seeing opportunities in the world of unit trusts. I know nothing </p><p>about unit trusts. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>And now I never will ... </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Ah, the trusty "unexpected items wrapped in pages from the client's </p><p>newspaper/magazine" idea. Currently or recently used in Asia by a </p><p>leading financial magazine, I think. But I'm not putting down this work </p><p>for the Print Advertising Organisation of the Philippines (PRADO). I </p><p>like this incarnation a lot. It's simple, classic and strong. And it </p><p>single-mindedly gets across the idea that newspapers will stimulate my </p><p>thinking, my knowledge and, hopefully, my colleagues into thinking I'm a </p><p>pretty smart guy. So what if it's not a new idea - if it hasn't been </p><p>used in the Philippines before, it'll get noticed. Hey, if every ad had </p><p>to be 100 per cent original, there wouldn't be a column like this. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>How does one write a hundred words about an idea that says it all </p><p>without using a word? Apparently Laforet Harajuku is an edgy collection </p><p>of boutiques in Japan, This poster makes me want to check it out. It's </p><p>as simple as that. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>1. ARMY RECRUITMENT CENTRE </p><p>Project: Army Recruitment </p><p>Client: Army Recruitment Centre, Singapore Government </p><p>Brief: To highlight the fact that the Singapore Army has been actively </p><p>involved in overseas humanitarian missions and United Nations </p><p>peacekeeping activities. </p><p>Agency: Mandate Advertising International </p><p>Creative director: Paul Hume </p><p>Copywriter: Cecil Hamilton </p><p>Art director: Eric Chow </p><p>2. BUILDINGS DEPARTMENT </p><p>Project: Buildings Department </p><p>Client: Hong Kong Government's Buildings Department </p><p>Brief: To alert people to the dangers of not maintaining buildings </p><p>properly </p><p>Agency: PMP </p><p>Creative director: David Wong </p><p>Copywriter: Vincent Tse </p><p>Art director: Iris Sam </p><p>Production House: Cinetech </p><p>3. REFRESH </p><p>Project: Smoking Room, Motorbike, Shoes </p><p>Client: Unilever </p><p>Brief: For Unilever Indonesia's "Refresh" odour removing product </p><p>Agency: BBH </p><p>Creative director: Steve Elrick </p><p>Copywriter: Todd Waldron </p><p>Art director: Kelly Pon </p><p>Production House: Renaissance Film Singapore </p><p>4. PRUDENTIAL </p><p>Project: We See Opportunity </p><p>Client: Prudential Unit Trusts </p><p>Brief: To launch Prudential Unit Trusts in Singapore </p><p>Agency: Leo Burnett, Singapore </p><p>Creative directors: Linda Locke, Tay Guan Hin, Alex Shipley </p><p>Copywriter: Alex Shipley </p><p>Art director: Sachin Ambekar </p><p>Production House: Moviola </p><p>5. PRADO </p><p>Client: PRADO </p><p>Agency: DDB Philippines </p><p>Brief: To encourage people, especially the younger generation, to read </p><p>more </p><p>Creative director: Roger Pe </p><p>Copywriter: Roger Pe </p><p>Art director: Rhio Vargas </p><p>Production House: Calypso Makati </p><p>6.LAFORET HARAJUKU </p><p>Project: Laforet Grand Bazaar Summer Sale </p><p>Client: Laforet Harajuku </p><p>Brief: To announce the start of a sale on clothes for kids and teenagers </p><p>Agency: Dentsu </p><p>Creative director: Yuji Tokuda </p><p>Art director: Yuji Tokuda </p><p>Production House: Taki Corporation </p><p><BR><BR> </p>