Vale Peter Soh – A giant of the Asian creative industry

The Asian ad industry is in mourning today with the news that one of the icons of Chinese creativity has died overnight. Peter Soh was a hugely respected and larger than life creative leader who loved the industry and loved life.

Peter Soh’s early creative years included stints in agencies in Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan including joining DY&R as creative director. He and his creative department struck gold at many international and local awards and in 1992 he moved back to Singapore and joined DMB&B. At the 1993 Singapore Creative Circle awards he was the most awarded Chinese language creative.
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The next year, he started Fong, Haque, and Soh with account director David Fong and copywriter Rita Haque. Their local shop took home 12 awards in the 1995 Singapore Creative Awards. The following year, the agency rose to one of the top 3 in Singapore.
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With the track record of winning every pitch they submitted for they sold their local shop to TBWA and renamed to TBWA Fong, Haque & Soh.

After leaving the agency, he worked as a consultant to a number of companies including Singapore Press Holdings. He was a frequent judge at award shows and loved lecturing and conducting workshops for various agencies, clients and students in across Asia.

With Jimmy Lam, David Sun and Tomaz Mok, Soh founded the World Chinese Creative Awards “Long Xi”. The show grew to be the most respected Chinese language award show globally.

In 2000 Soh was hired as chief executive officer and executive creative director of Saatchi & Saatchi Shanghai. In 2005, he stepped down from the CEO role and was appointed to the Saatchi Worldwide Creative Board and became Saatchi’s Greater China and North Asia Chief Creative Officer.

A Facebook tribute today from Andrew Lok: “Raconteur, pathfinder and gentleman. Peter Soh was already gaining legendary status when I took my first uncertain steps into our industry. In the past three decades, when our lives serendipitously intersected, he was always the life of the room, drawing everybody in with his stories, ignoring nobody. Thanks to pioneers like him and his peers, who cut through the tall grass of prejudice and ignorance towards commercial creativity in East Asia and its practitioners, the daughters and sons of Singapore that followed behind them were able to lay roots and reap fruit throughout the world. Thank you sir. Say hi to Jimmy for me. And see y’all on the other side.”

RIP Peter Soh Chiew Peng, 11th October 1953 – 25th November 2024.