After judging ADFEST’s Film Lotus entries, Andy Flemming was exuberant about what he has seen, which is a great thing for advertising in the region.
Andy is Group Creative Director at M&C Saatchi Sydney. Here’s what he’s excited about:
BRAVERY“There are a lot of things that are being tackled in advertising from Asia that I don't remember really being tackled before. And we're talking about things like the woman’s role and disability. I’ve seen work about the Paralympics and Paralympians and that’s something that some Asian cultures sweep under the rug a little bit, so I’m thrilled to see brave work that’s hitting societal problems. The traditionally patriarchal societies are actually realising that women shouldn't just be the maid, shouldn't just be the one who cleans the clothes. That’s really encouraging and there’s a lot of work that’s doing it. It’s coming from places like China and Japan, Korea and India. That’s a great sign of change.”
CRAFT“There have always been wonderful directors here. And there’s some beautifully, beautifully executed work here. But some of it's a little bit long. People want to be grabbed quite quickly. And no matter how beautiful a film is, if it takes six or seven minutes to get its point across, it just doesn't work. Obviously the Craft jury will see it in a different way, but looking at it and asking, ‘Is it communicating its idea? Is it a fresh idea, a new idea? And are we getting it quickly – as opposed to having to sit through quite a long film.’ There’s a lot of very emotional, beautifully shot, very slow work that is faultless in its execution but it takes just a little too much time to get to the resolution. But some really beautiful work.”
CHOOSING A GRAND PRIX “I think we just saw a piece of work that could win the Grande Prix. Work that I would be honoured to have written. It’s absolutely gobsmackingly good, one of the best ads I’ve seen in the last 10 years. That’s exciting – to actually see something that floors the room.”
DIVERSITY “M&C Saatchi is arguably one of the most diverse advertising agencies in Australia. We have, I think, one of the biggest ratios in Australia between men and women in the creative department and that has happened through female creatives coming in with wonderful books and us going, ‘We’ll hire you.’ Those interviews are absolutely no different to meetings with male creatives. We don't care about age either. M&C has always been a very grown-up agency. The term, grown-up, came from Tom McFarlane, the patriarch of M&C Saatchi Australia and one of the most advertising brilliant minds I’ve ever met. And because M&C has grown-up problems to solve, we have people who can think like grown-ups. If that means they're in their forties or fifties, we’re not one of those agencies that says you have to be twenty-six and hip or you don't get a job. If you can solve big problems for big clients like Optus and NRMA then absolutely, you're in.”
