LOTUS BLOOMS ANEW WITH BIG-TIME JURY HEADS
< width="100" height="100" src=" ADFEST2008_LOGO_200X200_2. " alt="" /> This year’s crop of ADFEST jury heads will definitely put Asia
Pacific creatives on their mettle from March 26 to 29 at the Peach
Conventional Exhibition Center in Pattaya, Thailand. Festival
President Jimmy Lam says that each year, the organizing committee
combs the world to select the most brilliant of brilliants.
“So as to uphold the standards we have set for ourselves, we work
very hard to identify and invite creative leaders around the world to
become jury presidents of various Lotus Awards. It is not surprising at all
that there is no lack of homegrown creative leaders in the Asia Pacific
region when several of them have been jury presidents of international
awards. Piyush Pandey was one great example at ADFEST 2007.
David Guerrero is another at ADFEST 2008, and definitely not the only
one, I can make that a promise.”
TONY DAVIDSON
Lotus TV Jury President
Executive Creative Director
Wieden+Kennedy, London
From creating noise for Adidas via the `96 Nicknames campaign,
to jumping to the other side of the sports fence a few years after, and
creating the well-received Nike Run London online, Tony soared,
bagging a Cannes Grand Prix and Client of the Year in 2007. Also the
incumbent D&AD President, Tony joined Wieden+Kennedy London
in September 2000 and steered it into one of the most admired
agencies in the world. The Honda “Power of Dreams” campaign
has won international accolades, creating a more saleable and
appealing image for the brand. In fact, the campaign has
been winning awards for the past three years, bagging 2 D&AD Black
Pencils, the Cannes Grand Prix and Client of the Year in 2007.
On TVCs: “The challenge for today’s TV awards is the freshness
of thinking. Too many commercials these days feel the same. They
feel like sponsored jokes trying to win a Cannes award. They feel
familiar. To quote the great Bill Bernbach, `The memorable never
emerged from a formula.’”
DAVID GUERRERO
Lotus Radio Jury President
Chairman and Chief Creative Officer
BBDO Guerrero Ortega, Manila
David found BBDO Guerrero Ortega in 1998. Impressively, the
agency never disappeared from Asia’s leading creative agencies
list, and earned the title of Best in Creative in the recently concluded
Agency of the Year awards in Manila. He was named as one
of the region’s top ten creative directors by Campaign Brief Asia.
Among his many internationally famous, award-winning works
were campaigns for VISA, Federal Express and Child Hope Asia.
In 2007, he became the first Southeast Asian jury president at
Cannes. He headed juries at MADC and judged Clio, AWARD, Young
Guns, Kancils, Singapore Creative Circle, London International, and
New York Festivals in the past. On Radio: “Seek to break the
conventions of radio advertising. Don’t try to take short cuts by using
funny voices, hi-tech audio tricks or abusing the eardrums of the
judges. Use the same kind of thinking that leads to great work in other
media, and you should do well.”
TOBY TALBOT
Lotus Press & Poster Jury President
Executive Creative Director
DDB New Zealand
Fresh from heading the Poster jury at D&AD last year, Toby made
it to the No.2 Creative Director spot in Australasia in the top 400
creative rankings undertaken by Campaign Brief Asia.
He has Gold Lions, Gold Pencils, Gold Clios, and a D&AD
Silver nomination. His works usually win in Axis and Award, both
Australian shows. Toby believes that Asia is home to some of
the most arresting and effective print campaigns in the world.
On Press and Poster: “Asia has a fantastic reputation for world-class
print. But it also has a reputation for doing world-class scam ads.
This year, if you’re thinking of entering anything vaguely scammy,
DON’T! You’ll just be doing more damage to the reputation of
your industry. What I’d love to see are big ideas for real clients that
actually ran. Not another exquisite campaign for a model shop.”
STEFAN SAGMEISTER
Lotus Design Jury President
Founder & President
Sagmeister, Inc. New York
The Rolling Stones, HBO and Guggenheim Museum are some of
Stefan’s biggest clients. He has a Grammy for a Talking Heads boxed
set, five Grammy nominations and virtually every international design
award under his cap. He holds a Masters degree from New York’s
Pratt Institute, and was a Fullbright scholar at the University of Arts
in in his native Vienna, Austria. On Design: “I have seen
work coming out of Southeast Asia that influences designers in
London, New York and Tokyo. And I am hoping to see lots of that.
The success of Apple’s super sleek products, Nike’s out-of-the-box
designs, Starbucks’ unique cookie cutter interiors and Nokia’s brave
attempt at turning mobile phones into a fashion statement, show the
importance of design in the success of a brand. Consumers demand
products not just for its function but more so for its form. As good
design becomes the epicenter of success in a brand, so does
the design of its communication materials. It is crucial that the brand
and its information are transmitted to consumers reflecting the right
blend of brand essence.”
TAY GUAN HIN
Lotus Outdoor Jury President
Regional Creative Director
JWT Singapore
One of the most sought-after creatives in all of Asia, Tay was once
a chairman for Print & Poster Jury of Clio and chief of jury for Asia Outdoor
Advertising in 2007. He judged for ADFEST, D&AD, One Show, Spikes,
Award and Cannes in the past. Under his tutelage, the JWT offices
in Manila and Jakarta both brought home their respective countries’ first
ever Gold Lions from Cannes. Among his awards were Cannes Gold Lions,
D&AD, One Show, Clio, ADFEST, Award and Spikes. To top his achievements
off, three of his campaigns made it to Gunn Report’s top ten.
On Outdoor: “Having judged the Cannes Outdoor and chaired the
Asia Outdoor Advertising Awards, I have gained deeper understanding
of where out-of-home might lead to in the future. Some of the big
outdoor winners today come from Japan where digital and outdoors
co-exist. A good example is the interactive wall called Big Shadow
for Xbox 360’s Blue Dragon game. I will be looking forward to seeing the
work that continues to challenge the conventions. Simple ideas executed
brilliantly will be surefire standouts.”
GAVIN McLEOD
Lotus Direct Jury Head
Creative Director
Mark
Gavin has made a habit of bagging a Cannes Lion for the past five years.
It comes as no surprise as he has won many awards in his career.
Some of which are Best Creative at both the New Zealand Direct
Marketing Awards, Australian Direct Marketing Association Awards, and
15 Caples. An executive member of both Award and the Australian
Direct Marketing Association, Gavin is instrumental in bringing M&C
Saatchi Direct to the fore of direct marketing, by leading it to the title of
second best direct creative agency in the world, as awarded by the
Won Report. No wonder he sits on Mark’s management committee.
On Direct Marketing: “People are spending all the time and
energy creating great work and then entering the work in the most
unbelievably sloppy manner. My advice is to really take the time to
put a great entry together. Direct work is often in response to quite
complicated briefs and requires a degree of explanation. An entry that
looks great and does a fantastic job at explaining why the work is brilliant
will really have a fighting chance.”
TOM ESLINGER
Lotus Cyber Jury Head
Worldwide Interactive
Creative Director
Saatchi & Saatchi London
Tom has been awarded by D&AD, One Show, Clio, Effies, New
York and London International Festivals,Type Directors Club, Future
Marketing Awards, AXIS, and Award. He has served as jury head for
Cyber at Cannes in 2007, and earlier on, as judge for the 2002 Cyber
and 2006 Titanium Lion juries. On Cyber: “There is great work
coming from all over Asia. The region is getting very strong and I
want to find the best ideas that will push other creatives to match and
better the work all over the world. Agencies should make entries very
clear. Make sure the jury knows what they are supposed to look
at. Don’t just send a URL. Make a landing page with some info about
your entry. Descriptions should be brief and clear. Above all, select
your best work and present it well.” It is interesting to note that
creatives from Manila were selected to be jury members.
Leigh Reyes, incumbent ECD of Y&R Manila, who won
the Philippines’ first Gold Clio will judge for Lotus Press & Poster.
While Joel Limchoc, creative director and art head of BBDO
GO will join the Lotus Print Craft and Lotus Design juries.
