Whether you flew home with a bag of metal or just jetlag and a nasty hangover, chances are you were somewhat relieved by Asia's performance at this year's Cannes International Festival.
After all, given the international nature of Cannes, many saw the show as the region's last major hurdle to making its mark on the global creativity stage and with it gaining the recognition creatives understandably long for from their peers, both at home and abroad. "Asia made a huge leap over last year," says Lo Sheung Yan, executive creative director for North Asia at J. Walter Thomson and Cannes judge. "The region did exceptionally well and it was eye-opening for everyone involved. The judges were also very excited about this part of the world, especially China, and wanted to learn from it."
Asia's performance is a measure of its strong creative offer, one that often loses much in translation. Cynics, however, attribute the region's strong performance to the record number of entries from Asia, including more than 540 from India (the majority of which were in the press and outdoor category). Despite the torrent of entries, India failed to make an impact in terms of wins and didn't take home a single gold (compared to last year's three gold Lions). Its letdown is clearly a sore point for the local industry, judging by the editorials in local media.
Whether Cannes' interest in the region and its appointment of Piyush Pandey as the award's first Asian chairman of the jury is largely driven by the potential fees that could come from Asia in the future is debatable.
What is clear is that the quality of this year's Asian work - despite laments of client cutbacks in 2003 - is making noticeable ripples though not quite waves, having failed to crack the Grand Prix league for both film and print.
Nevertheless, this year's Cannes proved the most satisfying for Asia yet, with regional agencies taking home three Grand Prix and 35 gold Lion wins compared to just 16 gold Lions last year and three Grand Prix, all of which were out of Australia and New Zealand.
Asia shone brightest in the newer categories at Cannes such as outdoor and online. In outdoor, JWT Malaysia and TBWA\Japan were equally worthy contenders for the Grand Prix. But JWT's Ch-9 'Missile car' campaign eventually pipped TBWA's much-awarded 'Vertical football' stunt for Adidas.
Thailand - long a bastion of Asian creativity - shone with simple yet endearing ideas in the especially tough film category, where TBWA\London scooped the Grand Prix. The agency's 'Mountain' TVC for Sony Playstation2, features a giant game of king of the castle, which ends with thousands of people in a huge human pile.
Having picked up gold at Media's Advertising Awards and AdFest, BBDO Bangkok and Flagship Euro RSCG can now add gold Lions on their mantle for the Unif Green Tea (a crowd favourite at Cannes) and Soken DVD campaigns respectively.
Thailand also stood out in the media category for a breakthrough placement by Starcom for Heineken. Starcom's placement worked around strict new rules for alcoholic advertising by going into cinemas and owning the digital sound check that accompanies films.
Direct marketing, meanwhile, had its best year ever after judges found Asian entries had taken last year's rational appeal to an emotional level.
"Asia contributed with some strong, consistent work in the DM category," says Graham Kelly, executive creative director at Saatchi and Saatchi Singapore and one of the jurors on the panel. "From a judge's perspective, you are trying to take the consumers' standpoint. Is the idea relevant and compelling? The work was funny, entertaining, with a soft sell. It was playful work from Asia and they showed they can learn from above-the-line."
In many ways, Cannes confirmed what has been evident at regional award shows. Thailand did well in the TV category, while Singapore shone in print. The region as a whole fared well in the outdoor group, led by Malaysia's stunning performance. Says JWT's Lo: "There were three (Asian) judges out of 22 in most (categories) and that allowed us to have a louder voice among the international judges. We spent more time explaining the work and for many (other judges) it was their first introduction to work from here. We were riding on the uprising of Asia."
But notably absent from the winners list was Hong Kong. Admittedly, last year's economic slowdown and cautious clients may be to blame, however, Kelly described the city's inconspicuousness as "worrying". He adds: "There is some concern that Hong Kong is slipping off and getting on the sidelines.
It was only a finalist for TV and this is not like Hong Kong. It's a surprise but if you look at the regional award shows, it hasn't done too well and its presence is getting less. This should be a wakeup call for creatives."
CANNES IMPRESSIONS: CHINA SURPRISES YET DIVERSE ASIA REMAINS UNDER-REPRESENTED Name: Piyush Pandey
Job title: Cannes jury chairman and Ogilvy & Mather India chairman
Asian work shining
There was a lot of good work coming out of Asia. There's good stuff coming out of China this year, which is a new thing. Singapore and Thailand are already known, but to see stuff from China is wonderful.
I think Asia's showing sparks - there's a very good vibe I get about work that I know has been done by very young people. A lot can be expected this decade from Asia.
The jury was very vibrant, very open, and very confident, it's wonderful.
Physically, I didn't realise how strenuous it would be; my adrenalin was so high. It was only when I lay down in bed on the first day and wondered why I felt tired. Then I realised that I'd been standing for five hours continuously. So, the next day, I got my microphone fixed to my chair so I could sit down! You think you'll be sitting and reading ads, but some of these print ads are so big: you have to get up, unfold them, then read them one way, turn them around, read it another way...
I haven't been over-awed. I didn't find it very different from other experiences judging. The only difference is this is perhaps the most international jury in the awards world. Because each juror is from a different country - so the press jury has 21 different nations. The joy of conducting a jury like this, with people from all cultures, is to get them to come to a point of view. It's not as simple as getting the Abbies jury to agree, when they all know what you're talking about. One good thing is that there are more women on this year's jury than in the past. It's a nice balance.
As far as advice goes, I don't think you should ever look beyond your audience - that's the principle. Don't try and do work for this place, just do your thing. You need to do work for your place, and keep it sharper.
Because an idea is an idea is an idea - 'Wassup' was done for the people.
It was famous in America's bars before it became famous at the Martinez bar here. At the end of the day, think of ideas that will startle the people, because a juror is a part of the people.
SONY PLAYSTATION2'S 'MOUNTAIN... FILM GRAND PRIX WINNER
Name: Michelle Kristula-Green
Job title: President, Leo Burnett Asia-Pacific
Print still strongest
More than half the world's population lives in Asia, yet the region is still under-represented at Cannes, in terms of both diversity on the judging panel, and the amount of work submitted. Still, the fact that India's own Piyush Pandey was Asia's first jury president was a significant step forward for the industry.
Chatting with delegates from around the world, it was clear that for Cannes, Asia is still 'exotic'.
People are curious about the region, yes, but at the same time, they don't understand it fully. In addition to the obvious language barriers, many of the ideas central to Asian work are complex, based on a shared understanding, and don't translate well in the Cannes environment.
That said, this year Asia had a strong showing in print, both in terms of the number of submissions from the region, and the amount of metal picked up.
TV, however, was a different matter, with comparatively few Asia-Pacific entries, and only seven of those making it onto the shortlist. Ultimately though, it was a question of quality rather than quantity for Asia this year, with those spots that did pick up metal being incredibly strong and popular choices with judges, delegates and journalists.
Attending the film screenings before the shortlist stage, it was clear that for many in Asia there's still a tendency to copy the West. I saw a lot of work that tended towards an over-reliance on cheap gags, cynicism, being different for the sake of being different and complex production values/big extravaganzas.
This isn't where we should be headed. The best Asian work talks with an Asian voice and has its roots deeply embedded in local history and culture. Big-hitting Asian winners - Heir Green Leaf Tea, Soken and Tsubata - stood out because of the storytelling (complex but completely involving in the case of Heir) and because they were stories that could only ever have come from Asia. They were also extremely fresh, simple, unique ideas.
SOKEN... STORIES WHICH COULD HAVE ONLY COME FROM ASIA
Name: Chris Kyme
Job title: Partner, Bang Hong Kong
'Freshness' a winner
When you first cast your eyes over the selected finalists on display at the Cannes festival, you see a vast spread of work in every category which has already been deemed 'pretty damn good', a good portion of it having already picked up Gongs, medals, Spikes or Pencils in other award shows of various degrees of quality. So what separates the ones that only get that far, from the eventual Lions at Cannes?
As with any award show, personal taste or preferences come into it. And then there are the ones which are so good that they're just obviously going to be up there (Playstation 2, Aerolinas Argentina). But looking at a fair number of the eventual winners versus other entries at finalist stage, it wasn't just because they were good, but also because they were just that bit fresher. I couldn't help feeling that strategy was playing an important role in this. Quite a few winners seemed to be based on simple defining thoughts which pushed the thinking just that bit further - rather than the ones which, although really good ads, seemed to be saying the same old thing.
Look at the Vim Bleach commercial from Zig in Canada. Instead of just saying 'cleans even the toughest stains', the proposition was 'spend less time in the bathroom'. Of course, there are exceptions. Euro RSCG Flagship's Soken DVD player ad states simply 'plays smoothly', yet was good enough for a gold Lion, and rightly so. O&M Singapore won a Silver for its Fylm Fresh poster campaign simply by promising fresh breath.
And some work feels fresh and different because it's for something which you don't see advertised very often - like the TBWA print campaign for Sphere Action Figures.
It wasn't a huge year for Asia, but it was nice to see awards coming from less obvious corners like J. Walter Thompson's 'Missile car' gong.
In the end, once again, it was being that bit more original, not to mention great, that separated the men and women from the boys and girls.
CANNES GRAND PRIX & GOLD LIONS: AWARD WINNERS FOR 2004
OUTDOOR
Campaign Agency Advertiser Award
Missile Car J Walter Thompson
Kuala Lumpur Ch-9 Media
Grand Prix
Cloth M&C Saatchi Sydney Herringbone Gold Lion
Sofa M&C Saatchi Sydney Herringbone Gold Lion
Para-Rescue Jumpers TBWA\Singapore Sphere Gold Lion
16 Air Assault TBWA\Singapore Sphere Gold Lion
Desert Rats TBWA\Singapore Sphere Gold Lion
7th Marines TBWA\Singapore Sphere Gold Lion
Vertical Football TBWA\Japan Tokyo Adidas Gold Lion
Pararescue Jumpers TBWA\Singapore Sphere Gold Lion
16 Air Assault TBWA\Singapore Sphere Gold Lion
7th Marines TBWA\Singapore Sphere Gold Lion
Desert Rats TBWA\Singapore Sphere Gold Lion
Vertical Football TBWA\Japan Tokyo Adidas Gold Lion
Windscreen Flyer Colenso BBDO
Auckland Environment
Waikato Gold Lion
Mushroom Publicis Mojo Paton
Sydney Fertilizers Gold Lion
Palm Tree Publicis Mojo Paton
Sydney Fertilizers Gold Lion
Sprout Publicis Mojo Paton
Sydney Fertilizers Gold Lion
Media Agency Advertiser Award
Best Use Of Cinema Starcom
Thailand Bangkok Thai Asia
Pacific
Breweries Co. Media Lion
Best Use Of Magazines Clemenger BBDO
Wellington Panasonic
New Zealand Media Lion
Best Use Of Outdoor TBWA\Japan Tokyo Adidas Media Lion
Best Use Of Internet/ Starcom Japan P&G Media Lion
New Media
Film Agency Advertiser/
Adv. Agency Award
Worms BBDO Bangkok UNI President
(Thailand) Gold Lion
Kill Bill Kill Bill Euro RSCG
Flagship Bangkok Soken Gold Lion
Titititanic Euro RSCG
Flagship Bangkok Soken Gold Lion
X...X...X Euro RSCG
Flagship Bangkok Soken Gold Lion
Direct Agency Advertiser Award
Five - Cent Texts Host Sydney Virgin Mobile Grand Prix
Alcoholic Beverage OgilvyOne Guinness
Worldwide Anchor Marketing Gold Lion
Kuala Lumpur
Credit Cards iLeo Sydney Virgin Money
Australia Gold Lion
Credit Cards iLeo Sydney Virgin Money
Australia Gold Lion
Credit Cards iLeo Sydney Virgin Money
Australia Gold Lion
Press Agency Advertiser Award
Cloth/Clothing Range M&C Saatchi Herringbone Gold Lion
Sofa/Clothing Range M&C Saatchi Herringbone Gold Lion
Para-Rescue Jumpers/ TBWA\Singapore Sphere Gold Lion
Sphere Action Figures
16 Air Assault/ TBWA\Singapore Sphere Gold Lion
Sphere Action Figures
Desert Rats/ TBWA\Singapore Sphere Gold Lion
Sphere Action Figures
7th Marines/ TBWA\Singapore Sphere Gold Lion
Sphere Action Figures
Cyber Agency Advertiser Award
NEC Ecotonoha Project/ NEX Media NEC Corporation Grand Prix
IT Business/Computers Products
The Uninvited/ Postvisual.com Bom Film
Film Promotion Productions Gold Lion