1. Bernie Ecclestone creates an F1 firestorm
Comments by the F1 kingpin in Atifa Silk's exclusive interview kicked off a wave of criticism and even calls for the longtime boss to step down. Our colleagues at Autosport in the UK kicked it off by highlighting some of Ecclestone's astounding assertions in an article headlined "Bernie Ecclestone: Formula 1 doesn't need young fans". From there, the story went viral and was picked up by most major newspapers/websites and television outlets as well.
2. Agency of the Year shortlists (and a few winners) are out now
You probably knew about this already, but just in case, you can view the shortlists for all five regions now. In amongst those pages you'll also see a few winners in categories where the jury only shortlisted one entry:
- Indonesia Creative Agency of the Year: Y&R Group Indonesia
- Thailand Creative Agency of the Year: Y&R Group Thailand
- Australia/New Zealand New Business Development Team of the Year: M&C Saatchi: Jaimes Leggett, Justin Graham, Ben Welsh and Lucy Billington
- Japan/Korea Planner of the Year: TBWA\HAKUHODO: Takuro Amada
- Japan/Korea Talent Management Person/Team of the Year: TBWA\HAKUHODO: Eiji Takahashi
3. Facebook launches in-house agency in four APAC markets
The social network site will be rolling out its in-house agency Creative Shop in India, Greater China, Japan and Korea by the end of the year. Heading the effort is Peter Riley, who assures agencies the social-media company does not intend to compete with them for clients.
4. Marketing Innovation Summit
Campaign's Marketing Innovation Summit brought together brand marketers and digital players in Singapore Tuesday to discuss the latest trends and thought provoking issues centering around programmatic buying. Click above for highlights and photos.
5. Our newest staff member: the Ad Nut
Each week, this furry fellow will scurry all around the internet gathering ads that our editors might not otherwise cover, but that you still might like to see. Check out his inaugural collection.
6. DBS set to roll out $25 million regional campaign
The bank, which operates in Singapore, India, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and China, is set to start 'Igniting possibilities, sparking joy' in a new campaign created by R/GA.
7. Media spend suffers in Malaysia's confidence crisis
This article, originally published in our November print edition, seems unfortunately prescient now that Media Prima, Malaysia’s largest free-to-air TV broadcaster and owner of the New Straits Times Press, has announced that it hopes to shed 10 per cent of its staff through a "mutual separation" scheme.
8. Congrats to Nikki Wicks, our Southeast Asia editor
Nikki won an Editor of the Year Award from the British Society of Magazine Editors for the launch of Forever Sports, which he worked on at Haymarket in London (before moving to Singapore and joining us a few months ago).
Shakira's ad for @Activia is 2014's most shared ad according to @unrulyco http://t.co/xH5jKOAAgY @shakira pic.twitter.com/gQ0tTt6dTd
— Campaign Asia (@CampaignAsia) November 20, 2014