Jimmy Lam on AdFest at 10 IN PRINT

Jimmy Lam on AdFest at 10
IN PRINT, ADFEST 2007

From copywriter to ECD and CEO, then TVC director to regional ECD, Jimmy has over 30 years of creative and creative management experience. Wanting to contribute his experience to the industry that made him
what he is today, Jimmy has become publisher and editor of Longyin Review the Chinese advertising showcase magazine, founder of the LongXi Chinese Awards, captain of
Clipper Asia and a creative trouble shooter for Dentsu Asia. But he is mostly known as AdFest’s co-founder and president. After planning and pulling off AdFest at 10, Jimmy Lam looks back his baby’s 10th birthday bash.

adobo: Have you settled down to your regular work after hosting Asia’s largest advertising festival?
Jimmy: Right after AdFest 2007, I was back to my normal work mode as the regional trouble-shooter and trainer for Dentsu Asia, and have been traveling like mad.

adobo: It was a big year for AdFest this year, being on its 10th year. How did you and Vinit Surapongchai get AdFest on its feet?
Jimmy: I first met Vinit in Cannes 1994 as fellow TV Lions judges. After several days in the freezing dark room, Vinit and I made the “big escape” over lunch to a small Vietnamese restaurant behind the Majestic Hotel. Over bowl of steaming hot beef noodles, we came up the idea of starting a more affordable advertising festival for ad people in our region. In 1998, AdFest became a reality.

adobo: Twenty-one years ago, the Media Spikes was the first Asian advertising awards show. How do you see AdFest vis-a-vis the Media Spikes?
Jimmy: Ten years ago, they (Media Spikes) were the only meaningful regional awards. And AdFest was started as more than another regional awards (show), an annual gathering for industry people in our region to learn, exchange ideas, meet old friends and make new ones. Since last year, Spikes has moved from a one-night awards evening to a two-day event like a festival. Like any entity, AdFest just have to keep moving forward and not live on yesterday’s success.

adobo: Where is the AdFest now after 10 years? What do you think the festival stands for, in the minds of the agency heads and creatives who attend and participate in the festival?
Jimmy: It is THE annual gathering for industry people in our region, and in participated by more and more industry people outside our region. It is when and where most of us can learn, exchange ideas and see where we go from here.
adobo: What were the BIG things that happened at the AdFest this year for you?
Jimmy: Accommodating over 5,000 entries, 10 awards categories (three of which we have never done before), 51 judges, 15 speaking sessions, over 1,600 delegates in a long four-day festival, and become the official complaint department alias President of AdFest.

adobo: What do you think of the quality of work entered into the show?
Jimmy: The creativity bar in conventional media categories such as TV, Press and Outdoor Lotus is more or less the same. There seems to be a bit lack of “wow” in ambience adverting unlike previous years. We still need to find a way to get Print and Film Craft Lotus attracting the quantity and quality of entries it deserve. For the Radio Lotus, it is only the beginning, similar to what happened DM and Cyber Lotus which started three years ago. To me, the excellent creatives came from Cyber, 360 and Innovation Lotus.

adobo: You had a very good pool of judges this year, with creative giants David Droga, John Hunt, Piyush Pandey and Linda Locke as jury heads. How would you assess the judging this year?
Jimmy: Both Vinit and I believe we are doing the right thing to have separate judging panels on various categories, so that the judges can stay focused and spend quality time to go through all entries and have ample time for discussion and debate.
The question is affordability. I hope we can afford to invite more judges in some of the panels next year.

adobo: What was the buzz you heard from the delegates after the AdFest?
Jimmy: There were still a few small glitches on the operation in processing of entries, punctuality of speaking sessions, smoother running of awards presentation that we have to fix, to continue to be the most eminent industry annual event in Asia Pacific region. And, where were all the many big agency parties that we used to have?

adobo: Tell us about The Cup in relation to the AdFest?
Jimmy: AdFest is one of the three founding festival partners of The CUP. More festivals are joining to make The CUP the festival of festivals. It will be interesting to see how the finalists of AdFest 2007 fare at The CUP in November.

adobo: You are a forward-thinker. What is your vision for AdFest in 2008 and beyond?
Jimmy: I am seeking advice from friends of AdFest for me to work on the drawing board of AdFest 2008, to match the success of “AdFest Turning 10.”
None of us can imagine what our industry will become in 10 years from now. AdFest will always move to keep up with times, and it’s not an option. It will continue to be the annual gathering where most of us can learn, exchange ideas and see where we go from there.




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adobo magazine
issue #9 May-June 2007