Ajab Samrai, CCO at Ogilvy & Mather Japan: It’s from diversity that magic surfaces

Ajab Samrai has been living in Japan since 2013, when he accepted the role of Chief Creative Officer at Ogilvy & Mather Group, in his own words, ‘to frighten himself’.

Since then, he has not only overseen the complete turnaround of the agency financially but has helped Ogilvy & Mather become the most awarded international agency in Japan.

Campaign Brief Asia caught up with Samrai (pictured) when he was judging Ad Stars 2016 in August, and this week we tracked him down again to find out more about life as an expat living in Tokyo.

Can you tell us about the creative scene in Japan right now?

Japan is everything a creative person can wish for. The sheer amount of stimulus that one can be exposed to on a daily base is outstanding. And that’s what explains the amazing creative output seen from Japanese agencies lately. For the past decade, Japan is constantly the most awarded country in Asia and in the top 5 worldwide. Finally, the size of the market is catching up with the quality of the creative work.

On top of that, brands are more and more open to experiment with new approaches and listen to solutions that are not the expected ones. Japan Inc. needs to grow out of its comfort zone and that is already having an effect on how companies express themselves.

How did you find yourself working in Tokyo? What is it like to be an expat working in Japan?

I wanted to scare myself and be really challenged once again in my life after 27 years in the business. Japan came up as the perfect destination, I was told the market was impossible for foreigners to navigate and understand.

The agency wasn’t in good shape and I felt I could make the difference. But after the first trip, I fell in love with it and now I cannot see myself living anywhere else.

Have you ever had a mentor?

In reality, I had two. One who taught me to be a DISSENTER & REBEL and the other showed me that IT’S NOT HOW GOOD YOU ARE, IT’S HOW GOOD YOU WANT TO BE.

The first one was Charles Saatchi and then later the legendary ECD Paul Arden. Charles taught me to be a nonconformist. With Paul I learnt how to be a great art director and creative leader.

What’s your proudest achievement?

When you turn an agency around, when you bring in new clients, when you go from unranked to the 10th most awarded agency in Asia as well as the 10th most awarded creative in the region, it makes you feel good. But what makes me really proud is to have been able to create a change that transformed the lives of almost 300 employees and ultimately was able to reward them better for the work they do.

Last but not least, with 31% female creatives, we are now one of the most diverse creative departments in the world and that’s no mean feat.

What else are you passionate about, outside of advertising?

When I’m not writing advertising my personal passion is collecting Indian art, I’m one of the world’s foremost collectors and experts on Sikh period Indian art from the 17th – 19th centuries.

If you could change one thing about the advertising industry, what would it be?

Since my first day in the business I have fought for and been a great advocate for diversity. It is from a melting pot of diverse talents that magic truly surfaces.

What can you tell us about the experience of being a judge at Ad Stars 2016?

This was my first experience judging a show in Asia. It was great to be surrounded by the best in the world and realizing that so many are actually based in this part of the globe. That probably explains why the regional level of the work is so high at the moment.

From the organization of the festival to the local hospitality, everything worked perfectly.

Now that you’ve been to Ad Stars, do you think there is anything that makes the festival unique?

Ad Stars is the only truly democratic festival in the world due to its free entries’ policy. Anyone, independently of their budgets, has a chance – not just the wealthiest agencies, as it’s usually the case.

With entries nearing the 20,000 mark, it’s probably the second biggest festival globally, which makes it harder and harder to win. And much more prestigious when you do. 

What was the highlight of your week in Korea?

To see one of my youngest Japanese creatives get on stage to pick up a Grand Prix was a great moment. As a creative leader one needs to nurture talent, help the ones that will be leading tomorrow. And when you see them flourishing and getting recognized by some of the best in the industry, that’s an achievement.

The machine behind Ad Stars works like clockwork and that freed us up to concentrate on the judging, which is always the most important thing.