Foodies, dentists and being bad: An interview with Norman Tan, China Chairman and North Asia Chief Creative Officer at JWT Asia Pacific
Wherever Norman Tan moves, awards seem to follow. But which award means the most to this year’s AdFest Outdoor and Press jury President? The answer might surprise you.
You are overseeing the Outdoor and Press jury at AdFest 2015. But some people say in a digital world, “press is dead”. Is it?
I agree with having more choices in communications medium these days. People use less press. But that doesn’t means press is dead. To me, press is the most basic, unique and yet challenging medium to express a concept with the beauty of copywriting and art direction.
You’ve won lots of awards, but which one means the most to you?
When I see local talents we trained and worked with winning Grand Prix awards in local and international shows – that is the most rewarding award for me.
You recently re-joined the JWT family. What would you like to achieve in your new role?
The official answer will be to work with the creative leaders and teams in our region to create pioneering solutions to build enduring brands and business, which is also my ongoing mission with JWT. But the most important thing of all is to build on what JWT has already been doing great in China and the north region for talents, and a trusted and happy environment.
You now oversee Greater China, Korea and Japan at JWT. Moving from Southeast Asia to North Asia, how do the markets compare? And where is the food best?
I was lucky. The people I worked with and the people I met in the industry made my move possible. The four big differences between regions and markets are the weather, peoples, culture and food. Food lovers like me will not categorize where the food is best at. But when you are hungry and want to look for good food conveniently, Singapore, Taipei and Bangkok are probably the best places to be.
The theme of AdFest 2015 is “Be Bad”. Are you ever badly behaved?
Yes, too bad to repeat here in the public.
Who is the most interesting person you’ve ever had lunch with?
Too many interesting people I’ve met. Justin Quek was very interesting when we had a meal together. We only talked but I learned about what good food is. He was also my army camp mate, and is now a famous Singaporean chef in French cuisine. We had dinner at his restaurant in Shanghai after not seeing each other for more then 20 years. It was interesting
What scares you?
Seeing my dentist.
If you could invite any three people to a dinner party (dead or alive), who would they be?
My mom and dad who have passed away. I will request to keep the only vacancy left to invite my mom again for a second time.
Can you tell us one secret about yourself?
This is not really a secret, but not many people in the industry know about it. I have 5 brothers and 7 sisters, and yes, we are from the same parents.
This year’s AdFest will take place from Thursday 19th – Saturday 21st March at the Royal Cliff Hotels Group in Pattaya, Thailand. To enter the 2015 Lotus Awards, simply visit here and click ‘Entry Submission’ to submit your work.