Special Report: Asia - An Asian Private View

brain, makes work seem almost impossible and, at our age, only gets
worse." I had vaguely heard of CRAFT, knew it was some sort of mental
condition, but wasn't exactly sure what it stood for. With a sad smile,
Tim told me: "Can't Remember a Fuckin' Thing."

So why am I telling this story? Er, well, um, oh yeah, that's it -
Thailand Yellow Pages (3) and its new campaign. A great, simple idea:
"Yellow Pages, easy to find." So, the guy in the bath towel clearly
needs a plumber, he finds one easily in the Yellow Pages, but spends the
whole 30 seconds talking on the phone to his girlfriend trying to find
his mobile. Wait a minute, he's trying to locate his mobile while
talking on his mobile - this boy's got CRAFT.

Also elegant in its simplicity and charm is a Bose (5) car stereo
campaign by Bartle Bogle Hegarty China. In one ad, a set of grinning
cuddly toys beam out of the back window of a car holding their lighters
up like a rock concert crowd. But, for my money, the prizewinner is an
overhead blueprint of a concert hall which, on closer examination, is
actually a top-plan of a car. Take off the Chinese copy, it wouldn't
look out of place on BBH London's wall.

TBWA\London needn't reserve a place for its Malaysia offices' Samsonite
(2) ads. The line reads: "There's only one way to open a Samsonite." The
pictures are of people being interrogated. I've no idea why these
interrogation scenes appear in almost every student book you see. I've
also no idea what real relevance these admittedly well-taken shots have
to do with a suitcase. But I'm pretty certain it isn't what David Ogilvy
had in mind when he coined the phrase: "Interrogate the product."
Talking of Ogilvy, the agency's Philippines offices have avoided the
trap of ambiguous analogies and hit the spot for Ponds (1) facial
cleanser. We don't see the spot of course, it is hidden behind a real
piece of poster pulled up over the model's face. A simple headline -
"Pimples?" - wisely directs full attention to the idea.

Aware (4). A grotesque humanoid casually ironing in a black-and-white
setting that could easily be a still from David Lynch's Eraserhead is
also an unarguably arresting image. It's therefore all the more
disappointing that a strong visual start is consistently sunk by a
leaden anchor of a line: "No child should have to live with a monster."
This Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore campaign is a descendent of the famous
charity campaigns from Charlotte Street. What made the NSPCC ads
remarkable was similar art direction, but they were always
counterpointed by some of the most delicately penned and emotionally
measured copy.

And finally, from Bangkok, a ring ding, rootin' tootin' award-gobbler
from JEH United for Smooth E (6). A four-parter (that I assume was
originally on the web) wherein our feisty tomboy heroine, Joom, finds
love courtesy of another skin cream. It is a collision of the high
school modernity of Boy Meets World and the Chinese Western tomfoolery
of Hong Kong Hustle. The best character is the presenter, who
occasionally freezes to a grinning rictus of a pitch woman in the middle
of the action, and who oddly tries to reassure Joom of her success by
revealing her old driving licence that shows she is, in fact, a lady
boy.

It is tremendously heartening to see such excellent work from Asia; it
reminds me of one vital thing - we must always remember about the East.
What was that again?

So I get an invite to write my opinion on some work from the region, and
the first thing that goes through my mind is to grandstand and spout off
at the expense of others' hard work.

I'm not falling into that old trap ... but I do appreciate what it takes
to get work in to print, and have it run with an idea intact.

So I thought I would give both my gut and professional reactions just to
show I am not a bitter, twisted wanker ... yet.

Aware (4). Gut: Scary pics, must be for a charity ... ooh, I'm
scared.

Professional: It's not easy doing different work for this subject. Scare
or shock tactics are the norm, whether in real-life scenarios or
depicting the moments or situations in graphic ways. But to have an idea
that captures the essence of the problem and get it bought while still
in its true state is an achievement in itself. Strong art direction,
clean layout and vivid imagery. I can't help, however, feeling that the
visual has somehow overpowered the subtlety of the copy, which for me is
the strength of these ads. I think, left to the imagination, the copy
would have conjured up more stirring feelings and images.

Samsonite (2). Gut: Christ, not another big picture, hidden copy visual
with overly clever message format.

Professional: I like it and love that it engages me to search out what
is being said. I was quick to criticise the lack of product, but there
it was cleverly placed and not so obvious as to kill the idea. Thank god
no corny product demos, lock shots or pack shots. It was all in the
clever execution. Times like this, we should recognise a good client who
sticks with an idea without watering it down. 'Nuff said.

Bose (5). Gut: Hmm, yeah, so what?

Professional: There's some pretty cool stuff out there for this
category, most of it very simple. It has to be, since the product is
experiential, so print has to work very hard and inspire. Classic clean
art direction - which is expected here in Asia - keeps the campaign
together. But two of the ideas are a little generic, if not cute. Bose
isn't a cute brand.

Ponds (1). Gut: Not sure. Looks good, but is it?

Professional: Looks good. Seems simple. Is arresting. Makes good
outdoor. Client must be happy; so is agency. Just doesn't do it for me.
Can't tell you why ... maybe it's just too obvious.

Smooth E (6). Gut: Shit, that's good.

Professional: Years ago, "Bellybutton Face" came out and poked fun at
cosmetics advertising by using humour and engaging us all in the story
of a bad facelift, when all she had to do was use this skin-tightening
cream. So here we see yet another brilliant Thai execution for a beauty
cream, told with all the charm and humour you come to expect from
Thailand. Except, this is more. It shatters the mould of the category
and treats the consumer with intelligence by engaging them, both male
and female, with confidence in production, acting and filmic style. It
has covered off the beauty shot, the obligatory babe and product demo
effortlessly. I said it before. You really have to admire a client who
stays with and commits to a great idea. The rest of the world can learn
from this.

Yellow Pages (3). Gut: Just misses.

Professional: A simple human insight made this a potential winner, but
somehow it just tripped at the end. Couldn't quite put my finger on it;
I got the message loud and clear - I guess it came down to just not
being funny. I'll bet it was in the creation and all the
pre-sell ... but on the day it left me flat.

So, finished. At the end of it I know why Asia is so cool and why I love
the work produced here. After reading this you may have two reactions.
Gut: Wanker. Professional: He's right.

1. PONDS FACIAL SCRUB

Project title: Ponds hiding billboard

Client: Unilever

Brief: Reposition the brand as best in category

Agency: Ogilvy & Mather Philippines

Executive creative director: Gavin Simpson

Writers: Gavin Simpson, Pia Roxas

Art directors: Mike Sicam, Lito Gemora

Photographer: Ruben Dela Cruz at Visual Camp

Exposure: Outdoor



2. SAMSONITE SUITCASES

Project title: Secret code

Client: Samsonite

Brief: Tough bag. The bag is so tough the only way to open it is to get

the combination

Agency: TBWA\Malaysia

Creative director: Bas Moreu

Writer: Ong Shi Ping

Art directors: Ong Shi Ping, Giap How Tan

Exposure: Magazines



3. THAILAND YELLOW PAGES

Project title: Baby/phone

Client: Yellow Pages

Brief: Create more usage of Yellow Pages among consumers who have

forgotten about the book

Agency: Creative Juice\G1

Writer: Prangthip Praditpong

Director: Thanonchai Sornsriwichai

Exposure: TV



4. AWARE

Project title: Living with monsters

Client: Aware

Brief: In homes where spousal abuse takes place, the children become

victims too. We need to raise awareness of their plight

Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore

Creative director: Andy Greenaway

Writers: Jagdish Ramakrishnan, Justine Lee, Roger Makak

Art directors: Jae Soh, Richard Copping, Robin Tan

Photographer: Jeremy Wong at Calibre

Exposure: Press and bus shelters



5. BOSE AUTOMOTIVE

Project title: Bose Automotive launch campaign

Client: Bose Automotive

Brief: Launch Bose Automotive Experience in China

Agency: Bartle Bogle Hegarty China

Writers: Steve Elrick, Leo Zhang

Art directors: Johnny Tan, Kelly Pon, Jeffrey Sun

Exposure: Print



6 SMOOTH E

Project title: Love Story 1,2,3,4

Client: Smooth E Babyface Foam

Brief: To sell, while poking fun at the category

Agency: JEH United Bangkok

Creative director: Jureeporn Thaidumrong

Writer: Jureeporn Thaidumrong

Art director: Jureeporn Thaidumrong

Director: Thanonchai Sornsriwichai

Exposure: TV