PRIVATE VIEW: Tan Khiang, executive creative director of M&C Saatchi, Hong Kong

<p>Now that the dotcom hype is over and with the Nasdaq at a miserable </p><p>low, does that mean we now have more time on our hands? Maybe more time </p><p>to read copy? More time to look at an ad? Enjoy the wit in words and </p><p>visuals. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>More time to craft an ad. Be entertained. And hopefully convince us to </p><p>go out and buy some stuff. If we all spend a bit, we can spend our way </p><p>out of the gloom and hopefully keep our jobs. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>So now that people have more time to digest stuff, shouldn't we be a wee </p><p>bit more challenging. The Fuji Xerox ads are just too familiar. </p><p>Headlines that simply describe what the visuals are showing, with the </p><p>clever placement of products and its benefit. The layout does look </p><p>decent though. Sorry Patrick, you can rubbish some of my ads next </p><p>time. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>A fun ad from Nike. It is bold and to the point. Nobody dares to </p><p>manipulate The Great Helmsman; you get arrested for that. Except pop </p><p>artists who seem to get away with it. So if this appeared in mass media </p><p>then it takes 'Just Do It' one step further. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>A teddy bear with a hand of a baby doll. A toy with mismatched </p><p>parts. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Ghastly, shades of Toy Story. But why a teddy bear? Maybe concern of the </p><p>family is intended. But there are better examples of what mismatched </p><p>parts will evolve into, which would possibly be more relevant and </p><p>convincing. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The other Audi ads are just atypical; stock shots from Europe with the </p><p>instruction, "please use it and write a clever line to go with it". </p><p>Understandable, as the luxury of shooting car ads in Asia are few and </p><p>far between. So now for the clever headline. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The Baygon ad is simple and to the point. No words needed. It has a pack </p><p>shot and it is a very big one. No dealer addresses, no product range </p><p>photos. It demonstrates the effectiveness of the product. It knocks the </p><p>lights out of mosquitoes. And it is from the Philippines. Some strong </p><p>work has been coming out of the Philippines in recent years. Mr Clean </p><p>during the election was just so perfect. But David Guerrero and company </p><p>have done much better work and are capable of better. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Bank of East Asia's CyberBanking ads. Tough subject. How does one </p><p>visualise what is not there? Some computer animation to give us an idea </p><p>that we are talking about an online service? Some futuristic setting? Or </p><p>show somebody in a remote beach somewhere because you are now not </p><p>deskbound? </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>What we have with this ad is a man in a hat in an urbanised setup, </p><p>possibly New York. He goes about his business on top of buildings with </p><p>giant surrealistic symbols. What you can imagine can now be achieved. </p><p>The cinematography is beautiful. The idea is somewhat a tad too soft. An </p><p>Asian man in a suit with a hat. How many hat-wearing, suited man do you </p><p>see on the streets of Hong Kong and Singapore? Better with a baseball </p><p>cap. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>A rare piece of Korean work. Too warm and fuzzy, too much education that </p><p>Dunkin' Donuts has holes in them. Don't all donuts? Lots of food shots </p><p>and a talent that can really bite. Just wallpaper. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>We need more wit, more entertainment, more fun, more slapstick, more </p><p>daring. We need more long copy, where's Neil? </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>FUJI XEROX </p><p>Project: Printers campaign - Phase 2, Key Drivers </p><p>Client: Fuji Xerox Asia Pacific </p><p>Brief: To raise the awareness of Fuji Xerox's printers </p><p>Agency: Dentsu, Young & Rubicam (Singapore) </p><p>Creative director: Patrick Low </p><p>Copywriter: Heng May May </p><p>Art director: Benny Quek </p><p>NIKE </p><p>Project: Nike Olympics Celebration </p><p>Client: Nike Taiwan </p><p>Brief: To encourage Taiwan people to participate in sports by </p><p>emphasising the fact that Beijing had won the race to host the 2008 </p><p>Olympics </p><p>Agency: J. Walter Thompson </p><p>Creative director: Lo Sheung Yan </p><p>Copywriter: Lo Sheung Yan </p><p>Art director: Hu Gang, Johnson Sheng </p><p>AUDI </p><p>Project: "Teddy", "Supermodel" and "Take-off" </p><p>Client: Premium Automobiles/Audi </p><p>Brief: to feature selected models in the Audi range. </p><p>Agency: Mandate Advertising International </p><p>Creative director and copywriter: James Mortimer-Roberts </p><p>Art director: Lo Weng Heng </p><p>BAYGON </p><p>Project: Baygon Mosquito Killer (BMK) with Micro Mist Spray </p><p>Client: Bayer Philippines </p><p>Brief: To communicate to people that BMK is the most effective killer of </p><p>mosquitoes </p><p>Agency: BBDO/Guerrero Ortega, Manila </p><p>Creative director: David Guerrero </p><p>Copywriter: Marc Dimaano </p><p>Art director: Manny del Rosario </p><p>Media used: Print </p><p>BANK OF EAST ASIA </p><p>Project: MyCyberWorld </p><p>Client: Bank of East Asia </p><p>Brief: launch the bank's MyCyberWorld </p><p>Agency: Grant Advertising </p><p>Creative director: Titania Yuen </p><p>Copywriter: Dilys Siu </p><p>Art director: Alan Wong </p><p>Production House: Film Factory </p><p>Media used: TV, Print, MTR, Cinema </p><p>DUNKIN' DONUTS </p><p>Project: Dunkin' Donuts' launch campaign </p><p>Client: Dunkin' Donuts </p><p>Brief: To build brand likeability </p><p>Agency: TBWA Korea </p><p>Creative director: Chang Hee Choi </p><p>Copywriter: Jong Suk Hur </p><p>Art director: Woon Ick Son </p><p>Production House: Mass Production </p><p>Media used: TV and cinema </p><p><BR><BR> </p>