MUMBAI, INDIA – There’s a sensation that defies articulation, that intoxicating cocktail of displacement and discovery when you land in unfamiliar territory. Foreign faces blur past you. Foreign tongues create a symphony you can’t quite decode. You’re equal parts apprehensive and euphoric, nervous yet impossibly alive. It’s as if every nerve ending has suddenly remembered its purpose, every synapse crackling with voltage as you navigate the delicious chaos of a strange new landscape.
This was Seoul. And this was the One Asia Awards 2025.
What a gloriously overwhelming whirlwind it turned out to be! Forty-eight hours of relentless viewing, deep debating, passionate pontificating and ultimately, crowning some of the most brilliantly audacious ideas to emerge from the Asian creative landscape. But we weren’t thrown into the deep end unprepared. Oh no.
The festival opened with a masterstroke: “The Five Senses of Seoul” as this year’s judging theme. Each juror was gifted a thoughtfully curated tote bag (massive props to Black Cat White Cat Music for the sponsorship) filled with sensory treasures designed to capture the city’s essence — its visual poetry, its sonic heartbeat, its explosive flavors, its tactile contradictions, and its aromatic soul. Call it pre-jury pampering if you like, but arriving at jury deliberations unbothered, moisturized, properly hydrated and absolutely flourishing proved to be the perfect launchpad.
Inside the creative crucible
But here’s what truly stayed with me from the jury room: it wasn’t merely the passionate exchanges or the spirited debates — it was the profound reverence shown to every single entry. This wasn’t accidental. Kevin Swanepoel set the tone brilliantly during the pre-judging briefing with one simple directive: “Let’s not pull down the work but find what’s good in it.”
And just like that, the atmosphere transformed.
Work was celebrated not just for its creative pyrotechnics, but for its authentic, bone-deep connection to its market. That’s the beating heart of One Asia, honoring ideas that don’t just borrow from culture but are woven into its very fabric. What struck me most powerfully was how these ideas demanded your attention. They insisted you sit up and take notice. Nothing felt safe. Nothing felt predictable. Everything was wonderfully bizarre, thrillingly different, magnificently new.
This is precisely where the jury’s diversity became invaluable. When cultural nuance from one corner of Asia eluded understanding, a fellow juror would lean in with context, transforming confusion into clarity. We became each other’s translators, not just of language, but of meaning.
The sizzling afterglow
To borrow a metaphor from that spectacular Korean BBQ dinner we devoured: the One Asia Awards was one magnificently bubbling hot pot of creativity. We were served up sizzling, smoke-wreathed ideas marinated in hyper-local flavour, each one designed to assault the senses in the best possible way. The festival didn’t ask you to appreciate creativity intellectually, from some detached, chin-stroking distance. It demanded you experience it sensorially — to taste, smell, feel it crackle against your skin. And that, my friends, is an approach worth celebrating. It’s an approach worth taking home.
It’s the kind of electricity you feel when you first set foot in a strange place, and realize you never want to leave.
About The Writer
With over two decades in advertising and design, Sambit Mohanty blends brand insight with sharp communication skills to create work that resonates across audiences.
As Executive Vice President & Creative Head at McCann Worldgroup Bangalore, Sambit oversees both the business and creative functions of the branch. His career has spanned leadership roles at JWT (now VML), DDB Mudra, Bates and Lowe Lintas, before returning to McCann in 2020 as Head of Creative for South.
Sambit has helped shape brands like Coca-Cola, Flipkart, Nescafé, Dettol, and Britannia. His campaigns have earned recognition at Cannes Lions, D&AD, Clios, and Spikes Asia. Highlights include winning a Gold Lion and a Grand Clio Award for Ujjivan Bank’s Shagun Ka Lifafa, and conceptualizing Facebook “Thumbstoppers” & Times of India “Lost Votes” campaigns in his stint as National Creative Director at JWT.
