“If you asked me two years into ADFEST, 18 years ago, it was terrible! We didn’t know what we were doing, but we blundered on,” says Vinit Suraphongchai, Chairman and Co-Founder of ADFEST.
It may have been a bumpy start 20 years ago, but today the 20th ADFEST opened its doors in Pattaya, Thailand.
Over the past 20 years, ADFEST’s curvy road has taken many turns for better or worse, taking a stand against cookie cutter global ideas, and instead celebrating the diversity of local cultures in the Asia Pacific and Middle East.
Every year, the festival introduces a new theme. ADFEST has been “Reinvented”; it has asked ‘What’s Next?’, while ‘Fast Forwarding’ ‘Creative Intelligence’. It has encouraged creatives to ‘Be Bad’, ‘Connect the Dots’, ‘Refresh’ and ‘Jump Start’.
Fans may remember some of our previous themes, and will know that ADFEST has been to the edges of the creative cliff, peered through the lens of the future, while building the bridge we all stand on.
This year’s theme, ‘20 Years of Diversity’, recognises the diversity of creative ideas and talent across the region. Over the next four days, ADFEST will welcome close to 1,200 delegates from over 69 cities.
We tip our hats to ADFEST founders Vinit Suparongchai and Jimmy Lam: 20 years ago, ADFEST was born with their fire of creative innovation and insight, and has played a huge role in shaping creativity in South East Asia and beyond.
ADFEST will forever be remembered by every creative that has roamed the halls of its exhibitions, sessions, workshops and awards presentations. We hope you enjoy the 20th ADFEST!
Don’t forget to share your experiences via #ADFEST2017 and #20YearsOfDiversity
- Story by Scott Dali
- Video directed by Miles Cooper, produced by Scott Dali
