PRIVATE VIEW: Paul Chan

<p>Is it that we are setting increasingly punishing standards because </p><p>we live in a world in which it seems that everything has been done </p><p>before? </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Perhaps. But I must stress that each and every ad I have reviewed here </p><p>has my utmost respect because they respect reality - real-life paying </p><p>clients, real pressures and real demands. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>I've been a Formula One fan for ages. So much so that this Mercedes Benz </p><p>ad, the Future of Automobile, starts off on the right foot for me. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The camerawork caught my eye. Even the content approach satisfied me; </p><p>not many people know that a Formula One driver undergoes hours of </p><p>torture while strapped into his car at 180mph. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>A commercial, like this one by Ericsson, that attempts to associate a </p><p>'lifestyle/user image' look with a product seldom stirs me. Note the </p><p>glitzy lighting, the shining piano and the yuppies sitting bored in </p><p>their jazz bar etc plus the cool, flirting conversation of the </p><p>characters all brings to mind the cognac and watch ads of the 80's. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Perhaps I wasn't the target audience for this series of ads by </p><p>Asiawise.com. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>I really couldn't figure out the one featuring an 'Onion'. Do tech and </p><p>financial matters really make men cry? I also felt that the chosen </p><p>execution styles had been done before. Marking out spaces to illustrate </p><p>a point. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Unreeling of a tape to stress a hint of mystery. A little too familiar </p><p>an approach, perhaps. The trouble with clients that promise to provide </p><p>an edge in information supply, is that too many of them utilise the 'we </p><p>are the guys to come to' approach. This might have been done a little </p><p>differently to avoid blending in with the rest of the crowd. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>This series of four McDonald's "Breakfast" ads was probably designed </p><p>with a utilitarian purpose of hammering home the message of an dollars 8 </p><p>meal with few frills on the side. I recognise the creative effort to </p><p>repeatedly stress the dollars 8 message in as new a light as possible. </p><p>However, the approach of 'an ad within an ad' isn't particularly new. </p><p>And what if I only caught the second and fourth in the series? The </p><p>entire intended effect would be lost. All in all, a commendable effort </p><p>in a product category that doesn't necessarily have the greatest </p><p>potential for extreme creativity. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Dentsu's TVCs for Star Channel, titled "Rocky" and "Titanic" are </p><p>hilarious. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Although a bit drawn out, these spoofs had me aching in places I forgot </p><p>I even had. It took me a while to realise what was going on (and isn't </p><p>that a hallmark of some great ads?) but the killer punch knocked the </p><p>wind out of me. The backdrop, the effort to mirror little aspects of the </p><p>original movies all rewarded my long wait for the punchline. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The bid by the Churches of the Love Singapore Movement to make God more </p><p>approachable is not something that people might necessarily associate </p><p>with the Church. But it's obvious in this case, that they're going out </p><p>to attract the younger generation. While I (once again) felt that the </p><p>execution, which used 'still supers' to impress a point, had been done </p><p>before, it was also apparent that this had been a 'writer's style of </p><p>ad-making'. Some of the messages in the ads were refreshingly </p><p>thought-provoking. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Simple yet challenging, I think this series will mean a re-think of the </p><p>client's image in many young minds. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>1. MERCEDES BENZ </p><p>Project: F1 Global </p><p>Client: DaimlerChrysler AG </p><p>Brief: The future of automobile </p><p>Agency: Batey Ads </p><p>Creative directors: Garry Tranter, Mattew Cullen </p><p>Copy writers: Mattew Cullen, Andrew Reznik </p><p>Art directors: Darren Hogan, Gary Tranter </p><p>Production Company: Stink 41 </p><p>2. ERICSSON </p><p>Project: Style Outside, Surprise Inside </p><p>Client: Ericsson </p><p>Brief: Promote the 'style inside, surprise inside' of the T29 phone </p><p>Agency: Results Advertising </p><p>Creative director: Canon Wu </p><p>Copy writer: Joy Chueh </p><p>Art director: Kevin Chen </p><p>Director: Wayne Peng </p><p>Production Company: Polychrome Films </p><p>Media Used: Terrestrial and Cable TV </p><p>3. ASIAWISE.COM </p><p>Project: Asiawise.com (No holds-barred) </p><p>Client's name and title: Gene Galbraith, CEO & chairman </p><p>Brief: To create awareness of a new dot com information provider and to </p><p>position the company as a leader in its area. </p><p>Agency: Doremus & Company </p><p>Creative director: Vijayan Ganesh </p><p>Art director: Doris Hiw </p><p>Retouching: Amoeba Digital Imagine </p><p>Media used: SCMP, Today </p><p>4. MCDONALD'S </p><p>Project: Breakfast Promotion </p><p>Client: McDonald's HK </p><p>Agency: DDB </p><p>Creative director: Barry Mok, Louie Hui, Paul Chow and Derek Wong </p><p>Media Used: TV, Bus, Print and Instore POP's </p><p>5. STAR CHANNEL </p><p>Project: Rocky; Titanic </p><p>Client: Star Channel Inc. </p><p>Brief: A new television commercial for Star Channel </p><p>Advertising agency: Dentsu </p><p>Creative agency: Tugboat </p><p>Creative director: Takuji Nakamura (Dentsu Inc.), Yasumichi Oka </p><p>(Tugboat) Director: Shinya Nakajima </p><p>Production Company: Tohokushinsya Film Corp </p><p>6. CHURCHES OF THE LOVE SINGAPORE MOVEMENT </p><p>Project: God </p><p>Brief: To promote a 'God' consciousness in Singapore </p><p>Agency: Ogilvy & Mather </p><p>Copy writer: Eugene Cheong </p><p>Art director: Pei Pei Ng </p><p>Director: Sng Tong Beng </p><p>Production Company: Odeon Productions Hong Kong </p><p>Media Used: TV, Press, Posters, DM, SMS, Internet </p><p><BR><BR> </p>