Bruce Watt regional CD at Y&R Singapore and Crowbar head of jury for Design tells his tale
Bruce Watt regional creative director Y&R Singapore and Crowbar Head of Jury Design for the Singapore Crowbar student awards writes his own fairy tale.
In line with the “Fairy Tales Do Come True” theme of Crowbar 2017, Watt has his own fable to tell.
As most fairy tales go, a happily ever after can often present itself in unexpected ways. For Watt his career in the creative kingdom was a story he preferred to direct on his own.
“Once upon a time, in a far away kingdom called London, I was a Knight’s apprentice to a seasoned copywriter named Sir Winalot, who held court at the fabled Saatchi Palace. He told me to be succinct in my writing. I tried and failed, and always wrote more than was expected of me. I dreamed of one day being knighted and forever known as Sir Writealot.” Watt, it seemed, had a natural flair for writing.
Or did he?
One dark and stormy night, as he was toiling over a manuscript in the hallowed halls of the Saatchi Scriptorium, he had a revelation. “There and then I realised that maybe I was never meant to be a copywriter. No matter how hard I practised my writing, I would never be a practiced writer. I understood my true destiny was Art Direction.”
From then on, Watt decided to work hard on creating a name for himself in the creative empire. “I left my copywriting days far behind me, save for my obsessive dabbling into the dark art of puns. Which seems to cause much ‘pundamonium’ around me,” he jests.
Years later, he became the rightful heir to the Regional Creative Director throne of Y&R Singapore, gaining the title of Sir Drawalot (often Lord Talkalot too) and conquering numerous creative awards ranging from Cannes to D&AD.
Joining Watt at the Crowbar Awards jury table are his co-judges for the Design discipline: Patrick Ng (Hakuhodo Singapore, Creative Group Head), Andy Wilson (BBDO Asia, Head of Strategy), David Stevanov (Ogilvy & Mather Singapore, Senior Art Director), Somjai Satjatham (Y&R Singapore, Associate Creative Director) and Lorraine Paul (Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices, Assistant Head, Communications and Events Management).
James Keng Lim, Crowbar Chairman 2017, is particularly excited for this year’s lineup. “Bruce couldn’t have picked a more suitable mix of jurors for the Design discipline. Design does not only exist in the creative industry but in every trade imaginable. We are certain that this year’s awards show is going to be the most riveting yet.”
From its commencement in 2001, the Crowbar Awards has since become a leading award show for budding creatives to showcase their best ideas. The show now attracts over 1000 entries from local, regional and international tertiary institutions. This includes entries from the US, UK, Australia, Germany, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. This year, Crowbar has opened up to attract a wider range of categories entries, spanning across disciplines such as Advertising, Branding, Design, Digital, Film, Innovation and Technology, and will be judged by leading industry creatives, clients, and specialists.
The Crowbar Awards is organised by the Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Singapore (4As).
Call-for-entry is open until 28th July 2017. The competition is open to students of all faculties in local and overseas institutions. Details for The 24-Hour Challenge will be announced in August.
1 Comment
WOW – you hairy one!