PRIVATEVIEW: Stanley Wong

<p>I can still remember that day back in 1992, at the JWT Hong Kong </p><p>conference room. Our chairman Grace Atkinson stood in front of a </p><p>potential client giving her preamble to a pitch presentation: "This is </p><p>our single-minded JWT brief and vision to produce the most distinctive </p><p>and effective communications works within the local market. I hate to </p><p>say this in front of my creative team that both - being distinctive and </p><p>effective - are of equal importance, but if I needed to rank them, I </p><p>would put effectiveness before being distinctive." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>This is how advertising and communications work and I truly believe in </p><p>and follow this discipline to this day. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>For Sprite Hong Kong, the outdoor ads are very successful in grabbing </p><p>people's attention (including mine) at the start. However, that's all </p><p>they do really ... they do not inspire or involve me (or any young kids, </p><p>I guess). I don't think any one would be motivated to have a Sprite </p><p>after seeing this ad. And also, the constantly changing typeface from ad </p><p>to ad begs the question: is this a cool thing to do? I still remember </p><p>the Nike Marathon ad where they put a small, understated 'swoosh' logo </p><p>on the runner's cheek. To me, this is confident and cool. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The visuals for Actara are nice. The chilli ad definitely clicked and </p><p>the writhing bodies of the red peppers had the essence of a 'safe sex' </p><p>idea in it. However, I cannot say the same for the mango or rice </p><p>executions. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>This is yet another version of Saatchi & Saatchi London's "irritating </p><p>eye" campaign - a ball-shaped character with arms and legs and a face </p><p>where the belly ought to be - only this one is in Hong Kong for Mr </p><p>Juicy. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>If agencies are thinking of more similar executions, please stop and </p><p>give us a break. On the flip side, however, it is encouraging to see a </p><p>refreshing approach to revamp a family brand with a long history like Mr </p><p>Juicy. But the dark humor isn't quite there. It didn't make me laugh nor </p><p>did it excite me. Thus I cannot say if it was effective. I would be </p><p>looking for better story ideas in future. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>To use a local kung fu comic style for Intouch Sheer Condom is an </p><p>interesting approach to target young teenagers in Hong Kong. Nice idea, </p><p>nice visuals but the music of one of the TVC titled "Sheer" could have </p><p>been a little more sensational. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>It is very touching to see this ad from the Ministry of Community </p><p>Development and Sports, Singapore. The idea is simple and convincing. I </p><p>would think every parent would buy the logic of the ad as a reminder of </p><p>what they haven't done for their kids recently. Extremely effective. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Another simple and nice TV ad for Leisure Commerce Square in </p><p>Malaysia. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>I found this funny and refreshing, and also it's a very good solution </p><p>for such a tough brief. I could envisage some creatives rejecting such a </p><p>boring and no-hope brief in order to spend their time coming up with </p><p>another scam ad. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Stanley Wong is chief creative officer of Centro Digital Pictures </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>1. SPRITE </p><p>Project: Sprite thematic </p><p>Client: Coca-Cola China </p><p>Brief: To reinforce Sprite's cool, edgy, self-confident and </p><p>self-expressive user imagery </p><p>Agency: McCann-Erickson Guangming </p><p>Creative directors: Geoff Naus, Norman Ying </p><p>Art director: Norman Ying </p><p>Exposure: magazine and outdoor </p><p>2. ACTARA </p><p>Project: Actara "Generation" </p><p>Client: Syngenta Crop Protection, Asia Pacific </p><p>Brief: Launch campaign </p><p>Agency: TBWA Hong Kong Creative director: Clarke Mallery </p><p>Art director: May Lee </p><p>Production company: Colour Six </p><p>Exposure: TV, print, outdoor, below-the-line </p><p>3. MR JUICY </p><p>Project: Mr Juicy </p><p>Client: Citrus Growers International </p><p>Brief: To position Mr Juicy as a fun beverage and widen its market </p><p>Agency: Ogilvy & Mather </p><p>Creative director: Annie Wong </p><p>Art director: Karen Lai </p><p>Copy writers: Simon Handford, Janice Tsang </p><p>Director: Chan Man Chung </p><p>Production company: Film Factory </p><p>Exposure: TV </p><p>4. INTOUCH </p><p>Project: inTouch Sheer Condom </p><p>Client: Gloria Leong, marketing manager, Whitehall HK </p><p>Brief: New product launch </p><p>Agency: Bates Hong Kong </p><p>Creative directors: Iris Lo, Sylvester Song </p><p>Art director: Peggy Ho </p><p>Copywriter: Ronnie Yeung </p><p>Production company: Centro </p><p>Exposure: TV </p><p>5. MINISTRY OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND SPORTS, SINGAPORE </p><p>Project: National Family Week 2001 </p><p>Client: Singapore Government </p><p>Brief: To encourage parents to spend more 'quality time' with their </p><p>children </p><p>Agency: DY&R Singapore </p><p>Executive creative director: Patrick Low </p><p>Creative director: Mark Fong </p><p>Art director: Francis Ooi </p><p>Copywriter: Ang Kah Han </p><p>Production house: Moviola </p><p>6. LEISURE COMMERCE SQUARE </p><p>Project: Keys 1 </p><p>Client: Leisure Commerce Square </p><p>Brief: To promote property sales for the Keys 1 development and link it </p><p>to a Peugeot lucky draw </p><p>Agency: D'Arcy Malaysia </p><p>Creative directors: Thomas Low, Kins Lee </p><p>Art director: Kit </p><p>Copy writer: Amy Tan </p><p>Director: Low Chunwan </p><p>Production company: Barney Productions </p><p>Exposure: TV </p><p><BR><BR> </p>