PRIVATE VIEW: Margaret Leung

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