PRIVATE VIEW: Margaret Leung

The failure of these series of ads to engage me may be attributed to several reasons: Intense market competition among the products and services offered, cuts in production budgets but the necessity to communicate even more information to maintain awareness and a competitive edge and depressed creatives. Or, I may now be so numb from the bombardment of too many ads by credit cards, mobile phones, etc all competing for market share with almost minimal product differentiation. Sephora: Fun, cheeky print ads that communicate choice although the market might be a bit hard pressed to find out where the seven stores are located in Tokyo, which these print ads are purported to promote. Nevertheless, the images of an eight-armed goddess with beautifully-coloured fingernails and a male body covered in colourful kisses is at least for a second, entertaining. Nokia: The effectiveness of the metaphor is sadly missed on the first take. For a print ad, it requires too much time to decipher the disparate components of the image - a large cinema, sad faces of the audience and Kleenex offered by the usher. A pity as the consumer is expected to relate to the aspirational core message of Nokia's Care services, which is only fully communicated when you read the body copy. It would probably be more effective as a TV commercial. Bank of China: 'Make every day an opportunity' is institutionally sound, but conservative creatively. If BOC's objective is to instill confidence back to Hong Kong's seven million people, it's missed the creative opportunity to inspire and bring out the competitive edge that may be required. And that's not because of a weak concept and message. Its attempt to present three tales of the city in 60 seconds may have been too ambitious. A pity as the message has its merits and deserved a more focused treatment for each execution. Wellcome's new Super Store launch ad aims to bring out nothing more than all the necessary information in one creative execution. And it manages to achieve this objective by fitting in everything to its target audience: locations, parking, sandwiches, convenience, choice, etc. But it's too ambitious for one execution, resulting in information overload which has a tendency to kill rather than capture my interest level and recall. The trolley(s) spinning around does the job though. Manhattan Card: A very simple but clever ad to launch a new credit option. Its use of a marathon female shopper is sexist and cliched but achieves the appropriate dramatic effect. Nicely executed. The only turn-off is the self-conscious effort at humour (we can't help with financing the broken glass) even though it seemed to have been intended as a clever twist. And once again, information overkill to squeeze in the message; the tag-on premium offer of a fan at the end may easily be missed by the audience. Tampax: 'Discreet' comes to mind for the series of print ads to launch the 'sleek and discreet' new packaging for Tampax's whole new look. The design and transformation of the female gender sign into the Tampax logo to mimic the actual usage of the product is clever. But in this day and age, isn't the use of shadowy images of a naked woman to convey her confidence conservative? It's clean and tasteful. Or is it simply old-fashioned when you consider its target market is female, aged 12 to 16 in Australia and New Zealand? Margaret Leung is founder of Hong Kong's Get Smart agency 1. SEPHORA Project: Goddess/Kisses Client: Sephora AAP Japan K.K. Brief: To highlight the range of cosmetics available at the retailer Agency: Bartle Bogle Hegarty Creative director: Steve Elrick Copywriter: Steve Elrick Art director: Kelly Pon 2. NOKIA Project: Cinema Client: Nokia Brief: To emphasise Nokia's care service Agency: Bates Creative director: Iris Lo Copywriter: Terry Cheng Art director: Francis Hung 3. BANK OF CHINA Project: Find a place to grow Client: Bank of China Brief: To restore Hong Kong people's confidence Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi Creative director: Francis Wee Copywriter: Vincent Ho Art director: Grover Tham 4. WELLCOME Project: Wellcome Westwood Superstore launch Client: Wellcome Brief: To announce the accessible location of Wellcome's new superstore and to communicate its various attributes which will appeal to both expatriates and westernised Chinese Agency: McCann Erickson-Guangming Creative director: Martin Lever Copywriters: Martin Lever, James Reeves Art director: Andrew Foung 5. MANHATTAN CARD Project: Manhattan credit card Client: Manhattan Card Brief: To launch the new credit card which cardholders can use for installment on any purchase, anytime and anywhere Agency: BBDO Creative directors: Brian Chu/K.C. Tsang/Paul Chan Copywriter: Eveyln Chan Art directors: Brian Chu/Bobby Chiu 6. TAMPAX Project: Tampax Client: Procter & Gamble Brief: To launch a new look for the Tampax feminine care brand Agency: Leo Burnett Copywriter: Dana Holder Art director: Fiona Hellyer Interested in having your campaigns reviewed? Send submissions to Alfred Hille in the form of trims, transparencies or video printouts for TVCs plus the TVC itself, and proofs for print ads and posters. Please send all material to media, 28/F, Dorset House, 979 King's Road, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong.

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