Quality catches up in Asia

Just a few years ago, the best TV commercials in the region were almost exclusively the work of foreign directors and foreign production houses, with homegrown productions regarded as generally lacklustre and formulaic. But now, pockets of expertise around the region and especially in Thailand are capturing the attention -- and the budgets -- of an increasing number of Asian clients. And with prize-winning work at shows like Cannes, they're turning heads outside the region too.

Production houses like Phenomenal Films in China, Film Factory in Thailand, Perfect Life in China, Two Oceans in Singapore, Unitel in the Philippines and Apple Box in Malaysia are producing outstanding work that means the best directors have more work than they can cope with.

The constant challenge of limited client budgets continues to put pressure on the kind of work that can be achieved, and production houses say there remains a lack of real understanding among marketers -- and their bosses who hold the purse strings -- about what's worth paying for.

"Before, people looked overseas and to Australia in particular, and a core of expat directors, but now, given the choice between a local director and an international one, they'd go for the local," says Tan Shen Guan, vice-chairman and ECD for Greater China and Hong Kong at Y&R. "The really good ones are so inundated with scripts that they're very choosy. A lot depends on the quality of the script itself. The niche, boutique production houses are never short of jobs, so they can afford to be picky about what they want, whereas the bigger ones are seen as very solid and dependable."

Asian film work picked up a host of awards at Cannes this year. Among the best were Phenomena's work with JWT in Bangkok for Ford, which won a gold Lion; Matching Studio's work with BBDO for Unileaf Tea, also in Thailand, which took silver; another silver which went to Rushes Network in Singapore for the Bic 'Prank call' ad; and the bronze Lion won for Passion Pictures' work with Saatchi & Saatchi Malaysia for Toyota.

Australian and New Zealand directors remain popular within Asia, not just for their experience in more developed advertising markets, but also for the fact that they're in the same time zone as Asia and because they can be very competitive on costs, given the lower overheads in their home markets.

Peter Grasse, of Australia-based Curious Film, says his team is doing more and more work in Asia, especially in emerging markets like Indonesia and China, along with Thailand, Singapore and Japan. Work in Asia tends to be for multinationals, but some local clients as well. "Some of the best scripts are being written (in Asia) and the rest of the world has finally gotten their heads out of their asses enough to appreciate it. There's some really great comedy," he says. "A lot of people have a prejudice about the work in the West being better than what's done in Asia, but there are some great scripts coming out of Asia, so I think that's a lot of bullshit." Grasse says the dull ads in Asia are no worse than the dull ads running in the rest of the world "because they're crap as well". In creative terms, the kind of look that clients are seeking has also changed in recent years. TBWA Japan chief creative officer John Merrifield says the NYPD Blue jump-cut style that was popular a couple of years ago has passed, along with the use of what's called a circular camera, or a series of still pictures that allow a viewer to see a moment frozen in time from several different angles. "The love affair with special effects has died down," says Y&R's Tan. "Of course, everyone's looking for a fresh technique, but thankfully The Matrix phase is over. And, five years ago in China the trend was to go very local and have a village-y look. At the moment, everyone's trying to be funny, trying to be more Thai, but usually not with great success." Grasse says that while this may be true for the more mature markets, in China and Indonesia, advertisers still want all the bells and whistles -- the kind of video game-style computer graphics that are "kind of old hat" in Singapore, Japan and the West. The problem production houses not just in Asia but around the world face is that of delivering top results at a competitive price. Bangkok-based Matching Studio's Liin Pattarin Amnuayphan says client budgets are getting tighter. "The energy crisis has hit every country around the world, and economic sluggishness is definitely affecting business, so the impact on above-the-line can't be avoided," she says. "At the same time, below-the-line is coming more into focus, to make sure that adspend really delivers."

But some advertisers' concern with budgets is a damaging and short-sighted obsession, according to South Africa-based Velocity Films proprietor Barry Munchick, whose steadily growing list of clients in Asia includes Nokia, Coca-Cola and Nippon Paint. He says prices are being pushed down and clients end up disappointed with the results that can be achieved for the price.

"Because the media time is so expensive in most of these markets, it leaves very little for actual production. So you'll find that the vast majority of it is 'me too' wallpaper and there's very little stuff that's actually cutting through. It's a value chain that's been mutated based on being a buyers' market and the clients thinking they're very clever getting cheap prices, but they're putting off consumers," Munchick says.

"Few marketing managers understand the value of what a good director or good production house can bring and it seems to be getting worse rather than better. It's what all markets have been through; it's just that it's the beginning (of the industry's growth in Asia). People who know very little about production values negotiate contracts. They're used to purchasing paper clips and don't know the value of paying for things like two shooting days instead of one." Merrifield says the rates asked by production houses throughout the region vary tremendously, with the best directors commanding fees almost on par with some of the most noted American and European directors. The willingness to pay well for good production values varies to a similar degree.

"In Asia, there is generally a lower percentage of marketing directors with a marketing background than in other markets," he says. The strong sales background of many in marketing means they may not recognise what needs to be done and at what price. But brilliant ideas don't necessarily correlate to expensive ideas," he says. In fact, brilliant ideas can be turned into outstanding commercials for next to nothing. Directors and production houses who want a gem for their showreel, or who can smell a potential gold Lion, will routinely take on jobs at cost price, or at less than cost.

Grasse says: "Budgets can be a challenge sometimes, yet that's true all over the world -- not just in Asia. However, they do come up with some good, adequate budgets when they really want to do something special. The bottom line is that if the idea is great enough, we are really willing to find a way to make it a reality. We'll go that extra mile for a creative. We just want to make great work, especially for an exciting market like Asia."

Tan says this willingness to lower costs for a brilliant idea is common. But he cautions that the reverse is also true. "When the client buys a more risky idea, they're getting amazing value for money," he says. "Formulaic scripts get lousy value for money, because there are production houses that will treat them like ATM machines."

One industry source says one of the reasons that there aren't more great commercials on Asian TV is that the hierarchical system within local businesses deters advertisers from making bold decisions and giving the go-ahead on ground-breaking ideas.

"Ninety-nine per cent of the stuff out there is utter shite, and it's not for the lack of creative. It's because nobody wants to offend anybody above them," he says. "Production companies, in some cases, never find out who actually has the final say, much less get to speak with them, and in a pitch situation can find they are on a long list of potential hires, and asked to supply their own long list of directors."

But hope springs eternal and in the most lively markets the value of a simple yet brilliant idea is what takes priority. Pattarin at Matching in Thailand says: "New ideas and more creative ways to convey those good messages to the right target are still the key factors in creating successful work. Animation, computer graphics and other techniques are just tools to aid production."