Shadow of the scams recedes at Singapore creative awards show

<p>Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore swept the board at the recent Singapore </p><p>Creative Circle Awards, taking home 23 golds, silvers and bronzes*. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In second place in the metal tally was Leo Burnett with 13 silvers and </p><p>bronzes, followed by Bartle Bogle Hegarty and Euro RSCG, who both took </p><p>six awards. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Nine golds were handed out on the night, with Saatchis again taking home </p><p>the lion's share (five), followed by BBH (two) and one each to Work and </p><p>Kinetic Interactive. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>It was Discovery Channel Asia which really stole the show, seeing 20 of </p><p>its advertisements (created variously by both Saatchis and Leo Burnett </p><p>Singapore) win awards. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Unlike the Kancil Awards held in Kuala Lumpur the week earlier, at which </p><p>close to 1,500 agency staffers packed the Shangri-La ballroom and </p><p>cheered wildly every time a winner was announced, Singapore's Creative </p><p>Circle Awards this year lacked a certain je ne sais quois in terms of </p><p>atmosphere and camaraderie. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The issue of scam ads hovered over both events, however, with various </p><p>attendees attempting to speculate just how many of the winning ads had </p><p>been done for genuine clients. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"I've heard people say 70 per cent of the winners in Singapore are </p><p>scams, but I think that's a bit harsh," said one industry source, who </p><p>asked not to be named. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"I saw a few this year which I would have questions about, but you have </p><p>to consider the fact that the big winners were all done for real clients </p><p>and with big production budgets. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"I do think that the 4As has been far more vigilant this year in </p><p>filtering out the scam entries, but that's probably because of the stink </p><p>that was kicked up in Hong Kong over the issue." (see MEDIA, September </p><p>29 and October 13). </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Newly-appointed regional head of BBDO, Peter Wilken, also took a </p><p>pragmatic view on the subject. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"It's hard to get people to talk openly about the other side of 'scam </p><p>ads' - why they're done at all, why they've been around forever, and why </p><p>we'll probably still be talking about them in years to come," he </p><p>said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Few people will argue that the ultimate goal is to produce </p><p>award-winning work for the large, traditionally conservative, clients </p><p>like Unilever and Proctor & Gamble. And it can be done ... Few would </p><p>argue either, that while such goliaths are raising the call for </p><p>creativity, it takes time to change deeply-ingrained systems and </p><p>philosophies that mitigate against innovative ideas (like pre-testing </p><p>storyboards)." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr Wilken said the industry needed an avenue "that allows our industry </p><p>to create trends, not just follow them". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>He also echoed a comment by Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide global CD Neil </p><p>French, who argues loudly the case for scam ads on page 8 of this issue: </p><p>"There's an element of inverse snobbery about those people in our </p><p>industry who complain loudest about 'scams for small clients'," Mr </p><p>Wilken said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"These tend to come from the bigger, creatively-challenged agencies. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Small clients are still clients, it doesn't mean we have to give them </p><p>small ideas. Small clients with big ideas become big clients." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>* Finalist awards have not been included in the tallies referred to in </p><p>this article. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>