Creative Circle: Lili Jiang + Ali Silao
Campaign Brief Asia asks two creative thinkers from the region to highlight recent great work that caught their eye from around Asia and globally. Creative Circle contributors this week are Lili Jiang (above left) and Ali Silao (right).
Lili Jiang
Group Creative Director
Cheil Worldwide Hong Kong
Asia: ’Shop Unfriend’, a TV commercial for Central Department Store by Wolf BKK (Bangkok) will be my pick for Asia region. It’s a commercial about BFF, hmmm…at least at the very beginning? Then it goes dark… using “friendship” as a vehicle, it shows us how vulnerable the relationship could be just because there’s a super intriguing midnight sale?
I like the candid insight – dare to be selfish while you want something badly, even you are fighting with your bestie. The execution is amusing and entertaining. The casting is perfect. The styling talks to the right targets, fashion lovers. The middle part of the commercial creates a wow effect unexpectedly! Really like the fun vibes here. Hats off to the team!
Global: My pick would be “Cadillac: Scissorhands Free”, a Super Bowl ad by Leo Burnett. So glad Edward Scissorhands hasn’t been forgotten after more than 30 years!
It’s definitely a fun spot for movie and pop culture fans. Not to mention, one of my favourite actors – Timothée Chalamet takes on this iconic fascinating role in the commercial. I love the story sticks to the original style, being executed in a very Tim Burton way. And it’s also lovely to see Ryder reprise her role as Kim Boggs. It’s an ad that instantly opens your memory box.
Enjoy every second of this ad, simple, yet funny. Even Tim Burton agrees the ad had brought him much joy, he said: “It’s rare when a work you’re proud of continues to live on and evolve with the times, I’m glad to see Edgar coping with the new world!” So Tim, could you please do consider ‘Edgar’ for your next screenplay? We want the whole film right now!
Ali Silao
Head of Art/Creative Director
BBDO Guerrero
Asia: I’ve been to three world Marathon majors – and all of those times were to cheer my sister on to the finish line. I’ve always been into a lot of sports but unlike her, I never really fell in love with running. I know it’s a great, accessible way to get fit, but I just simply can’t stand how boring it can get.
When I first heard about this work from BBH Singapore all I could think of was how this app could really change the game. Combining entertainment and fitness by using audio and real-time data, “Running Stories” builds an augmented narrative making the runner the protagonist, and his route, the plot.
What I really love about it is how it can really change people’s behaviors and minds about the idea of running. Still running under limited beta on iOS, but the plans of making it an open source platform so creators can write their own stories make the possibilities endless. And really, really exciting – a word I never thought I’d use to describe…running. Insightful, nicely executed, and definitely one of the best ideas from the region for me.
Global: I was still reeling from a sports-related complete ACL tear injury at the end of 2019. Enter 2020. Absolutely no one anticipated the curveball it was going to throw at all of us. Because of the pandemic, everything including organized sports came to a halt. And like everyone else, it was difficult for me to get back up on my feet to say the least.
Nike’s “You Can’t Stop Us” was what we all needed – a message so timely and powerful that it really resonated with me and millions others. Using split-screen and stock footage with poignant copy, masterful editing, riveting music, and such impeccable craft was an ingenious way to create advertising during Covid. And for me, it was also a poetic way to mirror what was happening: a world divided in crisis but driven to unite.
The final product shows the sheer amount of dedication the creators must have had to sift through 4000 pieces of video and sit through more than 1000 hours of compositing. It’s one of the most beautiful, brilliant, perfectly made pieces of work I’ve seen in a while. And even in 2021, the message still stands: Nothing can stop us (not even Covid nor a complete ACL tear).
Read John + Koh’s Creative Circle.
Read Hira + Joji’s Creative Circle.
Read Elissa + Thasorn’s Creative Circle.
Read Jaz + Badong’s Creative Circle.
Read Yousuke + Chow Kok’s Creative Circle.
Read Jesse + Eugene/Jocelyn’s Creative Circle.
Read Graham + Aritra’s Creative Circle.
Read Akae + Soleil’s Creative Circle.