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