From Asia★ AdFest 2014 Report② Judges Speak to Our Paper
The 17th Asia-Pacific Advertising Festival (AdFest 2014) was held in Pattaya, Thailand, from March 6th to 8th. A total of 3,253 entries from 41 cities across Asia-Pacific competed across 17 award categories. This year's theme was "Co-Create the Future." We spoke with Chief Jury President Toa Maillen and five judges from the Dentsu Group about trends in the entries, their impressions of the judging process, and the future they envisioned through the judging.
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Grand Jury President
ToaMylen(President, Grey New York)
Q1. This year's theme is "Co-Create the Future." How do you perceive the present and future of the advertising industry?
A. " Co-Creating the Future" is a wonderful theme. It represents the most important trend in the advertising industry. Right now, the industry is truly riding the wave. Opportunities arise almost daily. We collaborate with like-minded creative partners to make the world better and more interesting. I feel incredibly lucky to be working in this field during such a time.
Q2. How do you personally drive co-creation?
A. One of Grey's key cultural themes is "Radical Collaboration." Our world is more fascinating than ever. We're collaborating with the most cutting-edge players globally: music, big tech, Hollywood, gaming, and of course, consumers.
Q3. Regarding Grey's "Creative Renaissance." What is most crucial for successfully enabling co-creation within a global network?
A. Agency culture is the foundation of everything. And the existence of a shared goal everyone believes in. Gray's unwavering guiding principle, our "North Star," is "Famously Effective." We constantly aim for work that becomes a talking point in pop culture. In today's market, this kind of work—work that makes people stop, pay attention, and talk about it—delivers results. If every staff member believes that great work liberates us, we can focus on the most crucial thing: doing great work.
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Interactive/Mobile Division Chair
GrahamKelly ( Isobar Asia Pacific)
Q1. What were your impressions after judging?
A. I had a positive impression of the Interactive category. I expected to see a lot of innovation in the Mobile field, given the diverse efforts underway, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. The quality wasn't bad, but I didn't see any work that truly captured the judges' hearts enough to deserve a Grande (Grand Prix).
Q2. How were the Japanese entries? What were their strengths and weaknesses?
A. In Interactive and Mobile, Japan stands out in Asia. This is clear from their dominance in winning awards. The positives are excellent ideas and superb execution. The level of craftsmanship was very impressive. So what's missing? That's a tough question. If I had to say, it's the absence of strong rivals within the Asian region. Healthy competition is always necessary as a stimulus for progress.
Q3. What significance do synergy and co-creation hold within a global network?
A. Synergy ensures more talent gathers within the network. Through co-creation, that talent gains access to more skills and perspectives. This ultimately leads us to fresh solutions we couldn't have imagined.
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Film/Radio Division
Miwako Hosokawa ( Dentsu Inc.)
Q1. What were the judging criteria for the Film category? What trends did you observe?
A. Chairwoman Toa Maillen first stated, "Let's evaluate things we've never seen before, new things. Let's create new evaluation criteria, not just praise what others have praised." She said it takes great courage, but we must do it. I think this is fitting for an ad festival held in Asia, ahead of Cannes and other advertising festivals. On that basis, entries that particularly addressed regional issues and those with humor were highly evaluated.
Q2. What were the key points in evaluating the Grand Prix-winning Nissin Foods Cup Noodles "Globalization"?
A. The way it brilliantly transforms a regionally specific challenge into entertaining humor. It also received the highest praise for the "magic" that only happens when every element—concept, copy, direction, camera work, music, acting—is at the absolute highest level.
Q3. Please share your impressions of serving as a judge.
A. I wasn't confident in my English, so right up until the last minute I thought I shouldn't have accepted... But once I actually participated, I was deeply moved. Even with my limited English, the highly communicative judges from various countries kindly picked up on what I meant and understood me. As we talked, I also received various inspirations for my future work. I felt that you should try everything without fearing embarrassment. I also realized that as long as you overcome that hurdle, there are many people within the company capable of doing work that resonates globally.
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Design/Print Craft Category
Mr. Michihito Tsuchihashi( Dentsu Inc. Chubu Branch)
Q1. What were the judging criteria for the Design and Print Craft category? What trends did you observe?
A. Seven judges with different nationalities, cultures, perspectives, and preferences evaluated the entries. Reaching consensus was impossible from the start. Yet, we had to find common ground. While AdFest sets broad judging criteria, deciding award winners required establishing specific, agreed-upon standards among all seven judges. That standard was "affinity with the category name and subcategory name." For example, the "Typography" subcategory exists in both the Design category and the Print Craft category. For Print Craft, judging is based on the "craftsmanship" aspect of typography. For Design, judging is based on the "design quality" aspect of typography. We learned firsthand that if you aim for both categories with a single typography piece, you need to change how you present your board to fully meet each category's specific criteria. The level of Japanese design is truly high. Many other judges acknowledged this. However, some presentation boards weren't created with the category name in mind, or the submitted category itself was incorrect, which made judging difficult in some cases.
Q2. Your "Mother Book" project was selected for the Grande Award. Do you know how it was evaluated?
A. Judges are not permitted to vote on or even discuss their own company's work. Naturally, I was excluded from the discussions about Mother Book and had to wait outside the entire time, so I don't know how it was judged. However, I heard later that "it was outstanding from every angle of the judging criteria and was unanimously selected for the Grande."
Q3. Please share your impressions of serving as a judge.
A. David Park, the jury chair, began by stating, "Works that make it past the finalist stage will be featured in the yearbook. Many creators will see them. This means our judging skills will also be scrutinized by many creators. Let's keep this in mind as we judge." His words kicked off the judging process, which became the longest in the history of the AdFest Design & Print Craft category. Thanks to the extensive discussions, I gained a truly deep understanding of how judges from different countries think about advertising and design. Honestly, I hadn't expected judging to be such demanding work, but it was a valuable experience where I learned a great deal. I'm grateful for the opportunity.
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Film Craft / New Director Category
Shota Hosoya (Dentsu Inc. Creative X)
Q1. What were the judging criteria for the Film Craft and New Director categories? What trends did you observe?
A. The judging criteria for Film Craft were: "How effectively did the craftsmanship (technical skill) within each category serve the story or idea?" Ultimately, it was crucial that the film was "excellent" (i.e., highly polished). No matter how much effort went into it, if the details weren't meticulously refined, it couldn't secure a majority vote and wouldn't make it to the finalists. While we were emotionally moved, the judges are, after all, a group of craftsmen, and they were all quite stubborn on this point.
This year's submission trends showed fewer "meticulously crafted works" in both the Film Craft and New Director categories, resulting in fewer entries winning medals or higher honors. We also heard scattered comments about many entries feeling like something we'd seen before. As for judging tendencies, perhaps because we were leaning forward and judging seriously, we tended to be more lenient towards softer works – offbeat pieces, those that made you chuckle, and the like.
In the New Director category's "Fabulous Four" (a collaborative short film session by four young creators), one participant was disqualified, leaving only three. The reason for disqualification was that the pre-selected "script" and the final "film" were too vastly different.
While the judging criteria aim to discover promising new talent, they are no different from those for film craft. For the theme "Co-Create the Future," we first evaluated whether there was a solid idea or story, and then assessed if each detail functioned effectively and if there were any flaws. As you'll see when you watch them, all three films this year were well-received.
To share some judging insights: Adam Graveley's "Karen" from Australia was interesting, but lost points for lacking refinement in details like art direction and costumes. Keisuke Kuroyanagi's "Deads" was praised for its good idea and well-executed details, though I wondered if being a "zombie film" didn't earn extra points for originality. Mr. Tomokazu Setsuda's "A Man" presented a rather complex story upon reading the script. However, it was executed flawlessly, with every detail effectively serving its purpose, resulting in a deeply resonant work. The director's skill in achieving this was highly praised. Content-wise, I felt it was a close call, but the voting results showed "A Man" winning by a landslide. Since the judges read the scripts, the outcome might have been different if the audience had voted based solely on a single screening.
Q2. Please share your impressions of serving as a judge.
A. The jury consisted of four directors, one producer, one music director, and one CG effects artist. We didn't have major disagreements, so judging itself wasn't difficult. However, there were some unresolved aspects where I felt we could have delved deeper into the discussion. Since it's done by humans, there are always unpredictable elements beyond pure logic—the atmosphere of the moment, the flow of the discussion, the back-and-forth. Experiencing that was incredibly valuable. I'd be very happy if I could leverage that experience to contribute further to the industry.
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Press Category
SuvanKow ( Dentsu Inc. Plus: Thailand)
Q1. What were your impressions after judging?
A. I was thrilled and impressed by the sheer number of outstanding entries. Although the total number of submissions decreased compared to last year, I believe press advertising possesses unique communication power. This year's Grand Prix winner perfectly combined idea, execution, craft, and production. It proved that pouring effort into every detail allows press to make a powerful impact on people's hearts. Regarding the future of press advertising, we're seeing a trend moving beyond traditional boundaries. Works utilizing special techniques or collaborations, such as being part of a digital campaign, will further captivate consumers. I want to explore ways to utilize this wonderful medium, press, more effectively.
Q2. What was your overall impression of the Japanese entries across all categories?
A. There were many compelling entries . While press entries were fewer, the film entries were outstanding, and I encountered excellent work across many categories like design, direct, promo, and media. What sets Japan apart is its ability to combine uniqueness with cutting-edge technology to create powerful campaigns.
Q3. How do you think synergy is created within a global network?
A. I believe sharing the common goal of "delivering outstanding work" is essential. Our Dentsu Inc. Aegis Network connects offices worldwide, pooling immense talent and capability sufficient to generate synergy. Co-creation elevates both the client's business and our creative work to the next level. We will continue to dedicate our efforts to this.
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