On the third leg of its world tour, the New York Festival International Advertising Awards gave a lifetime achievement award to Neil French, the legendary adman behind the creative revolution in the Asian advertising industry. The ceremony was held July 25 at the Jiading SINO Creative ADI Zone outside Shanghai,
After receiving the award, Neil French, whose uncensored views on suits, clients, award shows and scam ads have delighted and scandalized the industry since the Seventies, served more of the same to an audience of 500 hundred advertising practitioners and students.
While he was grateful to the organizers of the NYF International Awards, he also took to task the agencies whose winning print ads were exhibited at the event. He bemoaned the dominance of visual ads that pleased award show juries but often failed to persuade consumers to buy the products. He also expounded on the power of persuasive copy, in any language.
Earlier in the day, Michael O’Rourke, president of the New York Festivals International Awards, and Gordon Tan, its marketing director in Asia, also presented the creative achievement awards to several chief creatives of agencies that won international awards and supported NYF. Among those present were representatives from Cumminsnitro Brisbane (the agency behind “The Best Job in the World” campaign), McCann Worldgroup Causeway Bay (Nike “Paper Battlefield”), JWT Singapore, BBDO/Proximity Malaysia, BBDO Guerrero, DDB DM9 JaymeSyfu, Bates Taiwan, Euro RSCG Singapore, Leo Burnett Mumbai, Y&R Singapore and Chiel Worldwide Korea.
From Shanghai, the NYF World Tour moves to Santiago, Chile where it celebrates the region’s winners on September 7.
