Ron Samuel AdFest Diary: Final Day

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Ron.jpgRon Samuel is executive creative director/partner Cooch Creative & Communication (pictured left) reports for Campaign Brief Asia from AdFest 2018.

Final Day. Saturday 24 March.

By the time day four comes around the casualty count from excessive networking becomes more evident and concentration is a challenging concept. Rob Sherlock, from ADK, was the perfect antidote and snapped everyone out of it with his Young Lotus presentation titled ‘You are what you consume.’ Rob is a great presenter, and no-one seemed to be offended when he reminded us that we’re all in imminent danger of disappearing up our own industry’s backside if we can’t change, or transform, as well, or as fast, as our clients are.

 

He said that we need to escape ourselves and change our conceptual diet to stay relevant and in business. To make his point to the Young Lotus teams from around the region, he  served them a Thai coconut dish that had been reimagined to look a piece of poop. It set the tone and the challenge for the teams, who responded very well.

Screen Shot.jpgMcDonalds 24 Hour.jpgPedigree.jpgHe wasn’t alone in his thoughts and showed quotes and videos of industry leaders who feel the same way. It begs the question why we aren’t changing fast enough?  Is it the addictive allure of chasing big lumps of cash from clients who simply don’t spend like that anymore, or perhaps a collective arrogance that we always know what’s best, when it’s clear that we don’t.

 

All the teams produced work that should be very proud of.

 

I had a final look around the displays and found a couple of gems that I’d missed earlier. The integrated campaign for Pedigree that encouraged people to adopt a dog when their kids moved out was great. It even helped you to match the dog’s personality with your children’s. A lovely fresh idea, well-executed across all of the channels.

 

Another piece that caught my eye was the McDonalds 24 Hour campaign with the logo subtly reversed in a reflection. I would have loved to have been in the room when that concept was presented to the client.

 

The farewell party was great, as usual, no one looks after its guests as well as AdFest. One of the things I noticed is that you make new friends so easily. The handshake you exchange on the first day becomes a hug on the last.

 

Nearly all of people I spoke to, who also go to shows like Cannes, said that AdFest is the best for networking and making long term contacts.

 

Everyone was talking about the challenges we are facing and this is the first time that there has been such wide spread feelings of uncertainty, but I think it was healthy to share the fears and opportunities. Just knowing that we are all in the same boat, whatever country you were from, was comforting. Attracting and retaining young talent was another issue that was talked about at length. It seems that the industry isn’t as attractive as it used to be to young prospects. It all reminded me of Bill Bernbach’s ‘Change or die’ piece from many years ago, we’re still here but it’s time to change again.