Adoi Malaysia 2001 May Issue

MALAYSIA'S #1 ADVERTISING AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS MAGAZINE

THE BEST ACTION & ADVENTURE TELEVISION

Crime Scene Investigation

Most Successful Asian Movie £ Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon O

*4 Oscar Awards * 4 British Academy of Film & Television Arts Awards

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• 2 Golden Globe Awards

No.l Producer - Mark Burnett Eco-Challenge & Survivor • Founder of Eco-Challenge • Survivor I & II :Top rated shows in the USA • Eco-Challenge : Winner of multiple Emmy Awards

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Top 10 Anime of the 20th Century Sakura Wars YOU SHOULD KNOW WHERE TO GET THE BUZZ!

www.axn-asia.com

(Animage Magazine)

Notes from the editor aDOl What's new in this issue. On April 5, former school bus driver Balakumar Subramaniam was awarded RM357,200 for suffering traumatic stress after a giant billboard crashed onto the bus he was driving almost six years ago. This story which appeared in The Sun newspaper should serve as a reminder to all of us that irresponsible advertising has a price to pay. In this instance, the livelihood and well-being of a sole bread winner in a family struggling to make ends meet. And if we think our responsibility ends when the ad is completed think again. In the words of Eugene Seow, Executive VP Asia Pacific of Euro RSCG Worldwide when observing the recent passing of his close friend, O&M Singapore's Mervyn Neo, "I remember Mervyn once calling me up in the middle of a stormy night to make sure I go check that a sign-board we've put up for The Rolex Masters did not come down because of the storm. Nothing must be left to chance, he said." On April 23rd, Malaysia's advertising community headed to the Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club to hear media maestro Mark Austin talk about 'The shifting role of media", organised by ADOI. In a thought-provoking one-hour presentation attended by over 320 industry professionals (including my regular and beloved gate-crasher James Selva), the event saw a rare gathering of media professionals. Many commented Mark's speech reflected a clear mindset change about the way we look at media. 4AS President Boon graced the occasion with his presence and kindly delivered the thank you address. Those who looked up at the sky that day would have noticed an aerial banner being towed by a light plane announcing Mark's arrival. Kudos to AeroHawk for their effort in promoting the event. Also to sponsors Newsweek, ACNielsen, POS Ad, ntV7 and MMT. The Malaysian Advertisers Association (MAA) recently announced F&N CocaCola's Corporate Affairs Manager Zainuddin Mohd Noli as its new President, taking over from long-serving outgoing President Datuk Dr Jaffar Mohd Ali. For the uninitiated, the MAA was founded in 1955 by Max Lewis, at that time, the general manager of F&N Bhd. And finally, Sledgehammer Communications is commencing its popular HRDFapproved Certificate in Copywriting course come June. Evening classes will be held twice weekly for three months. With award-winning lecturers like Yasmin Ahmad, Janet Lee, Chris Howden, Beresford Mitchell, Kurt Crocker and more, it is advisable to book your seats early. A must for budding copywriters who want to brush up their skills with the guidance of experienced masters of the craft.

Respectfully,

^3

HIGHLIGHTS

Another Brick in the Wall Pt.2

Pg 10

The 7 Deadly Sins

Pg 14

What do Music and Bollywood have in common?

Pg 16

Of Industry Rumours & Other Vagaries

Pg 22

'Do Something.'

Pg 28

INTERACTIVE The Internet For All!

Pg 10

DIRECT MARKETING The DM Copywriter: Myths & Realities

Pg 12

NEWS Ads Galore Happenings

Pg 12, 24, 26, 36 Pg 8, 22, 38

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS Austen Zecha sells us to the rest of the world

Pg 4

Bernie Lo bowls us over

Pg 18

Sonal Dabral creates 'Best of the Best' of 2000

Pg 20

Talib Yatim brings RTM back with a blast

Pg 32

MANAGING EDITOR: Harmandar Singh aka Ham PRINTER: Far East Digital Prints OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHER: Jen Siow WRITER: T.Sivananthi DESIGNER: Lew Yin Lee COLOUR SEPARATOR: Far East Colour Separation ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES(Doreen): Sledgehammer Communications Sdn Bhd 22B, Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad Satu, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, 60000, Kuala Lumpur Tel: 03-7726 2588 Fax: 03-7722 5710 E-mail: zainabila@yahoo.com DISTRIBUTION: Efficient Lettershop, Mag Media Distributors HOUSE FONTS - FF EUREKA & BUREAU GROTESQUE: alt.TYPE. 32 Pekin Street, #03-01 Far East Square, Singapore 048762 Tel: 236 2988.

ADOI magazine is published every month by Sledgehammer Communications Sdn Bhd (Company No: 289967-W) 22B Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad Satu, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, 60000 Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 603-7726 2588. Fax: 603-7726 2598. Š All rights reserved by Sledgehammer Communications Sdn Bhd. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without prior permission in writing from the publisher. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this publication, the publisher and the editor assume no responsibility for errors or omissions or for any consequences of reliance of information in this publication. The opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher or editor. Advertisements are the sole responsibility of the advertisers.

aDOl _—.

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Smooth, slick, suavi children have dual nationality American/Dutch but I am Dutch. My wife is from New York, but she's second generation Irish. But I guess what it comes down to is the country that you're born in, you have no choice in that, you have no choice about your birth but the country you choose to live and work in, you have a choice. So this is my 39th year of working life - that's a long time - some people don't even live that long - out of that 26, 28 years of the 39 years were here.

Austen Zecha needs no introduction to the advertising scene in Malaysia. He is a trail-blazing pioneer who has been there and done it all. He started his first agency way back in 1974. In the course of his career, he has met and worked with the "Who's Who" of the country. In fact, what he seems to consider the passion of his life is to, literally, sell the country. His agencies have won more than 20 international awards for their advertising and promotions work on behalf of Malaysia as a desired tourist destination, Malaysia Airlines as the country's 'flying ambassador' and the annual Fi event in Malaysia as one of the country's premier tourism events. ISCB in 1998 also produced and enlisted sponsors for its "Malaysia: Bullish on Bouncing Back" worldwide print and TV campaign to help restore international confidence in Malaysia as a viable business and investment 'destination'." Being a marathon runner in this business, ADOI is honoured to interview him. Here he shares with us some of his invaluable experiences and thoughts as well as hints at his latest deal which is to take place sometime during the second quarter. You have a lot of luck, although you've had ups and downs, you're known as the survivor, people say "Austin will be back, watch him" Sometimes it takes longer than expected. But I can't complain. In my own life having a lot of children is the worst thing. They sober you up whenever you get carried away with things - you think about them and realise hmmm. You're not Dutch are you? My father was Eurasian - a mix of Chec, Dutch and Indonesian and my mother was 1/2 Malaysian Chinese, 1/4 Thai, 1/4 Italian. So I'm a mix of all that. My

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Why did you spend so much time working in Malaysia? My late father was born and raised here in Kuala Lumpur, and she and my late father were married in Malacca. And it was she who introduced me and my four older brothers to what was then Malaya in the late-40's and early 50's. And I started my working life here in Kuala Lumpur, right after receiving my Master's degree from Stanford in mid1962, as a journalist until I returned to the United States in mid-1964 after the country became Malaysia, staying away until Tengku Razaleigh (the then Chairman of Pernas) invited me back in late 1974 to open my first Malaysian agency venture, in which I was a 25% shareholder and with the three Malaysian institutional investors Pernas, the then Tourism Development Corporation and Malaysia Airlines - each having 25% each of the agency, PTM Communications. That agency involvement was followed by my partnership with Melewar's Tunku Abdullah in AMC, from late 1976 to the early 90's when it became Malaysia's largest ad agency, before I started the ISC Group. Therefore, I have had a life-long "on-off" love affair with this country which, despite having been born in Jakarta, my Dutch nationality and American education, has endured until today. Also, all five of my children including my middle child who unfortunately died at 3, were born here, so this country has been truly bountiful for me in more ways than one. You have a way with the powers that be. How did that come about? A lot of them I met when I was a journalist in '62, '64 like Tengku Abdullah and Dr Mahathir. Those were the days when I was roving the country during the time of build-up towards Malaysia and during the time of konfrontasi. I met Donald Stephens, Khir Johari and the late Tun Saadon.That's why when I started my first agency in Hong Kong I decided to come to Malaysia after 4 years, because travelling back and forth, from Jakarta to Hong Kong, was a chore. So we thought we'll base ourselves in the middle and we looked at Bangkok, we looked at Kuala Lumpur, Singapore. Having friends in Kuala Lumpur tipped the scales and in that year '62/64 we used to play tennis at Tengku Abdul Rahman's residence in Kenny Hills. You've had about 30 years of agency experience and have spent about 40 years of your life in the communications industry. What are the memorable moments? Well, for my early career, before I started my agency investments, there were three really memorable occasions: covering the birth of Malaysia and subsequent

J

Austen. military confrontation with the late President Sukarno's Indonesia during my two years as a journalist here, my subsequent two years with the late Robert F. Kennedy's organisation in Washington, D.C. and New York City and, finally, my four years with the Exxon and Mobil headquarters' International Divisions, also in New York City. And it seems as if it was only yesterday when I was so deliriously happy to win my initial advertising agency's very first international account, the DirectorateGeneral of Tourism of Indonesia, in 1972, a year after I started my agency business in Hong Kong. The other memorable milestones of my Hong Kong agency career were winning the entire Phillips account for Hong Kong and the Dow Chemical account for the region. Since starting my Malaysian agency career in late 1974, the memorable events were my earlier agencies' services to both the Tourism Malaysia and MAS accounts - both of which, by the way, I serviced at my two previous agencies here and launching McDonald's.... That was the big dream then... Yes, it was Vincent Tan and that time he was not even a Datuk yet and he had his offices in Bangsar, up a shop lot. We launched the first one in Bukit Bintang, right there in the corner. We had the account for 6 years. We launched the Proton Saga in this country, as well as introducing and handling 12 consecutive Celebrity Tennis events for charity here (from 1979 to 1991) and launching the first-ever "Visit ASEAN" campaign from 1989 to 1992, the current five-year contracted worldwide services to Royal Brunei Airlines and, of course, winning Tourism Malaysia's international account back. Also I consider our 1998 "Malaysia: Bullish on Bouncing Back" as well as our current work for the Sepang (Formula One) International Circuit as real highlights of my career todate. Hopefully, of course, there will be many more still before I throw in the towel. You've also ventured into publishing Yes, the inaugural issue of 'Wings of Gold' was launched in April 1975 and I was editor-in-chief, publisher and everything. But the family was always in tourism so I grew up in tourism. My grandfather was the first one to go into the hotel line in Indonesia and incidentally we followed. It was one of those things that came relatively naturally and till today we are in the hotel and travel business. We did 'Sawadee', 'Wings of Gold' and 'Silver Kris'. We still have the Sabah tourism account and we've got the 'Visit ASEAN' campaign which is to be launched this year. Tourism has always been the strength of our agency. After all, everyone loves to travel and we're just selling that magic! You've seen a lot of things in the industry, In your opinion, what is the downside? At the risk of sounding arrogant and pompous, it has to be the level of competence, if not intelligence, among the so called marketers here in Malaysia and in the Southeast Asian region. If only there were at least secure enough to listen and take constructive advice, not even criticism, some of these people who determine their organisation's advertising budgets, strategies and activities would earn their keep more effectively. After having been exposed to product, brand and marketing managers in the US and in Asia for more than 38 years, I

sometimes wonder why some of those I run across nowadays are less secure than their predecessors 30 years ago, especially when the younger generation is supposed to have greater and easier access to knowledge than we did when we started our careers. Another irritating occupational hazard is the lack of persistence, or staying power, among Southeast Asian marketers. When they don't see success right away, they either thrown in the town or start changing their objective. Also, their lack of appreciation for the value of, and what it takes to establish, a brand with which to compete effectively in the market place. Often a so-called entrepreneur in this part of the world has no real appreciation for this. And even 'though such an entrepreneur relishes his self-anointed role as a "captain of industry", he doesn't even think about the need to set aside realistic marketing and advertising and promotion budgets for his production service. When this happens, it's not only irritating but also baffling. Someday, hopefully soon, these type of clients will be a thing of the past. Finally, those ad agency creative people who think that creativity is sacred and that they should be given all the time and money they need to come up with their creative output. I have always felt that if they want to retain their creative "independence", they should be street corner poets or artists. They can sell their work , but on rainy days forget it! The point is that once they're inside an agency, and have clients' billings pay for their monthly income, they simply must adhere to the clients' budget constraints, deadlines and briefs. An agency is no place for prima donnas, tantrums or fragile egos. Unfortunately, too many of the new young people in our industry have to learn this the hard way, but learn they will have to. That's the commercial world for you. What's the best part of the job? The winning, first of all, and the recognition for having done the job well and effectively. It certainly is not job security, or even the monetary satisfaction. Agency life is really one of ups and downs. You could be zipping along nicely one year, winning accounts and awards, then

Making Malaysia bullish on bouncing back! take a dive the next year. The only thing that is enduringly rewarding is knowing that, after every bum year or lost account, there will he the opportunity to win again and be recognised for all your fretting, fussing and strategising. In short, it's a never-say-die attitude, and being eternally optimistic. You should not think there's a cloud behind every silver lining, but that there can be a rainbow after it rains. Finally, it's a life - not that I am dissatisfied with my chosen career, but - if I had to choose another profession - then I'd prefer to be a successful professional athlete. Admittedly, however, I was not even close to being as good a footballer as Pele, or as great a tennis player as Pete Sampras or as fast a sprinter as Carl Lewis. I played all three sports for my schools and university, but I wasn't good enough to turn pro in any of those events. But the career I have had fortunately has satisfied my love for the thrill of competition as I liken every pitch for new business to the competition in the world of sports. In fact, the nurturing of an account does two quite similar things to competitive sports: It gives you the opportunity to fight, on your client's behalf as well as your own, against the competition in the market place and in so doing it gives you a real "high" when you can see your agency's efforts help beat the client's competition. Come to think of it, that's perhaps the real reason why I do love this profession. That plus the fact that no client, or account or assignment, is quite the same. It is , after all, still very much a "people" business. Maybe in my next life I'll be relegated to a hum-drum, nine-to-five job. God forbid! Better yet, of course, I would be reborn as a future Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods. If a young person wants to be in this industry what traits are essential to survive the game? The love, if not need, for taking up challenges every day, analysing them and formulating effective strategies for overcoming them. Also, being open to ever-changing conditions and solutions as well as techniques for reaching people's minds. Like everyone else, I may have my own likes and dislikes. But, in the final analysis, anyone who wants to have a meaningful agency career should be ready to really put aside his personal feelings and, instead, assume his client's identity in order to more effectively, if not zealously, communicate with the relevant target audience. This works well, of course, when the client whose identity you assume knows what he or she really stands for, wants and is prepared to sacrifice to win. Otherwise, it'll all be for naught. Equally important is the need to be able to put up with incredibly long hours of work sometimes, irregular sleep and set-backs and disappointment. After all, as in sorts, an agency cannot win all the time. But, then again, the losing makes the winning so much sweeter. There are many who say that your agency has become like a school of advertising over the years in one way or another... Yes, we have a lot of graduates at Grey and other agencies but it has been good in one way or another. The most successful - Mah became the Asia-Pacific Marketing Director for MacDonald's. And Dawn Morais who was with me at

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IPTM and then AMC and again at ISC, she was Creative Director at AMC when we were in Plaza MUI - and she's now a full-time lecturer in Singapore.

What's in store for you in the next 5 years? I sure hope so, at the very least for the foreseeable future or the next five years anyway. I have reached that very "dicey" age. I am too young to retire but too old to start anew, I'm afraid. However, I still very much enjoy my profession, and I really am not interested in doing anything else. Also, as the industry here is still relatively young, I would very much like to see it evolve and reach a semblance of maturity before I call it a day. And I certainly relish the opportunity to compete against the multinationals now that we are in discussions with TBWA Worldwide regarding a venture which will be finalized during this quarter. I am looking forward as I liken this transition to a lightheavyweight going up to the heavyweight division and competing successfully at that new weight level. It should still be enjoyable and stimulating, otherwise it wouldn't be worth the effort, that's for sure. In this business, it's never because of the money. It's for the love of the work. What is the one single event in your life that has had the biggest impact on you? That, without a doubt, would be my late daughter's death at the age of three. I wouldn't wish such an experience, such pain, on even my worst enemy. You accept the order of nature, that parents die before their children, not the other way. When a child dies, the parents are left with really so many unanswerable questions, doubts and even guilt. The only solace you can find is that you know your child is with God. There is a certain finality about that, the ultimate closure if you will. What my wife and I also realise, after having gone through what we did, is that how much more helpless parents, whose children are kidnapped, must feel. Not only would that lack finality, or closure, but also the unfathomable anguish of not knowing who is doing what to your child. That pain and sorrow must be really unbearable. Therefore, as tragic as my child's death was, it also taught me to fully appreciate that it could have been worse, even more painful. At least my wife and I knew our child was with God, not some criminal. More importantly, no matter what happens, one must go on. You just can't let tragedy consume you. It's the ultimate test, I suppose, but it was really the one event that has had the most impact on my life, personal as well as professional, because I'll always remember that the day she died, on March 11, 1979, I had to attend an earlier scheduled press conference for the first Celebrity Tennis event our agency handled and for which the patroness was Datin Seri Siti Hasmah, wife of the then Deputy Prime Minister. Needless to say, Datin Seri admonished me for showing up at the meeting and not remaining home with my wife's side. But, in my opinion, that's what professionalism is all about if one is serious about one's career. The show has to go on.

Z a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y

Zenithmedia

In the media industry, things are ranked a little differently.

Letters to Editor

FINITO PARTIES IN BANGKOK!

Dear Ham, I don't usually write this kind of letter. In fact, I never do. But this thing has been bugging me for quite some time (and every time I pass by it in Subang Section 15). So unless I unleash my utter vexation, I could be a person walking around with a bug in her head dying to let it out. So please hear me out. The state of Bahasa Malaysia on our billboards is terrible. Fine. I understand that English is the lingua franca of the business world and advertising but that doesn't mean that our national language - Bahasa Malaysia should be forgotten, or should be taken lightly with a, like the Malaysians say, "cincai, tidak apa" attitude. A good example would be on a billboard by a major movie channel available on Astro. The line read "Bersedialah untuk digugat persepsi anda" translation in English "Get ready to challenge your perception". It is a direct translation from English! Even a person who doesn't write Bahasa but speaks Bahasa knows it sounds odd! Maybe it should read: "Adakah persepsi and bersedia untuk digugat?" And to make matters worse, this is an EXPENSIVE billboard - it has three sides and all three are translated incorrectly! Any respectable Malay writer would know that a direct translation should be the last thing to do for Malay copywriting. Perhaps the person who wrote it didn't know any better. Another, would be a billboard by a famous drink. A firm supporter of Malaysian sports, this billboard sports a cyclist racing to (with complete speeding effects), which I assume to be, the finish line with the words "Minuman Yang Diperkuat Rasmi." Shouldn't it be "Minuman Rasmi yang Diperkuatkan"? Why are all these happening? Don't we self-correct? At least check with a Bahasa speaking person first. I know most of the time, we are already very happy when the translation manages to come back in time (whether it's right or not, that's a different matter). I know in agencies Malay ads have become secondary. Most of the time, capable Malay writers have ended up becoming merely translators. But don't you think that even in this situation, we could at least make sure Bahasa Malaysia copy on our billboards are correct and are not a mindsore? Thanks.

Thailand's new year Songkran festivities 2001 provided the backdrop to Finito Network's party recently held at the Bangkok office on Thursday 5th April. After three years, they thought it was time to get their staff, clients and friends together for no reason other than to have a great time!! It was the first time the Finito Network staff congregated in the same location and this provided a fantastic opportunity for them all to catch up with clients and friends. Clients savoured a sumptuous variety of Thai cuisine, and partied against a

backdrop of live Thai musicians, dancers and dance music that provided some party pump! The pool looked like it had been set for a shampoo commercial, filled with a riot of colorful tropical flowers, which were admired by all and you guessed it, swum with by those lucky folk thrown into the pool in the spirit of the Songkran festival! For those of you who were wondering, Finito's fearless leader Michael Conkey escaped being thrown into the pool (well at least while the crowd were there anyway!!!)

zpower@gurlmail.com

Why are all these people thinking so hard? If there is one thing more difficult then sitting for a test, it must be grading. The valiant seven above did just that on April 28th, early on a Saturday morning.

Szu (BBDO), Nina (Grey), Beresford (McCann), Yoki (Film Point), Brenda (O&M), Omar (0 Square) and Alan (DraftWorldWide) judged the Malaysian round of the New York Festivals at FilmPoint, Tago Business Park. In these hands, lie the hopes and wishes of creatives around the world ... All in all, it was an extremely successful affair albeit a nerve- wracking, brain-cracking one!

8 aDOl ~——

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This is how far we're willing to go for the benefit of our clients Ok. So the picture you see is a little far out. But it does make a point. Our point, that is. As one of the reputable media outfits in town, we're willing to go out of the way to ensure you get the most cost-effective media deal with maximum penetration in the the electronic medium ever. Even if that means braving through tough weather to get you the latest media rates, battling tough negotiations, we'll do it. As long as you receive the best media package in town. Give us a call. Our media reps would only be too happy to meet up with you.

e-mas

Exclusive Airtime Marketing Agent for RTM

E-MAS (Electronic Media Airtime Services Sdn Bhd),

Lot 2 & 4 Jalan Pemberita U1/49, Temasya Industrial Park, Glenmarie, 40150 Shah Alam, Malaysia.

Tel: 5569 2755 Fax: 5569 3755 e-mail: lnfo@e-mas.com.my

Another Brick in the Wall - part 2 From the ad press, a glimmer of light through a very thin crack.

Today the tyrant rules not by club or fist, but, disguised as a market researcher, he shepherds his flocks in the ways of utility and comfort. Marshall McLuhan (1911-80)

A point of view can be a dangerous luxury when substituted for insight and understanding. Marshall McLuhan (1911-80)

It is the weak and confused who worship the pseudosimplicities of brutal directness. Marshall McLuhan (1911-80)

The real antichrist is he who turns the wine of an original idea into the water of mediocrity. Eric Hoffer (1902-83)

Now Media Magazine reports that, unhappy about the quality of new talent available, some of Singapore's top creative directors wish to band together under the Institute of Advertising in Singapore (IAS) to establish a creative training course for hopeful young ad folks. So for them here's the second part of my bon mots for ad hopefuls. And they're still free. I am sorry to think that you do not get a man's most effective criticism until you provoke him. Severe truth is expressed with some bitterness. Henry David Thoreau (1817-62)

Any fool can make a rule And every fool will mind it. Henry David Thoreau (1817-62)

Cinema, radio, television, magazines are a school of inattention: people look without seeing, listen in without hearing.

Compromise makes a good umbrella but a poor roof.

Robert Bresson (b. 1907)

James Russell Lowell (1819-1891)

The corporate grip on opinion in the United States is one of the wonders of the Western World. No First World country has ever managed to eliminate so entirely from its media all objectivity—much less dissent.

The worst and best are both inclined To snap like vixens at the truth. But, 0, beware the middle mind That purrs and never shows a tooth! Elinor Wylie (1885-1928)

Gore Vidal (b. 1925)

You may have your suspicions, your fears, you may even believe there is something, somewhere, terribly, drastically wrong, but because someone else is in charge, because there is a part of the system above you which you don't know, you don't question it, you even distrust your own doubts.

Advertising is the greatest art form of the twentieth century.

Graham Swift (b. 1949)

Marshall McLuhan (1911-80),

Promise, large promise, is the soul of an advertisement.

any improvement. But as every art ought to be exercised in due subordination to the public good, I cannot but propose it as a moral question to these masters of the public ear, whether they do not sometimes play too wantonly with our passions. Samuel Johnson (1709-84),

Today it is not the classroom nor the classics which are the repositories of models of eloquence, but the ad agencies. Marshall McLuhan (1911-80)

The only way to make trustworthy is to trust him.

a

man

Henry Lewis Stimson (1867-1930)

We might make a public moan in the newspapers about the decay of conscience, but in private conversation, no matter what crimes a man may have committed or how cynically he may have debased his talent or his friends, variations on the answer "Yes, but I did it for the money," satisfy all but the most tiresome objections. Lewis H. Lapham (b. 1935)

Samuel Johnson (1709-84),

The trade of advertising is now so near perfection that it is not easy to propose

PS. You will Oscar, you will.

The Internet For All! (that is, if you use Windows) by Josh Sklar, global Chief Creative Officer CCG.XM - jsklar@ccgxm.com

Boo.com. The infamous dot.com property centered on clothing that became better known for its young owners throwing away millions of investor money on private jets and extravagant parties than for its fashion - or better yet - business sense. They used a special "artificially intelligent" agent cum tour guide system that was required to use the original version of the site. It told Macintosh users to basically go away because the site didn't support them. I talked to one of the managers at their vendor agency, Organic, who said that they could have easily included Mac support for no additional cost, but the Boo.com Forbe proteges elected to exclude that particular segment of their customer base. It just so happens that I've been a loyal Apple supporter since 1981. Yes, I have long hair. Yes, I'm a designer. Yes, I'm one of them. But there are also tens of millions of MacOS users. Don't forget the iMac was the best selling personal computer in history and Apple has USD$i billion in cash. Seventy-nine percent of all Macs ever shipped are still in use. They're out there using the Internet and they are most likely

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parents, students and your average early adopter of technology. But, for some reason, Microsoft and its followers want to exclude everyone who doesn't use what they use (or develop) from benefiting from a medium whose intent was to promote universality across computer platforms. The Internet allows all computers to talk via standard protocols (languages) called TCP/IP and HTTP. As long as the programmer follows the common requirements, anyone using their application can see and interact with it no matter what system they're on. This is how the World Wide Web functions. This is why the GIF and JPEG formats of graphic images can be seen the same relative way on any computer. It's the same with HTML. Sun's Java language received critical praise because it could live anywhere. But Microsoft... Microsoft wants to preclude anyone that doesn't use Microsoft. When they went into the Web browser business with Internet Explorer, they made sure to make everything as proprietary as possible. If you weren't using IE to view Web pages developed by Microsoft-type

developers, then you couldn't use the sites or, at least, receive most of the benefits. This is because IE automatically accepts a plug-in format called "Microsoft ActiveX" that only works under IE. If you're on AOL, using a Netscape browser, Mosaic, etc. you're out of luck. Amazingly enough, I still hear that this is happening. Even if there is no additional cost, even when the original application was developed under a Macintosh or Unix operating system, even when it's possible the desired target uses these systems, clients still prefer to wave their hand and build everything only for Wintel users. I understand that over 85% of all personal computer users in the business place are on Windows machines. But think about how many PC users there are in the world. Think about how many millions are being disrespected for their personal choice in systems just because they didn't jump on the bandwagon of a product they didn't find to be an equal. Everyone from rich media banner companies (Enliven and Bluestreak) to consumer-oriented Web sites needs to

learn that American Online is the biggest ISP in the world and they have their own browser (plus own Netscape), that ITV (interactive television) is beginning to come into its own with their own browser technology, wireless applications are about to invade our lives with theirs and then, naturally, there's the Web designer's favorite, the Macintosh, and Web programmer's, Unix. the Congratulations Windows is dominant. Good for you. But does that mean the Internet is just for you and yours?

All the world's best programmes are on ntV7 Friends

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire

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1111

Martial Law

Suddenly Susan

Ally McBeal

jiejt

The DM Copywriter: Myths & Realities By Kurt Crocker,

Brand/Title: Coca-Cola-'Wire Your World' Promotion. Duration: 2 mins/45 sec/30sec Agency: McCann-Erickson (M) Sdn Bhd Creative Director: Beresford Mitchell Copywriters: Ajay/Ben Woo Art Directors: Peter/Marvin

Boy late for

a date keeps his cool with the help of Coca-Cola, high

technology and good friends.

Brand/Title: Horlicks - Kids playing PlayStation Duration: 30 sec Agency: Grey Advertising CD: Edwin Leong AD/Copywriter: Andrew Fong/Lisa Ng This CG animation ad, shows a group of children playing Playstation with Horlicks' characters.

Brand/Title: Nissan Sentra-Sales Girl Duration: 20 sec Agency: Peter Beaumont CD: Albert Lim AD/Copywriter: Craig Wakelin/Francis J. Mascrinhos Imagination is the only limit for a Nissan owner.

Brand/Title: Petronas Gas-Blue Flame Duration: 20 sec Agency: Adstation Sdn. Bhd. CD: Benjy Ng AD/Copywriter: Benjy Ng/Dempsey Fernandez A woman in the midst of preparing dinner, finds that she's out of gas. Petronas blue flame comes to the rescue.

Brand/Title: Sifone - Two girls chatting Duration: 30 sec Agency: Dentsu (M) CD: Mr. Jerry McKenna AD/Copywriter: Ms. Su Ann and Mr. BenTan/ Mr. Keith Chong Julia advises Aishah to use Sifone after Aishah's complains of a bad hair day.

•» At&hah Naah

» JuHa You r>oed 8»f

Brand/Title: Telekom Malaysia-Blue Hypo Duration: 20 sees. Agency: Foote, Cone £r Belding Sdn Bhd CD: PH Yap,SP AD/Copywriter: Ong Kien Hoe/Stephen Tan Ajay Bakshi Blue Hyppo is trying desperately to hide.

fflediaBonc I'ui'mon information plw.w call Mm Ni^m of Medialtanc at 01-79X3666%

12 aooi

Creative Director Drayton Bird, Crocker frMano

When's the last time you had an intimate chat with a Direct Marketing Copywriter? Have you ever met one? I'm talking about a person whose singular task is to write copy designed to solicit an immediate response. One who gets his or her kicks by actually selling something now, or by motivating someone to get information. I said now. By print or broadcast or digital word. A person who absolutely goes orgasmic at the thought inducing customers to keep coming back for more and more ... and more. Can you remember a name? If you can, please give it to me. I am currently chronicling rare and unusual specimens in Malaysia, of the DM copywriter kind. My findings indicate a need for filing an application with the World Health Organisation to include the aforementioned critter on their Endangered Species list. Before which, I must try to document their existence in this country. I have a lot of work ahead of me. Having said that (god I hate that terribly British prelude to explanations) I would like to clarify the specific characteristics to look for as you search for that elusive DM copywriter creature. Or imagine yourself as one of them. Here in Malaysia. Because, as it is with all rarely experienced lifeforms, there are many imagined myths attached to them. As one of the few living representatives here of this very lonely community, I hereby offer you a few contradictory realities. Myth: DM Copywriters are Nerds Reality: Am not! Ah, go tell it to your therapist. So what if everyone thinks you're odd just because your nipples twitch when someone buys something because you wrote about it. Things could be worse. You could write about something that no one buys and win big international ad awards. Now how embarrassing would that be? Truth is, and I humbly offer myself as Exhibit A, DM Copywriters are notoriously cool. We simply exude sex and charisma. When we walk, when we talk, when we're on the dance floor, we are clearly at the centre of all worlds. Until we fall down a carelessly constructed stairway or over our own wildly knotted neckties. Myth: DM Copywriters are Vampires Reality: Wanna Neck? It's a sweet taste, blood is. And Buffy just slays me. But blame this myth on the man himself, Mr. 0. He's the one who proclaimed (and I paraphrase cuz I'm too damned lazy to look up the quote),

"Everyone

who

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e

r

i

t

Sdn Bhd

s

advertising copy should cut his teeth in Direct Marketing. They know how to sell. They've tasted blood." Unfortunately, I| must take |V\ exception to the |\V great on on two counts. First, his very apt advice has cast a dubious shadow over the lot of us who claim to be DM copywriters. Second, let's say, just for argument sake, that he was right. Let's say we do have an insatiable desire for the taste of blood, that remarkable feeling of a measured response to our written messages. Why would anyone cut his teeth, then move on to the relatively lifeless world of advertising? Oh they do, I know. But they then become virtual vampires, and are soon overpowered by the simplicities of mere image and awareness. I'm sure their experience in our netherworld will help them to a degree, if only they remember that taste of corpuscles. Myth: DM Copywriters Don't Know When to Shut Up Reality: I take particular exception to this myth as it is an obvious attempt to malign and impeach an otherwise noble vocation which not only benefits marketers and the sons and daughters of marketers and their grandchildren and great-grandchildren but also improves society as a whole, which does indeed, if truth be told, need quite a bit of help. We do too know when to shut up. So there. This slap-me-on-the-faceand-call-me-wordy insult probably originates from the DM copywriter's proclivity to produce long-copy press ads. Or long-copy letters. Or longerthan-average TV ads. Those overrated non-responsive ad writers get away with a paragraph or two. All great writers choose short words. Short sentences. Short paragraphs. (Hey, I was just kidding with the above crosshead, OK?) And I mean great copywriters, even of the DM variety. However, if you want someone to actually do something, now, you usually must offer a convincing argument. The tougher the sell, the longer the copy. But it's not true that we don't know when to shut up. We do. So I will. P.S. If you would like to receive more tips and insights about Direct Marketing, along with an occasional attempt at wit, give up your e-mail address by contacting Kurt at dbcm@pop.jaring.my

FOAM PARTY CANCELLED

Don't miss the latest updates in the evening editions of Shin Min Daily News and Lianhe Wanbao. Because news can't wait.

^•-fe shin Min Daily News

tii

Lianhe wanbao

t

The Seven Deadly Sins Jimmy Lam, Regional Regional ECD, D'Arcy 1Asia.

have but one choice. To be sinful. Here are the Seven Deadly Sins. 1.Disrespect the product.

One of the most visible changes in recent advertising is the role of the product. The product used to be the hero of the advertising message. It no longer has the priority it once had. Modern living has made the product(s) much more affordable and thus accessible. Buying a Coke anytime you want engenders less excitement than buying a Coca-Cola as a treat. Where and when the fridge is full, the intensity of desire decreases. Only two decades ago many families in Asia didn't even know what a refrigerator was, full or empty. Modern technology appears to have made all products more or less equal. The Unique Selling Proposition is a rare commodity these days. Products are only miracles in under developed markets. Introducing toothpaste into the Amazon jungle is equivalent to bringing health, hygiene and survival to a place where living conditions are under par with world standards. In the modern market the product is not god! Just good. The glorification of products in advertising seems somewhat oldfashioned. Taking the product candidly is more realistic. 2. Kill the consumer.

Because "The Product" is no longer hero the advertising focus has shifted to the consumer. But "The Consumer" is already dying. His/her agony began The Seven Deadly Sins have been

created to tempt the Adams and Eves of the Agency into creating more innovative television commercials. Everyday hundreds of new television commercials are created and ideas are being used up at expediential rates. Creating great TV ads has become harder. Creating great innovative TV ads, even harder. Over the past decade the world has changed beyond measure. So has advertising. Because innovation has something to do with provocation, then doing the right thing is the enemy of innovation. Good is the enemy of Great. So in order to provoke greatness we

back in the nineties when the era of focus group research began. With the help of the market and motivational research, all of us have learned to sound out every intimate corner of the consumer's feelings, expectations, behaviour, reactions etc, etc. So, what's new? Old fashioned, boring advertising often stems from the intensive study of "The Consumer". In so many television spots the consumer is mere cardboard cutout. A phantom. An android. A mask. A virtual entity. But, people are people. More than simply buyers, eaters, drinkers or drivers. They do not behave, as traditional advertising requires."The Consumer" syndrome limits

Ad magazine promotes kissing! The Brief, an Indian advertising

and media publication, has announced a contest for advertising agencies to persuade the government that kissing in

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advertisements is fine. In order to take part in the competition, the agency has to do an ad for a wellknown product. Kissing. The contest follows closely in the

imagination. The death of "The Consumer" and the re-birth of "The Person" are becoming apparent in the better commercials. 3.Replace brand value with world value.

Brand value isn't what it used to be. The world is an imperfect place. Why should the brand value have to be perfect? Unless you want the brand value to be unrealistic; out of touch with the world value. Brands need a fresh, humanistic approach. This will not be possible if our heads are filled with classical marketing language. In the past two decades an important phenomenon has developed. The introduction of socioethical implications within brand value. In Levi's advertising adults are stupid, arrogant, opportunistic, greedy and ambiguous. On the other hand, the young personify intellectual honesty, courage, sincerity, inner clarity, independence and rebellion. They are the heralds of the new values. They are purer, somewhat heroic. The on-going battle between Pepsi and Coke leaves a signal more than just a mere battle of bubbles. Pepsi levers the powerful arguments of youth: the generation conflict; a sense of belonging to a group with an alternative philosophy; a desire for independence; the refusal of conformity that incorporate high points of humor and a healthy cynicism. 4. Run out of the agency's door.

The worst enemy of innovative advertising is advertising itself. All that we have learned from our experience and the ads we love has become "the operating system" of our advertising minds. Experience is a double-edged sword. We should use 50% of it and jettison the rest. Art is still a good brain-shaker. Showing up to a musical festival, day­ dreaming in an art gallery, watching a meaningless movie or soccer match, or even hanging out at a video arcade may open creative minds more so than reading creative awards annuals. I suspect the people who are heels of a banned ad for a toothpaste company. The ad shows a man in a clinch with a curvy policewoman who had led him to the firing squad. Although the kiss was only hinted at, it was enough to provoke the Minister of Information and Broadcasting to

responsible for the winners in this year's annuals gained their experience from more inspirational sources. 5. Hitchcockize your story.

The urge for simple ideas does not necessarily imply that we should be simplistic. A certain amount of mystery and unpredictability is essential to contemporary fiction. And no different for contemporary advertising especially when addressing young targets. Yesterday's story went like this: Today's may have more detours and thus more shock value: j

/_ ^********/_

The quality of accidents and digressions, with their capacity to surprise, is what makes a story interesting. It simply stimulates the audience's interaction. The best of today's advertising is miniaturized to become thrilling mini-dramas. 6. Kubrickise your soundtracks.

Product jingles are long dead. (They sound too much like advertising!) But, when a music soundtrack is too descriptive and correct, it runs the risk of being indistinctive. Audio should be a surprising as video. We can learn from directors like Stanley Kubrick. He breaks the rules of film-music by creating audacious contrasts between what we see and what we hear. 7. Be Bad.

Innovative advertising bears little resemblance to advertising. Humour is the clever son of malice. But even malice has grown-up and become sophisticated. Being bad today is being bad "for real". It means we have to better investigate the malicious insights of human behaviour. We should render the dark side of individuals with the same passionate realism we use to portray their better side. I am not here to teach grandma how to suck eggs. I only wish to offer you a gentle reminder: It's only advertising, not rocket science. Go on! Be a devil. Be bad, real bad! declare that the ad was against Indian culture and the ad was withdrawn from state-run tv channels. The editor of The Brief expressed his determination to send the Minister every single entry to drive home the message.

•is Jm

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MORE THRN 1,087,800 VISITORS H MONTH

filso, more than 1,600,000 Hotmail users anc! more J than 97,080 Instant Messenger users, find we're | talking just Malaysia alone. Makes sense to |%dvertise with us, doesn't it? For a presentation call 03-7969 3154 or download the media kit from msn.com.my/mediakit

—:

..

.•

msn^

What do music and Bollywood have in common? They are the subjects of much debate and divide in Malaysia. McCannErickson Malaysia has completed a media ethnology study that examined 72 issues of the top 22 magazine titles in Malaysia across the Bahasa Malaysia, English and Mandarin mediums to discover what these popular magazines are saying about music, both in their editorials as well as their advertising. Kapil Sethi, McCann Erickson Malaysia's Director of Planning, said that studies of this nature were an important key to unlocking deep consumer truths, which McCann believes are the unquestionable bedrock in delivering superior and more importantly, effective brand communication. The magazines covered ranged from female magazines to lifestyle publications to special interest magazines from August 1999 to December 2000. As music is a crucial ingredient in any culture, it is therefore important to examine how the consumer receives messages concerning music in print. What sort of perceptions do these consumers acquire from these different materials? How are these magazines different in their tone and manner when it comes to talking about music? Editorial Analysis From the spectrum of magazines covered, it was noted that most magazines devoted between I%-IO% of their editorial space to music, either by way of album reviews, concert reviews, or even articles on popular musicians. Specialised magazines such as motoring and even education publications did not carry anything that touched on music. This is of course with exception to specialist entertainment magazines where nearly 50% of its editorial space is dedicated to music, while the remaining 50% covered movies. In all the magazines, it is usually the celebrities of the music world that are highlighted and written about. Their music takes a back seat while their personal lives are divulged and publicised. In this event, it is their personalities that sell their albums and

not necessarily their music. Alternative music such as trance, jungle, or house, is generally not mentioned or featured despite its huge following. This implies that while it is the music the 'hip' clubs should play, consumers do not necessarily purchase these albums. While it is acknowledged that Malaysians are heavily influenced by all sorts of external cultural trends, it is evident that English language pop music is universal in its appeal, being represented in the English, Mandarin

I to R: Peter Ong, Kapil and Chan Leong Ngoh

and Bahasa Malaysia magazines. In the English language mags, there are also features and write-ups on Hong Kong and Taiwanese artistes which indicates that the readership base is largely Chinese. It is interesting to note that the local music scene is rarely covered in these (Mandarin and English) magazines, which implies that local pop music (which is predominantly in Bahasa Malaysia) has failed to cross racial and cultural boundaries. The Bollywood influence is most noticeable in the Bahasa Malaysia publications with special sections especially dedicated to the stars and their films/music. Apart from the heavy emphasis on local stars, there are also features of western pop icons. While the English language magazines feature more of the 'bubble-gum' pop variety, the Bahasa Malaysia publications carry more trends featuring heavy metal, rock, and R&B influences. From this, it can be said

MRP Call for Entries Ladies and Gentlemen, the most important race of the year is about to begin. AWARD - the only Australasian award show that truly showcases the most creative work of the entire region is now calling for the competitors to line up at the starting gate. Whether from Asia, New Zealand or Australia, you now have the opportunity to compete your

16 ami

that the Malay community (and to some extent, the Indian community) has different musical influences as reflected in the emphasis and content of the Bahasa Malaysia publications. This goes further in maintaining the gap between the different cultures and races. It is also apparent that while the musical styles may be similar, for example, rock stars are mentioned in both English and Bahasa Malaysia magazines, ultimately it is the language used in music that contributes to this gap. The irony is

finest creative work against the rest of the pack. Covering all the disciplines of creativity, from TV and press through to internet, graphic and editorial design, and innovative media forms, AWARD is the most prestigious regional advertising event. The jury that selects the finalists is elected by the membership from across the

that Bollywood is closely followed despite little understanding of the language, whereas even though all Malaysian youth understand Bahasa Malaysia, the national language has still failed to unite. Therefore, while Bon Jovi and Shah Rukh Khan's popularity have somewhat managed to bridge the cultural and racial gap, Awie still has a long way to go. Mandarin magazines, however, feature artistes from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland China, with very little coverage of other artistes. This is indicative of a cultural split between the Anglicised and the nonAnglicised Chinese. If the assumption is that English language magazines are read by Chinese, Malays and Indians alike due to their coverage of Eastern as well as Western pop stars, the same cannot be said of the Mandarin publications whereby the main emphasis is solely on Chinese pop music. This in turn splits the Chinese

community into two cultural camps. It is also worth mentioning that it is only the local Chinese pop-scene, either Mandarin or Cantonese, which is featured in these publications. This is an indication of the language, and ultimately, the cultural divide that music contributes to in Malaysia. Advertising analysis Very few ads employ musical settings in their visuals as music is an audio experience that is difficult to translate into something visual. As a result of the small sample size of 0.02% out of the overall 72 issues, an analysis is not available at this moment. Implications When it comes to music, there is a clear cultural divide amongst the Chinese, Malays and the Indians. More Chinese identify with English language pop whereas the Malays and Indians are aligned to Black/Bollywood music. As noted above, there is also a large divide between the Anglicised Chinese and their non-Anglicised brethren. There is a strong affinity to Black music, especially R&B, although the affinity is more for the struggle of the Blacks. It is the music of rebellion and one that challenges the status quo, especially with regards to the music of Puff Daddy, etc. It is also probable that there may be a subconscious identification with the skin colours. Therefore, in conclusion, while music is indeed a common thread through every culture, it divides people as well as unites them. This is certainly true when one considers the implications of these magazines with regards to consumers. In the case of Malaysia, it does not only divide according to ideology and preferences but also according to race and economic class. It is also divided by the languages used. It is apparent that only the English language has managed to successfully cross the racial and economic divide, and to a certain extent, this can be explained by aspirations that are commonly linked with Anglo Saxon culture progress, global appeal, and material achievement. It is the image associated with English language music that most listeners buy in to, regardless of their ability to speak the language.

region, with judges from all disciplines and all centres of creativity. And unique among all award shows, the Gold, Silver and Bronze awards are voted on directly by the full membership of AWARD. Over 500 of the top creatives in the region will have the opportunity to judge your

out to agencies late April 2001 you can also enter via the web with a new and improved process that also allows you to pay online www.awardonline.com For any enquires call Kate Cohen on 61 2 9281 8788 or by email kate@awardonline.com

work. Now is the time to enter your work. When the starting gun is fired, make sure you're in the race. Call for entry kits will be mailed

ENTRY DEADLINES TV, Interactive and Radio entries close - June 14, 2001 Print, Mixed Media & Innovative close - June 20th, 2001

Tke^e is greater strength in unity. Create a mofe powerful impact with tke iSkinese (Sonnecticm.

(xie)

unity

C-fniS? COH^6CTi'oN NANYANG C SIANG PAU \f CHINA PRESS CowBiHep

LO-GLOW Bernie Lo is known for his tough and humorous approach to guests on his business talk show - Lo £r Co. His popularity is rapidly rising and AD01 decides to chase this one fast chap....

You have a way of bringing out the 'best' or 'worst' in your guests. How so? Do you enjoy 'grilling' them? Life is a battle. Do unto others before they do unto you. People can sell their stories, my job is to play the devil and his advocate. I like to tiptoe softly...butter them up....then go in for the kill, then yank them back out of the quagmire as they're about to go under You claim you're American and Hongkie, all rolled into one? Do you have an identity crisis? I'm not sure what I am. My dad is Hongkie my mom is Chinese. We were in Vancouver where my dad was teaching. When I was about to pop out, she ran for the border, but didn't make it. Therefore I am Canadian, the rest of my family is American, but the Yanks don't want me.

dzing siik dzoeng kwok yun!!!! Ngaw gung hie sik gong dhoeng mun lah!!!!

What was your toughest moment on television? When I was 30 seconds to air for a two hour show and had to poop. Who would you love to interview the most? Your 'dream guest' (animals don't count). I'd like to do some orations with Zhang Ziyi the Chinese actress in 'Hidden Tiger Crouching Dragon.' Do you see yourself as a sex symbol? Of course not, I wouldn't mind if others did, women I mean. One viewer told us, "I never took Bernie Lo of CNBC's Lo £r Co seriously as a talk show host, but after 10 minutes he began to get to me in a hypnotic sort of way. I'm not sure if it's the way he talks or the way he looks." What's your reaction to this? Watch the clock

and your eyelids

are getting very very heavy. Let's not kid around here. Can you really speak Chinese? Tsee mah gun!!!!! Ngaw hie yut gaw

Some say you're trying to be the Riz Khan of CNBC. Any sensible

BERNARD LO thoughts on this comparison? By the way, I'm sure you've heard of Riz

symbol LOCO - it's a nut company.

Khan, haven't you? I hear Riz wants to be like me

Do you see yourself as a 'tough interviewer with penetrating questions'? Very penetrating.

What was your funniest moment on television? When I stood up before the camera shut off, and caught me in a jacket, tie, shirt and running shorts. It was hot that day dammit! Do you think your slightly 'American' accent puts all your 'kwai lo' guests at ease? Or is it a 'put-on' accent? I grew up in Corvallis, Oregon; Tacoma, Washington and Boise, Idaho. How could it be fake? I think I drawl too much. Sometimes I wish I were from Texas or Georgia so I could have a real twang Bernie, is Lo £r Co. the name of an actual company? Yours? Please come clean with us on this. NASDAQ ticker

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Do you always plan your shows or do you just go with the flow, roll with the punches? Well we do book the guests, other than that What exactly is your show all about? What do you think? We value viewer input. How does it feel to be watched all the time? We understand you have quite a following. I feel like an exhibitionist. Wheeeeeee. We thoroughly enjoy watching you work. Do you enjoy doing it too? Do what you love and the money follows (my mum says that). I say look out for number one, but don't step in number two What's next for you? Reading your article and seeing how much you twist me around.

Catch Bernie on CNBC's Lo Er Company on Wednesdays at 1930, with repeats

on Saturdays at 0730 and 2100 and Sundays at 0830 and 2130.

2001 AWARD CALL FOR ENTRIES. Contact Kate on 61 2 9281 8788 for an entry kit or enter online

Asia' Best of the B It's always amazing to see how a thrilling idea gets transformed into a great commercial. The best of the best in MEDIA' S latest Asian Advertising Awards came from the fertile imagination of Sonal Dabral, Executive Creative Director of Ogilvy & Mather Advertising, right here in our own backyard. ADOI

somehow becomes a reality. You keep looking at it every day and you say, 'I have to do it, I have to do it' and it starts becoming a reality. And the best person to do it in India was Prasoon Pandey from Highlight Films. So I discussed it with Prasoon and we were on the same wavelength about

takes a quick peek behind the scenes of this anti-smoking tvc to find out how

the look - we both wanted to give it a very unexpected look in a Rajashtan kind

this really powerful commercial came into being and has the essential 7 minutes

of environment with a raw rustic feel. He cast a lot of ladies, to heighten it but

with the man.

unfortunately we couldn't get the right face. But with the men we instantly got the right faces and we shot the commercial.

So what's the story? The story is you know how creative minds work. Always on overdrive. Since I

Before we shot it, we approached the Indian Cancer Society and they were very whole-hearted and everyone offered their services so it was done on a shoe­

have been 15 years in the business so I guess I can call myself creative. It was an

string budget - very, very cheaply. It was then run for the Indian Cancer Society

unusually difficult day and we were going to a tough meeting in KL, my MD Jeff

and when it was run, no other public service message had received so much

Seow was driving. It was a very stressful time. And there were visions of a tough

press coverage the way this ad did. And for some reason the press had also

and nasty meeting looming ahead. I took out a cigarette and lit it; it was a reflex

started covering the issues of smoking, people have been interviewing doctors

action. It was a hot day and I was in a closed air-conditioned car and I usually

about the ill-effects of smoking. It is really, really satisfying. Besides the

don't smoke in a closed car and I asked, 'Jeff, can I smoke?' and he said 'Yes, let

accolades at the award shows -1 won't deny that I like those - but to have doctors

me be nice to you'. Suddenly what he said hit me and I was thinking why should

saying 'its really great to have communication like this and these are the ill-

he be nice to me? Why should people be nice to smokers ? And then I thought -

effects of smoking'. It is a great feeling!

people should be nice to smokers because they die soon. And there was a concept there - these guys are out to die. And by the time we reached the meeting, I had

When was this done?

the script ready. I visualised this bus going and saw this old Chinese lady sitting

This was done September - October of last year.

in a ramshackle bus outside KL and she's a really old lady and a young boy who lights up. The lady offers him a seat and the voice comes 'Be nice to smokers

So you went down for the shoot?

they don't have much time to live.' Sometimes you just have the gut feel that

Yes, I was there. It was more like a pet project for me.

you have a great idea waiting to see the light of day.

What did Neil French say about it? And you were sitting at your meeting thinking about this? Well I thought it would be a really nasty meeting - but I was on a different

Neil French saw it at a creative workshop in India and he immediately picked it to be the best that India had produced last year and he had words of praise for

track. Due to some reasons I thought of making it outside Malaysia. So I called

the understatement, the sheer reality of the communication. Prasoon has

my old friend Piyush at O&M India; we're constantly calling each other,

beautifully directed the commercial. His whole forte is getting the characters to

sometimes he'll call me without realising the 2 1/2 hour time difference and say

come alive; he is one person who is as worried about communication as much as

'I've got an idea, I want to bounce it off you.' But before that, I had told

style. In his commercials you'll actually find style supporting content which is

everybody about it and everyone was taken by it and I knew I had something.

what I like about Prasoon. So Neil had words to say about it and Miles (our

When I told Piyush, he was completely floored by it and he said that it was a

regional director) also liked it quite a lot.

fantastic idea and we lived with it for sometime. I also talked to different creative directors about it and they instantly said shoot it. That's why when I'd come back from the meeting I called in the illustrator and put it down because when you have these ideas, it's important

What I find really beautiful about this is how you've managed to capture it so well in the words... I know what you're saying. The whole script reflects a deep sense of profound

not only to put it down but to also instantly get a storyboard done. I realised

meaning to both smokers and non-smokers. What I like about this idea is that

sometimes that ideas come and we keep telling, we'll do them some day, we'll do

it is a very different way of looking at anti-smoking communication. This

them some day. But when you immediately put it on paper or on a board, it

commercial gives control not to the smoker but to a non-smoker - this is the

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est is from voice of the non-smoker looking at the smoker and laughing at him for being so stupid. It's the ultimate in sarcasm. The voice of the commercial bonds with the non-smoker, it says 'Look at the guy smoking, he's so stupid but let's be nice to him because he's going to die soon.' The other thing is that is that it uses an insight. Public smoking is increasingly unacceptable, it's being looked down upon. People are becoming irritated, but this commercial says let's be nice to them and that's why it's surprising - why be nice to public smokers when people are disgusted with them? So it uses that. How was in Hong Kong where yopu got the award? And coming back a hero? I only wish I had made it here in Malaysia and ran it here, because the glory is here. I work for Ogilvy Malaysia and the idea was conceived on this soil. But the best thing is that an idea one felt really good about came to life. Is it fair to say that you created the idea, Piyush orchestrated it and Prasoon made it magical. Absolutely. Thinking of the idea, having the right support and adding the touch of magic - that's all that it takes. What's next? I hope this commercial keeps doing well. There could be many variations to it and I already have a few ideas. Be nice to me; they'll come soon enough!

Local Brands are SuperBrands Reader's Digest announced the results of its third SuperBrands survey. According to this, in the fmcg market, local brands score highly (if not higher) than international brands amongst the local consumers. This was demonstrated in brands which were declared as SuperBrands. Two levels of SuperBrand status are awarded: the Gold SuperBrand status is awarded to those whose performance rates significantly above others in the same category. Platinum SuperBrand status recognises exceptional brands those achieving a score three times greater than the next nearest brand. Lam Soon Malaysia's 'Knife' brand cooking oil was awarded Platinum status in the cooking oil category; Spritzer won the same in the water/mineral water category while Maggi went platinum for instant noodles. The other platinum brands in Malaysia are: Shell (gas station), Canon (home office equipment, camera), Sony (television, CD/MD player, DVD player, digital camera, video camera), Parker (pen),

National (refrigerator, washing machine), Coca-Cola (soft drink), Nescafe (coffee), Carlsberg (beer), Johnnie Walker (whisky), Avon (cosmetics), Nestle (baby food) and Johnson & Johnson (baby care). The local brands which became Gold SuperBrands are Boh (tea) and Malaysia Airlines (airline). In the survey, Asia's consumers were asked to name their preferred brands in a total of 38 categories from life's luxuries down to life's necessities. The SuperBrands survey is recognised as being the only consumer survey of its kind and magnitude across South East Asia, commissioned by Reader's Digest and conducted by Taylor Nelson Sofres. SuperBrand status is a key indicator of brand reputation, exceptional performance and success across the region's highly competitive consumer markets. Customers in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand nominated their favourite brands for each category. The results reflect the importance and the impact of the goods we use in our everyday lives. Undoubtedly, in

order to have reached SuperBrand status, the product has to consistently deliver on a range of qualities.

Peter Jeffery, Regional Advertising Director of Reader's Digest Asia Jack W)ngRegional Bus. Dev. Manager of Reader's Digest Asia

Of Industry Rumours & Other Vagaries Byjullie P. Lingan

Today, I got call from a dear friend and colleague in a previous life, who fired the same question my ears have been overflowing with this past month: is it true you're leaving ISCB? If there's one thing that's highly amusing in advertising, it's our passion for rumour-mongering. Beats CNN's Breaking News by more than a mile. And at the risk of sounding

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pompous, if all the rumours about us were true, or at least half-true, we would all belong to the Guinness Book of World Records. Consistently number one on the priority list is who is moving where or being pirated by whom. While it is undeniable that musical chairs seems to be a favourite game in the industry, sometimes the people concerned are the last to know. "Oh, am I supposed to have received an offer I can't refuse?" or "If talks have it that I've signed that bloody contract, might as well make it true." Next, or perhaps on par with that, is the supposed dissatisfaction of clients. "Yeah, the big boys are looking for a new agency. They think the current partner needs a mega dose of Viagra." One client told me he felt like he had committed adultery when he first heard about it. I was then personally handling his account and we were enjoying our margaritas after a good meeting. He reassured me they had no intentions of changing agencies and I believed him. Well, he was indeed telling the truth. We found out later that the agency interested in

As this is a people's poll, this shows that as far as Malaysians are concerned - local brands are SuperBrands - delivering quality over the years and winning the hearts and minds (and purses) of consumers. 78% of respondents also said that they were more likely to purchase a product that bears the SuperBrand logo.

stealing the account called client, saying they would like to do a Credentials presentation because they "heard about the talk of the town." And that is how it all started. I don't know what to say, except perhaps, all is fair in love and war, I guess. Then there's the "latest" that's so hot, it sizzles: creatives dreamily call it romance, client service pragmatically call it an affair, media hypes it and calls it lust. While we all have been stabbed right, left, center, back victims of rumour mongering - this is the most deadly of all. It is a cruel, judgmental world that often forgets we are in the days of Victoria's Secret, not Queen Victoria. As a good friend of mine said, if she were to count how many times she's been rumoured to have had affairs with different men, she would by far surpass Elizabeth Taylor's marriage yardstick. Scenario: a man and a woman have drinks at a crowded pub. Translation: They're sleeping together and they flaunt it. A man and a woman have drinks at a secluded restaurant, if only to avoid talks or it just happens that it was the first place they came across after a

long, tough meeting. Translation: They must be sleeping together as they're trying to hide it. Overnight, drinking and sleeping have become synonyms. Another scenario: two unmarried women colleagues frequently meet up for dinner, perhaps to discuss swinging, single blessedness or compare notes on love and life. Translation: They are lesbians. I shall not go into the male version of the story as I have a lot of gay friends and I love them for reasons that would exceed my Editor's idea of the perfect wordcount, so let me just mention a few, like their commitment to friendship, their unflinching loyalty, their sensitivity, their candor, their passion for love and life. In the "all others" category are topics like kickbacks, bribes, and what deserves to be in the big league priority list: mergers and acquisitions. Maybe, corporate courtship is generally considered boring and not perceived to be as interesting as people's lives. Whatever it is that attracts people to gossip the way bees gravitate towards honey, one thing is clear. While we make it a practice to say all this is petty and beneath us, we must all be guilty of it to a certain extent, at one time or another. Otherwise, why did I bother to write this article and how come you're reading it till the end?

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LONDON INTERNATIONAL ADVERTISING AWARDS 2000 The 4AS hosted Danielle Sterrie who presented the finalist certificates to the Malaysian participants. The London International Advertising Awards have now been running for 16 years. 2000 saw an incredible number of entries -17, 799 from 77 countries. The head of the jury was Trevor Beattie and the jury consisted of 166 judges from 30 different countries. From our own kampung, Alan Lim from Naga DDB and Thomas Low of OT Advertising were on the panel. Unique to this award show is the way in which it is judged. Each judge gets 2 hours of material sent to him or her wherever they may be located. The judges then have 2-3 weeks to decide on the results and send them back. They are, of course, free to change their minds in the course of this time. Danielle sees this as a more responsible way of adjudicating awards. This year, the jury will be headed by Neil French (who needs no introduction to this part of the world). The judges award marks to each entrant and those who score 7.5 out of 10, become finalists. Less than 1% of the entrants are awarded the finalist certificates and only one award is given in any category (there is no second place or bronze in this competition).

In 2000, several teams from Malaysia garnered finalist certificates. Amongst them: 1) Print : Poster Campaign - DYR for Nike 2) Print: Foods - DYR for Mamee 3) Print: Brochures and Catalogues - Consumer - DYR for the Malaysian Association for the Blind 4) Print: Public Service - Naga DDB for the Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Week 5) Print: Direct Mail - Trade - Krakatua for Krakatua 'Fortune Sticks' 6) Radio: Humour - DYR for Hotel Equatorial 7) Radio: Pharmaceuticals - O&M for Panadol Millennium 8) TV: Public Sevices - O&M for the PAWS campaign. The LIA Awards, Danielle pointed out, are judged only on creative excellence. On the whole the print entries from Malaysia fare strongly in the competition. The Asian region is fast becoming one of the most dynamic forces in advertising with

24 aDOl

Cary Rueda and the DYR team with their finalist certificates.

Danielle Sterrie, Matthew and the coveted LIA.

each country having its own specialities and particularities. The LIA Awards are held every Novemebr in London. Entry kits for the 2001 awards are available at the 4AS office.

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I firmly believe the recent convergence of broadband tec reengineering of the entire communications paradigm, and...um you want on it. And you may have noticed that I'm not exactly petite myself. So the commercials show me trying, unsuccessfully, to hide. And just as you're sure to find me, well, you're sure to find what you're looking for on BlueHyppo.com. By the way, all those blue bulges you saw are completely real and not post-produced. With due respect to Robert de Niro, putting on 60 pound is peanuts compared to what I went through.

Meeting BlueHyppo in the ample flesh is quite an experience. In person (in creature?) he's largerthan-life, with a presence that fills the room and overwhelms his executive swivel chair. He walks across his office and extends a huge blue hoof, casually dressed in Armani loafers and very little else. Clearly tired from a hectic schedule of shoots and publicity appearances, he seems nevertheless to be in good spirits. This is what Adoi learnt in the course of our exclusive interview with the star of the recent BlueHyppo.com mania. So, BlueHyppo ... Blue. Please call me Blue. Blue. Let's begin at the beginning. With all due respect, until a couple of months ago, you were just another...pachyderm. True. I was making a modest living as the 'before' talent in weight-loss ads. Night classes at drama school. Couple of circus appearances here and there. Nothing memorable. Until that recruitment ad by Telekom Multimedia for talents for an

26 aDOl

upcoming commercial.

and took the cab home.

Did you realise then you'd become so big? I mean, you are already big, but, well, you know what I mean. Absolutely no idea. The whole thing was hush-hush. Anyway, after a few rounds of auditions in Cyberjaya, it was between me, an elephant, a rhinoceros, a couple of gazelles and a gibbon called Fred.

Please elaborate on the campaign theme 'You're sure to find it.' Well, this portal thingy is big, you see. You can find just about anything

Apparently you did all the stunts yourself? Absolutely. I see myself, in some ways, as the Jackie Chan of the animal world. The shoots were tough, mind you. I had to slide down lamp posts, hide behind postboxes, and, most difficult of all - the tree scene. Boo Films and their film directors, Joshua Dernandez and Harold Monfils, were pretty demanding. I can still remember being stuck up that coconut palm with Harold yelling: "You're not Laurence Olivier, hippo! Just scream loudly, or do you need a script?' Many thanks, too, to Peter Coleman and the team at VHQ who spent countless hours making me look like an animated animal. Very real, very well done. Who are your role models?

You obviously made the cut. Good thing too. I mean, who'd visit a portal called PurpleElyphant.com? There was speculation as to the precise nature of 'BlueHyppo' before it was launched. For example, you were seen in a cage on the back of a truck in Bangsar, with a sign that said 'BlueHyppo is not out yet.' Yes, yes, quite undignified, I must say. But I was assured that young humans are into this sort of thing. The moment they saw me, they all dropped their drinks

'The medium is not the message. The message is the message, unless upcoming commercial. The medium is not the message. The message is the message, unless the message is about the medium, in which case the medium is, in fact, the message, if you get my message."

hnologies requires a fundamental , sorry, what was the question again? Oh, gosh, so many...Tom and Jerry, Wile E. Coyote, Bugs Bunny...all true greats in the physical comedy tradition. Daffy Duck, of course - a master of dialogue. And I'd like to pay special tribute to Dumbo the Elephant, who did more than anyone to break the glass ceiling for three-

and...um, sorry, what was the question again? Never mind. Has fame changed you in any way? Not at all. I mean, I never forget that I'm just a hippo from the wrong side of the river. I'm still like, wow,

'As the great Bill Bernbach once said: Honey, can you pass me the salt?' ton quadrupeds in the film industry. As someone intimately involved in the dotcom industry, what are your views on the potential of the internet as a viable tool for advertisers? (He pauses and takes a contemplative sip from the glass of fermented hay juice that his PA, Tarzana, has just brought in on a tray.) I firmly believe the recent convergence of broadband technologies requires a fundamental reengineering of the entire communications paradigm,

is this really happening? It's been hard to get accustomed to all the attention. I've started wearing sunglasses to avoid being recognised. That works? Yes. Why do you look surprised? Future plans? Will we see you in more BlueHyppo commercials? (BlueHyppo beams an enigmatic four-tooth smile, winks and says nothing. Tarzana appears at the doorway. I pack up my tape recorder and notepad. On the way out, I see Roger Rabbit in the reception.)

Bluelfyppo Client: Telekom Malaysia

Agency: FCB Malaysia

Client service: Geraldine Beh, Zamri Mamat, Yasmin Mokhtar, Chris Chia Art directors: Ong Kien Hoe, Stephen Tan Writer: Ajay Bakhshi Creative directors: SP, Yap Producer: Debbie Manuel Production House: Boo Films Film directors: Joshua, Harold Post production: VHQ Sound: Imaginex

aDOl 27

'Do Something'

By Szu & Hwa, CDs of BBDO Malaysia

"No one will understand it". "No. It's too sophisticated". "No. The tea lady doesn't get it". (She hasn't been getting it for ages.) Sound familiar? It seems that some ad practitioners in Malaysia have a secret society in which they adhere to a sworn code. The secret code of not rocking the boat. They diligently buy what is tried and tested, passed down generation to generation. Anything vaguely new, completely fresh and different is immediately set upon with relish until it is shredded and reduced to something more familiar. But beware. Hollywood movies are 5 ringgit a piece in the neighbouring pasar malam. Satellite TV is as affordable as that jade-crystal-rockthingy that your auntie has proudly displayed in the hall. Internet cafes are sprouting up as fast as we can pronounce sprouting. And computers are put into homes everyday from Kuala Lumpur to Parit Buntar.

There may be censorship at the cinema, the programmes on TV and the news we read but as with anything "banned" or deemed illegal, it just creates greater demand. Malaysians are a resourceful lot. Like consumer societies the world over, they thirst for newness. If they can't get it in the theaters, they'll visit their friendly VCD seller for a fix of the best new flicks. Need new info, the Net's there. New experiences can be had in foreign lands etc. etc. And yet the ad industry gets beaten down for being 'too' creative. The fear of offending even one person in Malaysia almost always waters down great ideas. One letter of protest from two consumers outside the target group sets alarm bells ringing that can be heard on the moon. One person down the corridor who 'doesn't get it' becomes cause for re-looking at an entire wellresearched, agreed upon strategy. Tsk tsk.

If you want your brand, new or otherwise, to get sold at the supermarkets then do something different. If you want to keep your brand relevant to the more affluent, next generation consumer, do something. If you want to distance yourself from competition, do something. Do something to the consumer. Get them excited. Make them laugh or cry. Even angry. Anything except bore. The success of the Budweiser "Whassup" campaign in the US wasn't only down to great scripts (from a

budding director, mind you). It was also thanks to the agency who had the courage to sell it and the client with the foresight to run it. It went on to become a catch phrase in streets and bars across America. Spoofs paid tribute to the spots, adding more mileage to an already famous campaign. But more significantly it got free airtime through gazillions of emails forwarded to anyone with email, worldwide. "Imagination is more important than knowledge" said Albert Einstein. True. We all have a part in raising the bar for ads in Malaysia. And playing a part is more than just continuing to say "No."

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Life after advertising... Stephen Bong stumbled into advertising by accident and spent the next 30 years of his life there. He started off as an account executive at S.P. Benson (which was bought over by Ogilvy ÂŁr Mather in 1970). He spent 12 years with O&M, leaving it as a director, to run a small local agency called Associated Publicity which today, is FCB. He then did a short stint with Neil French in Ball Partnership and returned to FCB. He eventually retired from FCB, and from advertising, as an Executive Director ending a career in account

management which spanned from October 1965 to October 1995. ADOI talks to Stephen Bong on that very existentialist question in the industry is there Life after advertising? "There is a hell of a lot of enormous life after advertising!" Right now with all his three children married and two of them settled down in Singapore - all of them

are out of his hair (and they've taken much of that with them)! Stephen needed to find something to keep his mind going and as David Ogilvy put it "Hard work never killed a man. Boredom does." It was this very fear of being killed that drove him to the three things that keep him occupied: teaching, gardening and golfing. Stephen has found a new passion in educating the young to become better advertising professionals. After 30 years in the business he feels tremendously great to be able to give back to the world. Nevertheless, he still misses the excitement of pitches, the competition with the rival agencies and strategising the pitches. He misses the ferocious arguments of internal reviews with his ex-colleagues and of course, the birth of brilliant creative ideas (and the excitement generated by these good ideas) - which to him is one of the best highs in the industry. But he emphasises that he will never miss the mediocre creative people who think they are brilliant and arrogant colleagues who think they know it all. He firmly believes that advertising is the best career one could have. And the only career where one is exposed catholically and globally and where one gets to experience many things that people in other professions don't. "Everything in the world is about marketing. This is a people's business and you acquire the knowledge and

expertise to handle people." Most young people think that advertising is all glamour and glitz but but he reminds that it involves a lot of hard work, gorgeous women all the time. But he reminds "Unless you have a passion for it, you shouldn't do it. Advertising calls for a special breed of people." ADOI followed him to the classroom, where he exudes an exuberance that overwhelms the young - often making them crack up with laughter. Sharp and alert, nothing misses him and he catches a student red-handed - passing a note which coolly enquires of her friend about the way she looks today. To his students, he relates textbook subjects with the realities of the industry. He inculcates punctuality - as it is important to turn up on time for meetings - which is actually about respect for someone else's time. And he institutes project deadlines strictly because when you promise to deliver to a client you have to honour that promise. These values of honesty, integrity and discipline are central to a career in advertising. Stephen is not just teaching advertising, he is teaching life! The other thing that keeps him going is his gardening. He simply picked that up. Gardening is very similar to his previous job - he has to look at the big picture, organise things harmoniously and there is a great deal

of creativity involved in the process. One marked difference from his past life is that during is advertising days he could never see daylight and now he ensures that he gets lots of it in the garden and on the golf course. And when asked the million dollar question - "What's your handicap?" he promptly replies, "My wife, my three kids and 2 grandkids." He admits that his handicap is nothing to boast about and that golf is just a substitute excuse for a good time. He gets together with his old school buddies, once a week on the golfing greens and the camaraderie is irreplaceable. To sum it up, "Life previously was little pleasure more pressure. Now its little pressure, more pleasure. And there's more focus, more energy. And my purpose is to find those little pockets of joy and passion."

Hats Off to the Marlboro Woman In a twist to the classic advertisement, the new Marlboro man is in fact - a woman. This new commercial which made its global debut in 4,000 cinemas across Germany on March 22nd was also created by Leo Burnett. The "Lady Mustang' spot shows a person who looks like a regular cowboy battling to control a wild horse and who wins by lassoing it. At the end, a close-up reveals the cowboy to be a lipstickwearing blonde woman. But women are not new to the Marlboro scene. Until 1930, Marlboro was almost exclusively smoked by women and the cigarette packets even

had beauty tips printed on the back. It was Burnett's Marlboro man who brought the male market in. Today, more than half of Marlboro smokers are women and they too identify with the ideas of freedom, self-confidence and adventure put forth by the brand. However, this does not mean that the world is bidding farewell to the Marlboro man. This is merely a new angle to the idea which is present in the other tvcs and posters. But now that there's a woman in the picture the variations are endless. After all this is one lonesome cowboy, who's been in the desert all by himself for the past 40 years.

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30 aDOl

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Signtech Malaysia, seeks two SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNERS. Candidates with graphics, architecture, or industrial design background to join our team to put together drawing packages, client presentations, assist with graphic design, exhibit topics, etc., and provide consultancy services. Must be able to review shop drawings, colour and material submission and prototypes and work with fabricators and printers, monitoring fabrications and installation. Highly proficient with requisite computer software. Demonstrated track record of creative design solutions must be forwarded to the address below. Send resume to: Robert Ho, Signtech (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Lot 2, Jalan 7, Cheras Jaya, 43200 Balakong, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia. Tel: (603) 90746688 Fax : (603)90746868, 90748686, e-mail: signtec@po.jaring.my SLEDGEHAMMER looking for GRAPHIC DESIGNER.Call Zainabila at 03-7726 2588 or 03-7722 5710 for an appointment. Radix - the project nexus Radix.com.my is an online marketplace for FREELANCERS £r CONTRACT JOBS. Check it out! It's Free! English writer with mainstream agency experience available on freelance/retainer/project basis. Call 019-316 2466. PDQ seeks ACCOUNT MANAGER - Events. 5 years experience in Event Management and / or Account Servicing required. Male aged below 35 years. E-mail resume to mew@pdq.com.my or call Margaret / Andria 7958-3827. WRITER wanted! Must have experience in publications and media.Good writing and communications skills in English and BM. Female preferred.e-mail resume and expected salary to buzzcr@tm.net.my or fax to 03-77264115. ISO 9002 Certified College requires VISITING LECTURER with Art or Design Qualifications. Please call Cynthia or Sandra at 03-79811102 or fax resume to: 03-798 10607. SENIOR EXECUTIVE, Advertising and Promotions. The ideal candidate should have a University Degree, in Mass Communication or English, with a minimum of 3 years relevant working experience in an advertising agency or client organisation. Interested? Send in your CV by 15 May 2001 to: Director, Group Human Resources Division, TIME dotCom Berhad, Level 11, Wisma TIME, 249, Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur. Fax: 03- 27203107 GRAPHIC DESIGNER, to be based overseas. Specialised in snack food packaging design. Independent and Cantonese literate. DTP artist, to be based in Malaysia. 2-3 years' experience in above and below-the-line. Fax resumes at 03-8024 8325 or email info@oneap.com.my CREATIVE DIRECTORS, GRAPHICS DESIGNERS, ACCOUNT MANAGERS wanted. Pis email CV to job@kodensha-m.com or call Ms. Huey at 03-42517733 to fix an appointment. International Agency looking for experienced ACCOUNT MANAGER, ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE, MEDIA PLANNER/BUYER, ART DIRECTOR, COPY WRITER, VISUALISER, TRAFFIC CONTROLLER. Interested please e-mail resume to rose@spdarcy.po.my or call 03-705 1988 for appointment. COPYWRITER wanted. Experienced or freshie welcomed, for international Japanese agency which is small but growing fast. Email CV to jimmy@dikm.po.my GRAPHIC DESIGNER willing to work part-time. Email Natasha Hudson at phloxbink@yahoo.com. PRINT PRODUCTION EXECUTIVE or PRODUCTION ASSISTANT needed. Candidates with colour separations, printing and some accounting experience may apply to Spencer Azizul Advertising. Call May Theng at 03-4042 0222. PUBLIC RELATIONS ASSOCIATE: Local PR extraordinaire looking for young up-starts to impact immeasureable knowledge of media relations and all there is under-the-roof of publicity. Up-starts should be able to withstand the pressure, put up with know-it-all clients and tolerate ego-centric bosses. Rewards are certainly worth it! Email: acornco@po.jaring.my MMT (M) Sdn Bhd in Nilai - a world leader in imaging technology for the outdoor advertising industry is looking for MARKETING EXECUTIVE. 3-5 years sales experience. Relevant tertiary qualifications. Good interpersonal £r communication skills. Contact : Ms Yong (email : fpyong@mmtglobalwp.com) Wanted. Above average ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE, below average ACCOUNT DIRECTOR. Call Didi at 03-254 6300 and we'll talk about how good an Account Manager you are. Optidigit wants an ASSISTANT EDITOR Optidigit wants an ASSISTANT EDITOR. Optidigit wants a VIDEO OPERATOR Optidigit wants a VIDEO OPERATOR Call 03-6203 1190, Sara or admin@optidigit.com PRODUCTION ASSISTANT F.7 or above, passion for film £r video productions. Good spoken £r written in both Chinese and English. Irregular working hours, creative, able to work independently with strong problem-solving skills £r meet deadline COPY WRITER. Should enclose past works in copywriting. Knowledge in Computer £r Photoshop is an advantage for P.A. GRAPHIC DESIGNER/ANIMATOR. Sound knowledge in graphic design £r 3-D animation. Able to work independently. Applicant should enclose showreel of past work. Interested applicants should submit full resume, photo Ft expected salary tn Flat B, 20/F Way On

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Comm. Bldg. 500 Jaffe Rd. Causeway Bay, HK or fax to 2893 4391 You write, therefore you are wrong. Copywriting begins with the unwritten. So you must be someone who can think visually, is wellread and has an unslakeable curiosity about the latest on things around you. Who knows, you might get paid for not writing even a word of copy. Give us a call 03-78801491 or mail us daniel@infusion.com.my. ACCOUNTS CLERK required for a manufacturing company in Bukit Rahman Putra, Sungai Buloh. Interested, email hlym@tm.net.my with cv for immediate interview or call 03-6157 7011 and ask for Ms. Ho. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE. Female, with engineering/statistical/chemistry/science/ quality control background to market QC and related software to manufacturing companies. Marketing/sales experience would be well regarded. Compensation would include incentives for achieving sales. Email resume to office@bcm-consulting.com.my or call 0321611890 for details Catcha.com is SE Asia's leading digital media group. In line with our expansion plans, we are seeking a creative, talented SENIOR WEB DESIGNER as well as a hardcore PERL PROGRAMMER to be part of Team Catcha. Suitable candidates are encouraged to email your applications to mitch@catchacorp.com BIG REWARDS! SENIOR POSITIONS in Sales £r Marketing Transit Team. Must be a Team Leader, Experienced, Creative & Strategic Thinker. 5 years in Advertising or Media. Excellent written, communication and presentation skills. Call Big Tree Outdoor or email kathy@bigtree.com.my Want a job in the music industry? Positive Tone needs people who are independent, efficient, innovative, love music and able to work long hours and weekends. E-mail resume to aiomar@pc.jaring.my Riddle me this... Iron-willed manager, skilled negotiator, meticulous report writer, An octopus in a suit. So many projects, not a whimper. Call Jessey at 03-254 6300 with the answer. If you thrive on the following ... chaos, mayhem, anarchy and madness...you ain't seen nothing yet. See if you have what it takes to be JUNIOR ART DIRECTORS / ART DIRECTORS with us. Minimum 2 year's experience. Creative and innovative. Able to contribute and realize ideas. Well-versed in Macintosh. Call Azman or Suan Lay at 03-62033877. 5 years working experience in exhibition, events and interior projects with US education background. Currently seeking local and overseas opportunity. Kindly contact Jeff 012-2347897 for resume and profile. Email jtdesign@yahoo.com. SALES EXECUTIVE with experience in consumer goods required urgently for a Public Company involved in manufacturing, located in Subang Jaya.Call 03-5637 5555 for Cik.Zarina NAGA DDB Needs ACCOUNT MANAGER. NAGA DDB Needs ACCOUNT MANAGER. Call 7078821 or 7078835 for an appointment. A JUNIOR ART DIRECTOR with a good book and the promise to make any executive creative director look good... call 012 313 3086. Have you found the key to success? Do you consider yourself intelligent, result orientated, self motivated and with a passion for MARKET RESEARCH, please send your CV to hr@acnielsen.com.my GAY, LESBIAN OR HETEROSEXUAL? It doesn't matter which. COPYWRITERS and DTP people, true equal opportunity employment awaits. Call Kenneth at 012 2984121 for an appointment today. Assistant PERSUASION EXECUTIVE. Should be able to sell hair straighteners to Kenny G. Between 21-30 years old. Call Daphne from Mon - Fri at 04-2288696 for a chat. PERSUASION COORDINATOR. Should be able to choreograph deadlines better than a dancer. Between 21-30 years old. Call Daphne from Mon - Fri at 04-2288696 for a chat. Conceptual Writer. Able to make words fly further than a pilot. Between 21-30 years old. Call Daphne from Mon - Fri at 04-2288696 for a chat. Freelance MAKE-UP ARTIST with extensive experience now available! Has worked with magazines, fashion labels, celebrities and international events. Contact Geraldine at 012-3130348. FREELANCE GRAPHIC DESIGNER wanted, Familiar with Pagemaker, Photoshop an illustrator, able to start immediately!! Call for more information: Tel: 03-7880 2796 Fax: 03-7880 2792 Email: hhmsia@po.jaring.my

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Roaring Back onto the Screen It is no secret that Talib Yatim, the CEO of Electronic Media Airtime Services (E-MAS), is a man with his mind fixed on bringing back RTM to the top spot in the nation. Heading a staff of 90 located at E-MAS' head office in Shah Alam and in the 11 regional offices across the nation, Talib is set to turn RTM around. Of late, RTM has been generally perceived as being staid and rigid in comparison to the brasher, bolder new channels. However, research indicates that the national television network still has high credibility and boasts a broad spectrum of viewers. Resting on these strong foundations, Talib believes that revamping the programming and the presentation will provide the push that RTM needs in the marketplace. He shares with ADOI the changes that viewers and advertisers can hope to see in the brand new RTM. What is the new look all about? Essentially what we've done since we took over the marketing for RTM is to work closely with the stations and to identify the areas of improvement - in terms of overall image. What we looked into were the areas of programming and presentation. In terms of programming, we have reviewed the existing programmes for both TVi and TV2. We feel there's a need to reposition TVi and TV2 in a very clear and distinctive manner - that's our task at hand. And after subscribing to AC Nielsen research - we needed the data for performance ratings,

will be in Bahasa Malaysia. But we want to make TV2 a more modern and contemporary TV station that will appeal to the urban and cosmopolitan population - and the programming has to reflect that. So the 2 stations have become distinctive in image and programming and we've started this from the first of April. But most of the changes are taking place on TV2. What would be some of these changes? On TV2 we're making critical changes in prime-time - going for the cosmopolitan audience with an emphasis on English language programmes. We have created a prime time block from 8.30-9.30pm throughout the week - offering English drama series. This flows into a half hour mix of sitcoms. What are some of the new exciting programmes that you're bringing in? What we actually did for TV2 is to rebelt and recategorise the programmes and put them into clusters. We have different categories - 'Kids' World on 2' , 'Golden Phoenix' - a TVB series; 'Golden Dragon' and 'Golden Selection' - both offering Chinese movies; 'Premium Selection' which is non-stop adventure; 'Essence' - which presents awardwinning and nominated series on Fridays and Saturdays. For the Indian population we have the Tamil and Bollywood blockbusters in the 'Spice of India' and 'Bollywood Magic' slots respectively.

competitive! What can the viewer expect from TV2? Non-stop thrilling and exciting entertainment for everyone! Right now what is your audience share? You still have good penetration... Yes, we still have good penetration. But we have dropped a bit and now there is this move to bring it back. But on a joint basis, TVi and TV2 still remain the leader - we used to have more than 50% share, but now it's about 40%. We expect the growth to be fairly good and we hope to reach 50% by the end of this year. We have also recategorised the programmes for TVi as well - we have a family belt in the afternoon and special belts for women. Prime time we show dramas, movies and sitcoms such as 'Gerak Khas'. We have more hours allocated for sports - 'Aksi Aktif covering local and international sports. All in all, this is a more structured programming which allows a good flow of viewers from one programme to- another and these are good moves to increase audience share - and it's time we wooed back the audience that we have lost to the private stations. And if you combine TVi and TV2, we definitely give the biggest coverage. When will you start seeing the results? We hope to see results in about 36 months. Since it is still new, it will take a while for people to get

Did you assemble a new team for the new look? The team is fairly new - fresh but experienced - young, energetic and an aggressive team of marketing guys! We also have a support team doing research and programming and they work very closely with the stations. How are sales? There is an overall softness which has been affecting media ADEX It has picked up since March we hope it continues for the next few months. And of course, the downturn in the international economy is also affecting us. And people are being cautious though they have the budget for adspend. Have you revamped the way

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viewership, and the daily flow of audience from one program to another - we were then able to strategise. We then advised RTM to make some key changes to the overall programming mix and the scheduling particularly on TV2. We want TVi to be a full-fledged national channel the programming is skewed towards information. This is a channel for all Malaysians, regardless of race, but the programming - about 95% of it -

32 aDOl

In the 'Premium Selection' we are showing Matrix, Cold Squad, Counter Strike, Sins of the City, Investigator and Millennium and once a week, Discovery. In 'Essence' we are offering - ER, Angel, Strange World and Joan of Arc. We still maintain the 'Action Movie' and the 'Movie Magic' spots as they are extremely popular. This is the new line-up - we have made TV2 to be more energetic, contemporary and definitely more

used to the programmes and to gain their loyal viewing. RTM also is going to be a lot more aggressive in programme acquisition and we have to admit that we have the financial backing for that. We also hope to promote our programmes well - one of the strategies is to improve promotions on TV, radio,

you sell your space? We have made major adjustments where we're bringing down the rates of cost per thousand for all programmes across the board to offer very competitive rates to the advertisers. We're giving them better value for money now than in the past. New programmes,

newspapers and magazines through both paid advertisements as well public relations activities.

competitive rates and better servicing of clients are the key ingredients of the brand new RTM.

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LEARN FROM MALAYSIAS INTERNATIONAL AWARD-WINNING CREATIVE DIRECTORS THE SECRETS OF WORLDCLASS COPYWRITING. ENROL FOR SLEDGEHAMMER COMMUNICATIONS' 3-MONTH COPYWRITING CERTIFICATE. FOR INTAKE DETAILS, CALL 03-7722 5710 (ZAINABILA).

Suburban Success Suburban Films, a South African-based commercials production company, recently shot three very challenging commercials for Euro RSCG. The brief was to create three action commercials titled 'Oasis', 'Crocodile' and 'Clouds' for Indonesian cigarette brand Djarum Super. The commercials were shot in Swakopmund, Spitzkoppe and the Fish River Canyon in Namibia. As the stills show, the results are absolutely brilliant and it's not for nothing that Miles Goodall is christened as the 'man with a miracle eye' by clients and advertising executives all over the world. Reggie Chew, CEO of Euro RSCG Singapore and Malaysia commented that "working with Miles was truly and exhilarating experience ... and the end result was exactly what we had envisaged." The production involved extremely difficult stunts and

visual effects: stunt rock climbers climbed up cliffs, a helicopter was used to create sand storms and take aerial shots, sand and rain effects were created, a stunt driver was used for the action scenes and an oasis was fashioned with plants. The shoot was faultlessly planned and executed by Linda Notelovitz - contributing greatly to the success of the shoot. For Miles a great ad possesses a timeless quality and captures real people doing real things and he says, "Ultimately, I want people to enjoy watching ads that's my main goal."

1 'Life On April 22nd, Coca-Cola launched its brand new campaign of 31 TV spots for 200 countries which "reassert the bigness, the magic of brand Coke". The campaign introduces the tagline "Life tastes good" and features everyday moments made special with Coca-Cola. One of the spots, set to run worldwide without dialogue or voiceover, shows a young woman dressing for her wedding. As female relatives display myriad emotions while tending to her, a young girl clutching a bottle of Coke stands amid the chaos, gazes thoughtfully at the bride-to-be and offers her a sip. Many of the television ads will be unique spots; others will be original stories that are designed for a specific country and culture. The campaign uses celebrity, youth, and music in an attempt to reconnect with consumers globally in ways that are relevant locally. The old model of advertising was all about creating the world of Coke and inviting people into it but the new campaign is about advertising about the consumers as

34 aDOl

Campaign

people. "Life Tastes Good" is a fully integrated campaign that includes television, radio, print, online and outdoor executions. What is the rollout going to be for the campaign? The "Life Tastes Good" campaign is truly worldwide. The ads will be produced in 13 countries, including: U.S., Japan, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, China, Australia, Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Poland and Philippines. As it stands, there will be approximately 30 finished television ads. Many of the spots will be unique; others will be localized interpretations of centralized concepts. Is this rollout a new approach for Coke? It's a new approach that has global strategic direction, but is more localized than ever. Previously, our divisional marketing leaders determined ad direction and content based on local tastes. This led to different campaigns in different parts of the world. The platform for the

new campaign is being established globally. Given an over-arching creative concept to work with, global divisions are free to interpret the platform mindful of local nuances and sensibilities within the creative framework. What's the significance of this new campaign to the Coca-Cola brand? The "Life Tastes Good" campaign captures the everyday optimism of the Coca-Cola brand and the intimate connection consumers feel toward the product. It demonstrates that Coke is so much a part of people's lives that it simply must be part of the moments ordinary and extraordinary - that make each day special. What is the premise behind the new Coca Cola ad campaign? Storytelling is at the heart of this campaign. When people tell stories about important moments of their lives-big ones and small ones - they often describe a scene where Coca-Cola was present. Maybe it was in the cooler at the Softball triumph, or on ice at the wedding reception, or in

someone's hand at the surprise party. The stories - funny, inspiring, or poignant - aren't necessarily about Coke, but Coke is part of the story. There's something magical about that, and the campaign captures it. Explain the "Life Tastes Good" tagline The "Life Tastes Good" ads reflect moments of emotional intensity, but they're also about savoring the memory of those moments. Coke is a part of the big moments of celebration and the refreshing pauses of recollection. And in both instances, "life tastes good.

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beyond fhe average state of mind

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Take part in DUNHILL extended-play - Kl's biggest football frenzy. This month long event kicks off with fun and games at selected outlets in Bangsar and culminates in one huge party, happening on May IS. An event where you can watch the giant screening of the English FA Cup Final LIVE, and get the chance fo win a Lotus Ellsel Start the party early, and experience if all tonight in Bangsar. A Radio contest on HITZ.fm (every Monday, Wednesday and Friday aM0.30am and 7.30pm] and a press contest** to watch out for.

. ' T h e chance fo win a Lotus Elise*.* 2 0 all-expense-paid trips to Cardiff* . * 2 0 FREE rickets fo the 2001/02 English Charify Shield* " Terms and conditions apply • Only persons aged IS and above may enlei • Open to residents ol Malaysia only • fudges' decision is tinai • Proof nf postage is not piool ol lereipt "ChecK piess foi details.

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fended-play

Football has a gripon the imagination of the masses. Whether you see it as the modern expression of warfare or the ultimate symbol of popular culture, football (for some unknown reason) has the power to unite strangers or divide families. Football is a participatory sport - and the fans contribute as much (if not more) to the game as the players. Understanding the mass appeal of the sport, on the field and beyond it, Dunhill has launched a new promotional campaign which hopes to create the fever of the pitch in the streets of KL.

Film Director Acts in Real Life Drama Who says there's no goodwill amongst people in advertising? It was April 5th on a lazy afternoon when nothing much had happened and nothing more seemed like it would happen, as Anthony Wong of TH Film (pictured left) sat in his office daydreaming. Then something did happen. Through his tinted office window, overlooking the crowded car park, he saw a suspicious looking fella checking out Add Audio neighbour Sean Gregory's fiesty little Kancil. Next thing he knew, the chap was already poking a metal ruler into Sean's car window and the car came unlocked in the blink of an eye. Said film director punched the numbers on his phone, called Sean to round up a few Add Audio boys, and himself rushed out of the office. Realising there were suddenly people around, the car thief attempted to walk away. As Sean and his colleagues coolly approached the rogue head-on, the vigilant director sneaked up from behind the thief and grabbed the surprised bugger, telling him he was under citizen's arrest. As Sean dialled for the police, just all of Add Audio (agencies included), numbering something like 75 people, poured out to stare at the now bewildered thief. "He was probably more petrified by all these kay-poh faces surrounding him than if he had been under police interrogation," said a no-less kay-poh staff who was also present in the congregation. The police eventually came - machine gun, handcuffs, the works ... And the

36 aDOl

Named the Dunhill Extended-Play promotion, this is the largest promotional football frenzy of the year and it kicked off on April 14th. It will culminate on May 12th with the Grand Finale street party which coincides with the English FA Cup Final. During that period, ten F&B and entertainment outlets along the trendiest street in the country - Jalan Telawi 3, Bangsar - will be hosting football theme-nights promising fun, games, entertainment and the opportunity to win, win, win! The promotion injects a lifestyle element to both the local and international soccer events held/telecast live in Malaysia by creating "beyond-the-match" celebrations. Extended-Play underscores Dunhill's commitment to bring the best football to Malaysians. Party revellers can expect the party of the season on the 12th - 8,000 footie fans and merrymakers are expected to congregate in the area. That night, the highly charged atmosphere and the electrifying emotions of the game will spill over to the streets of Bangsar!

culprit was hauled away to the balai. At press time, the case has gone to the PJ State Police's CID division and we understand that charges will be pressed against the perpetrator. Sean's got Anthony to thank for the Kancil (er, the car that is), which is still his. And Anthony's got himself to thank for a date in court, presumably as the key witness in a case believed to also involve a car theft syndicate. Asked by AD 01 to comment on his own act of bravery, Anthony quipped, "Always park your car where I can see it." Anthony Wong is now film director at Axis Films after his daring deed and the new management has given him a room with a window.

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Making his mark in KL!

The people who made it possible

Mark Austin, the newly promoted CEO of Tempus Asia-Pacific swung by KLGCC on Monday, April 23rd to present a timely talk entitled 'The shifting role of media in today's marketing landscape'. The event had Newsweek as its title sponsor and ntvz, Pos Ad, ACNIelsen and MMT as its supporting sponsors. Mark spoke to an industry audience of 350 on issues that were relevant to their

Newsweek with the media guru...

everyday lives. Mark is pioneering a paradigm shift in the business by putting forth the premise that it is media that should be the core of strategy and creative should be the execution of that strategy. And it is an idea that clients are buying as he has recently won the worldwide SIA media account as well as the LVMH account for Asia!

If you don't advertise in this magazine, you're ignoring the attention of over 30,000 readers who decide how to spend millions of ad dollars every month. 38 aDO!

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Whatever you want to say, we'll put it on-screen. This way you get the freedom of delivering your message however you want. And we can get away with it since we can engineer your advertising in any way you want, almost like having a tv station belong to you. Curious? Good.

Find out how you can treat a tv station like you own it by calling Brand Energy at 03-255 1177.

energy Brand Energy is affiliated to Natseven TV Sdn. Bhd. (323221-A)

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