The CB Blog will is now closed and will come back around the 8th January so have a great Chrissie and a Happy New Year.

A reminder of the funeral details this morning for Julian and Fiona Horton.
The funeral will be at 10:30am, today (Thursday December 21st), at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 191 Cox's Rd, North Ryde.

Creative team Hilary Badger and Rob Beamish are leaving George Patterson Y&R Melbourne after less than a year to join Saatchi & Saatchi, Auckland. Before Patts, the pair did a short stint at Grey Worldwide Melbourne. Prior to teaming up, Badger was a star at Clemenger BBDO Melbourne, where she co-created the Dulux 'Ghost' spot (MADC Best of Show and AWARD Silver) while Beamish was at Leo Burnett, Melbourne.

DDB New Zealand has lured top ranking creative Toby Talbot from Saatchi & Saatchi NZ to take the helm as its new Executive Creative Director.
Currently Creative Director at Saatchi's, Talbot is ranked by industry magazine Campaign Brief as Australasia’s number one creative director.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DDB New Zealand and Australia Marty O’Halloran described the appointment as a major coup for the DDB Group.
“We’re delighted to have secured someone of Toby’s calibre to take up our top creative role," he said.
“Toby is one of the best creative directors in the Asia Pacific region. He’ll lead an award-winning creative team here who, I know, will be delighted to welcome him onboard. We have major plans for 2007 in terms of business growth and creative expansion and Toby will be a key part of this strategy."
DDB Group Managing Director Sharon Henderson added: “The DDB role is undoubtedly one of the most attractive in the industry. Our blue-chip client base provides some of the best creative opportunities in the New Zealand market. From a business perspective, someone of Toby’s exceptional talent will be invaluable in making a tremendously strong business even stronger."

by Mike O'Sullivan, ECD of Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand

It's time to officially confirm what everyone is talking about.
Jay, Andy, Stacey Lee, Rosita, and Toby Talbot will be leaving us in January.
“Oh my God, why are all they all leaving?" I hear you say.
Well I’d reply by firstly saying, have a look at where these people are
going.
For a start, five Saatchi creatives have become Creative Directors in 2006.
Anybody who’s taken that leap knows you just have to give it a crack.
Then there’s Toby who is stepping up to become Executive Creative Director
of DDB Auckland. If you read the paper this will not come as a surprise.
There are only two people in our industry that could do the job.
If ever there was a guy who should be an Executive Creative Director, it’s
Toby.
He’s done a great job here, not just as a Creative Director, but creative
partner and all-round good mate. Bar a short break we’ve been working
together for eight years at Colenso and then Saatchi. We have had a roller
coaster ride of a trip but now it’s time for him to head off and do his own
thing.
“To be honest, it’s a great relief for me. It’s been eight years and now
finally, I don’t have to go fishing any more. I hate fishing," says Talbot.
“Actually, it’s been great. The last two years at Saatchi have been hugely challenging and also very satisfying. Mike and Rocky have been great leaders, but the time is right for me to step up. I wish the guys well."
All of the above are moving on to bigger, more challenging jobs.
And what about Matty, Dave, Stacey and Rosita?
They are not crossing the road to another agency in town.
No, these people are only going to two of the greatest hotshops in the world – Droga 5 and 180 Amsterdam. What a great success story!
Just 18 months ago Rosita was a junior art director at Adworks Ogily, she teamed up with Stacey, had a great year, and now they are off to creatively head Adidas Woman wear at 180 Amsterdam. How cool is that?
Losing people all so close together is a bugger, but it’s not something you can control. People move on. Most of them we’ve helped, some we haven’t.
That’s what happens with a good creative department. A creative department that in one year helped Saatchi win 5 Cannes lions, 14 AWARD pencils, a Grand Effie, Grand Axis and B&T, Campaign Brief and Admedia Agency of the Year.
Change is good, particularly when you plan for it.
Over the last few months you may have noticed we’ve changed our model and a few people. Quite a lot of people. The extremely observant may have noticed that Toby and I been quietly replacing people. In fact today we can announce that Hilary Badger and Rob Beamish will be joining Saatchi NZ, from George Patts Y&R, Melbourne.
Earlier in the year we hired Adam Oliveira, Levi Slavin, Dave Govier, then more recently Tim Huse and Hywel James. In January another four seriously awarded creatives will be announced.
As we become fully integrated we will continue to attract great ideas people and we’ll get used to the fact that they may only be with us for a short period. This year we’ve hired 40 new people, bringing out staff numbers to a staggering 202.
These people have joined to be the best they can be.
So yes, there are big changes at Saatchi. It's not a pitch, we've not lost business, and we're not making redundancies. It's just great people coming and going.
Next time you see any of the people I’ve mentioned, give them a pat on the back. They have taken their next big leap. Good on them.
Have a great Christmas and roll on 2007. I reckon it’s going to be a beauty.

Mike O

After weeks of speculation, Saatchi & Saatchi NZ creative director Toby Talbot has indeed taken the ECD gig at DDB New Zealand, left vacant after the departure of Paul Catmur to the regional ECD role at Young & Rubicam. More on this as details come to hand...

Top tran-tasman production house Film Construction has lured Nic Finlayson to the team, one of New Zealand’s leading directors.
Says Film Construction GM Stephen Douglass: “His early background as a DoP has given him a deep technical understanding and a strong visual sense – but his driving force is storytelling. Nic is an outstanding talent, his preferred photographic approach is a combination of naturalism and beauty, enhancing scripts with a strong, clear aesthetic".
Some of his recent work includes ‘Speights’ for Publicis Mojo (Auckland), ‘Castrol’ for O&M (Singapore) and ‘Prime’ for FCB (Auckland). To see more of Nic’s work contact his Producer Phil Liefting on phil@filmconstruction.com

After seven years as an award winning senior writer at Saatchi & Saatchi, Sydney, CB hears Luke Chess has been lured to BWM Sydney as creative director, with a place on the management board, effective late January. CB understands current CD Adam Hunt will remain at the agency, and will be CD on some of the agency's accounts. (More details on the appointment is expected in mid January, when the trade press come back from their break.)
Meanwhile, Saatchi & Saatchi ECD David Nobay says he will be looking to replace Chess (who had been partnered with Vince Lagana) with a high profile creative in the near future. Says Nobay: "It's a great new challenge for Luke, and one I know he's going to nail. While it's sad to see him go, I know it's the right move for him too."

After four years with Saatchi & Saatchi, first in Sydney, then in Auckland, one of Australasia's hottest teams, Andy DiLallo (top) and Jay Benjamin (bottom), are leaving the network to take the role of Deputy CDs of JWT Sydney under Andy Mckeon.
While at Saatchi & Saatchi, the team - currently ranked third in the CB Creative Rankings - played a role in garnering four Campaign Brief Agency of the Year titles in three years. Three of the titles were with the Sydney office and one was with the Auckland office.
Before Saatchi’s the pair worked together at Bozell New York, the third most awarded agency in the world at Cannes in 2002. It was also there where they first worked with creative mentor David Nobay, who was responsible for bringing the duo to the region.
Most recently the team has been at Saatchi & Saatchi Auckland where they have worked on high profile work for such clients as Toyota, Tiger Beer, Eta, Fonterra, Young Guns, and WWF.
Says DiLallo: “It has been an amazing run with Saatchi, but the time has come for us to look towards new challenges. The opportunity to be a part of building a new legacy at JWT is an exciting one and we can’t wait to hit the ground running. With the support of Andy Mckeon, Amy Smith (CEO) and (worldwide CD) Craig Davis we feel that we can help take the network to new heights in the region."
When asked about leaving Saatchi, Benjamin says it was a very hard choice: "We have and will always have a special place in our hearts for Saatchi & Saatchi. Their dedication to excellence is something we hope to carry with us. It has been a privilege to have worked with so many talented people. But after meeting Andy Mckeon and his team at JWT we look forward to working with many new talented people."
McKeon says the two are just who has been looking for “super talented, hungry and crap at karaoke."
They join new recent world-class hires including Julie Rath, who worked at Goodby Silverstein & Partners with Andy, Paul Bruce from The Glue Society who has been freelancing there for a few months, Jeffrey Oley, a designer from New York and the Miami Adschool teams (associated with Crispin Porter + Bogusky) JWT is hosting to work with their AWARD School juniors.

CB hears Leo Burnett Sydney has retrenched several staffers in various departments today, including senior art director Andrew Ostrom, who only joined the agency in February this year. Prior to Burnett, Ostrom had an even shorter six month stint at Clemenger BBDO, Melbourne who lured him from BMF Sydney, where, together with former partner Andrew Petch (now a star senior creative at Saatchi & Saatchi, London) he created the Tooheys Dry "Tongue" spot.
Ostrom told CB that far from being disappointed, he plans to set up something he had put on hold for too long, a product/brand consultancy with a senior industry figure, effective late January. Meanwhile, he says he's looking forward to a restful summer.

The biggest of the Industry Xmas Lunches must surely be the CB/AWARD Sydney Legendary Lunch, which was held at the fabulous Mezzaluna in Potts Point on Thursday (14th December). AWARD co-chairman Phil Putnam welcomed the 120+ AWARD members who attended and asked them all to raise their glasses in tribute to Julian and Fiona Horton. Julian, a staunch AWARD supporter, would have enjoyed this lunch, which in truly legendary style, ended up at the Bayswater Brasserie.
Thanks to our generous sponsors Geoff Clow from EMERALD CITY, Anna Fawcett and Dave Denneen from FILM GRAPHICS, and Karla Henwood from TIGER SOUND for making the CB/AWARD Legendary Lunch possible.

The pics have finally been found for the brilliant CB/AWARD Melbourne Legendary Lunch held at One Fitzroy Street, St Kilda on the 7th December. The who's Who of the Melbourne creative industry were there as usual to hear an introductory talk by AWARD co-chairman Phil Putnam, who welcomed nearly 100 new AWARD members from Melbourne since last year. Of course lunch turned into more good times at Bar Corvino.
Special thanks to our generous sponsors Geoff Clow from EMERALD CITY, Julie Rutherford at HONEY FILMS, and Matt Hayward and Barry Stewart at SOUND RESERVOIR/ WHARF STUDIOS.

A Christmas branding campaign for MTV Networks Australia will break this week with series of three films created by Lowe Hunt, Sydney. As the holiday season approaches, this campaign hopes to make Christmas relevant and cool to MTV’s youth audience.
The film follows a group of teen friends. They make suspicious glowing devices and head out to the dark city streets on a mission. When they finally reach a building on a dark corner, they begin to throw hundreds of glowing ‘throwie’ lights all over it – decorating it like a Christmas tree.
LED ‘throwies’ are a new form of graffiti which emerged recently from the US and spread throughout the world. Each ‘throwie’ consists of a coloured LED bulb taped to both a battery and a strong magnet, so that it sticks to any metal surface it’s thrown at.
The shoot was unconventional in that it was neither scripted nor acted. Two handheld cameras were passed around to capture the action in a candid, documentary style.
Says Dejan Rasic, Creative Director of Lowe Hunt: “Instead of producing the usual cheesy Christmas stuff you see on TV at this time of the year, MTV wanted to create something relevant to their audience – something you don’t normally associate with Christmas. So out went Santa and in came throwies."
Vanessa Zuppicich, Creative Director of MTV Networks Australia, adds: “It was great to do something different. ‘Throwies’ taps into youth culture and links it to Christmas in an entertaining way".
CREDITS
Client: MTV Networks Australia
MTV Creative Director: Vanessa Zuppicich
Agency: Lowe Hunt
Lowe Hunt Creative Director: Dejan Rasic
Creative: Simone Brandse
Head of Production: Darren Bailey
Editor: Kris Rees
TVC Director: Simone Brandse
Senior Producer: Lisa Cordukes
DOP: Frank Buffone
Media: MTV Networks Australia
Photographer: Ben Sullivan
Typography: Hillary Bunt

After two and a half years as Creative Group Head at JWT Sydney, writer Paul Hankinson is leaving to finish a book he started earlier this year. Entitled Shantaram, the book is an autobiography set in India.
“It’s shaping up to be an epic," Hankinson said. “I bought it at an airport on my way overseas, but it’s a bit of a tough read and to be honest I’m having trouble getting past the second chapter."
Hanko is also keen to tackle a few writing projects, and can be contacted on 0423085014.

AFA & AWARD Offices have been damaged by flood from a roof water storage unit and the offices will be out of action for up to a week. Power is out and phone lines are down so members wanting to contact AFA or AWARD should call;

AFA
Lesley Brydon – 0413 990 991
Gawen Rudder – 0419 488 636

AdSchool
Jessica Smith – 0417 678 762

AWARD
Lucy Mckee – 0407 391 229
Angelika Wachs – 0405 687 031
AWARD School
Pauline Smyth – 0405 491 471

The following is a letter from Julian Horton emailed to Lynchy recently (including pics of Julian and Fiona on safari), which was to form the basis of an upcoming 'Expats' article on his exploits and creative work in Africa. He also writes about his beloved safari vehicle which he named 'The Beast' and the dangers of driving in Kenya. The finished story will appear in the next issue of CB.

I left Australia in June 2003 to take up a regional cd role with JWT, based in Bangkok. I soon came to realize what the term ‘based in’ meant and after two years of too much airline food and waking up wondering which city I was in, it was time to do something completely different.
And indeed, Africa is something else. In August 2005 I arrived in Nairobi, also known locally as Nairobbery. According to my Lonely Planet guide, it's the most dangerous city in Africa, having taken the title from Johannesburg a couple of years back. Now there's a number one to be proud of.
I work for The ScanGroup: Lowe, McCann, JWT and Grey all under one roof. Yes they’re part of different and competing international networks but hey, this is Africa.
The Group dominates the local industry, both creatively and in billings. You name it and there’s more than a 50% chance we handle it. It’s enough to make even Singo jealous.
There are probably only a handful of Aussie Creatives in Africa, and most of them work for ScanGroup. As well as myself there’s Pat Richer (ex Mojo Sydney), Justin Connolly (ex Clemenger Sydney) and Andrew White (ex ECD of O&M Singapore).
To make it even more incestuous I sit in an office that was once home to a good friend of mine - another Aussie, Damian Linklater.
Outside my 5th floor window eagles circle constantly in wide arcs, riding the currents. The smell of burning plastic wafts in with poisonous regularity. There is almost no garbage collection here, so most rubbish is burnt in backyards and by the side of the road, where it is often feasted upon by bloated-bellied goats.
In the office, people speak English, Swahili and a mixture called Sheng. I’m slowly learning Swahili, swear words first of course.
I’m also learning the meaning of 'Kenyan Time' in which people arrive for meetings seemingly at random. It’s not uncommon for clients to come to the agency an hour or two late for a meeting, or for friends to meet you an hour later than planned.
Things are generally a little ‘looser’ than Australia. From no booze buses (the government introduced them just before Christmas and they lasted 3 weeks) to the fact that television and radio commercials can be any length – if your edit works perfectly at 37 seconds then this is as just acceptable as 30.
Then there’s tribalism. People will often do what will benefit only their own tribe (there are 42 plus tribes in Kenya). Meaning you’ll look to employ a person from your tribe. Or in some cases like account management, a tribe that matches the tribe of the client. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they must be the same tribe – in some cases the account manager must be of a tribe that the client feels comfortable bossing around.
Another complication is skin colour. There are relatively few photographs on the Internet of Africans, so our Mac layouts for presentations tend to feature Europeans, leading to the occasional client asking in a somewhat embarrassed manner if they will, in fact, be African. But it’s not only photographic reference that can be a problem. One of my clients wanted to use mannequins for a promotion, but because they couldn’t find ‘African’ mannequins they ended up buying ‘white’ ones and painting them brown.
There is a myriad of belief systems that need to be taken into account when creating work for Africa. For instance, voodoo is common so it’s important to be careful when talking to less sophisticated markets. As an example, in the Congo, a character in your poster with an oversized nose may lead your audience to believe that drinking your brand of soft drink will give them a giant proboscis.
The Kenyan market, however, is quite sophisticated, and so are the clients, many of whom have studied overseas. Most of the world’s major brands are here, and some you may only recognize by their similarity to big brands: Kevian water, Kobil service stations, and the Silver Hound bus service.
What’s exciting is that most Kenyan clients actually believe in creativity. There is very little of the ‘paralysis by analysis’ that I encountered in Asia. Kenyans have a keen sense of humour and the majority of clients understand the value of being interesting and entertaining in order to communicate a message and a brand personality.
The most powerful medium is print. Newspapers are expensive, but the population devours them, mainly for the political news which is a topic of daily conversation. Because of the cost, ‘papers are generally shared. It’s estimated that on average every newspaper sold is read by more than ten people. It’s considered quite prestigious to have your own copy, and some people actually write their name on the front, as if they were books.
Radio is the other mass medium. The majority of the population don’t have electricity, much less television. People flock to the bars for the nightly television news at 7 because news, particularly of the political kind, is a national obsession. Corruption, political and otherwise, is always in the news.
And it’s a day to day reality. I visited an orphanage for HIV/Aids affected children, only to discover that almost all the client funding had been stolen by an intermediary. Instead of many thousands of dollars the orphanage received a couple of rolls of chicken wire, a bag of chook feed and some fertilizer.
Life outside the office has a certain edge to it too. I'm living on a property near the Ngong Hills, right near Karen Blixon's farm where Out Of Africa was set. I’m in the guest cottage of an amazing couple, Simon and Wiggy, who have been in Africa for 15 and 20 years respectively, doing extraordinary things like living with the pygmies in the Congo, or working as a cameraman in the midst of the bloodshed in Rwanda and Sudan. At the time of writing, Simon is building his own airplane.
With his guidance I’ve bought myself THE car. A custom built professional safari vehicle that took the likes of Onassis on Safari in its heyday. It's a huge, converted 1972 Landcruiser known simply as ‘The Beast’. Solid steel, built to go anywhere. Not only is it perfect for safari but I get a lot of leeway in the chaotic traffic around the city too.
In The Beast I’ve traveled widely in Kenya, mostly with Pat on camping adventures. I say adventure because the camp sites are not in any way partitioned off from the animals, and it’s not uncommon to hear a lion’s roar or be visited by buffalo or elephants in night. Some of the experiences I’ll treasure include seeing millions of flamingoes like distant pink candy floss as we approached Lake Nakuru, sitting on the roof of The Beast less than five metres from a tank-like white rhino, leaping onto the roof (dragging the esky of course) when a hippo* came to the camp site, seeing a cheetah chase down an Impala, getting head butted by a giraffe, being chased by a bull elephant that was sporting half an erection…the list goes on and on.
Safari aside, everyday life can be trying. Take the roads. They’re full of potholes, people drive like maniacs, and car jacking is a constant threat. Because of the latter there are frequent police checkpoints, with ‘fines’ able to be paid ‘on the spot’ without paperwork for real or imagined traffic infringements. Because I live way out of town, it’s also not uncommon to have to stop for crossing herds of cows and sheep. Then there’s driving at night with almost no street lights - statistically the chances of having an accident at night are 400 times as high as in Europe.
Poverty is endemic. Unemployment is around 60% and occasionally the frustration of the impoverished will flare up in violent incidents. Crime is expected, so security is everywhere. Everybody I know lives behind fences, either high and spiked or electrified, with security guards and dogs.
I used to jog a lot around Sydney harbour, a beautiful and relaxing experience. Here I jog near my home, along dirt roads and down bush tracks. Several months ago, another runner in the area was being stalked by a leopard as he ran. He was lucky, it wasn’t hungry. A few weeks later I saw a leopard myself as I drove along the same dirt road where I run, maybe 200 metres from my house. This can be a little unsettling, considering that leopards are lethal and strong enough to drag a zebra backwards up a tree to their lair.
I’ve become a better cd living here. And a tougher person. Overcoming obstacles is part and parcel of surviving. No electricity for weeks at a time. No water for days on end. I ‘irrigate’ my garden at night with the real possibility of leopards lurking in the trees. I’ve camped out in a flimsy tent in the wild, and woken up face to face with a huge monkey inside my house. Not to mention the office, where the obstacles to getting work done can be mind boggling.
Sitting in your first world office this probably all sounds so absurd as to be unbelievable. And there are moments where I have to check to make sure I’m not dreaming. But I certainly know I’m alive.

* Hippos, far from being the goofy, grinning ballet dancers that Walt Disney might have you believe, are bad tempered and aggressive - the biggest killers of humans in Africa.

Kenya – a factual snapshot
Population: 34 million
Official languages: Swahili and English.
Number of tribes: 42 +
Average life expectancy: 44 years

An incredibly sad day for all who knew Julian and Fiona Horton, who were tragically killed today (approximately 1am Sydney time), in a car crash in Nairobi, Kenya, when a truck hit their safari vehicle head on.
Aussie expat creative Pat Richer (ex Publicis Mojo Sydney), who worked under Horton, was also in the truck and was injured.
(The latest information is that Pat Richer has a fractured vertibrae in his spine, and his condition is serious but not critical. He's conscious and has spoken to his mother in Australia. A fourth passenger, believed to be the agency's Coca-Cola client, is in a very serious condition.)
Julian Horton had been creative director of McCann-Erickson, Nairobi since August last year, and before that, had a two year stint at JWT as creative director - Unilever Asia Pacific, based in Bangkok. Before that he was creative director at FNL Communications, Sydney for three years (originally joint CD with Mike Miller).
Previous stints since he started his career in 1992 included Sydney agencies Mojo Partners, Euro RSCG, DDB, DMB&B/WMO and George Patterson.
Horton was born in Houston, Texas and came to Australia when he was three. He lists a few non advertising achievements as highlights of his career: he completed an Olympic distance triathlon (Bundeena - 2 hours 26 minutes); performed a 5 minute stand up comedy act in the Melbourne Comedy Festival; and wrote "Deflated", a finalist at Australia’s premier short film festival Tropfest.
Julian and Fiona leave an only daughter, Jessica (18), who has just finished her last year at school in Australia.
The CB Blog will advise as soon as we hear news of a service or memorial.

Lowe Hunt Sydney has lured the awarded Rebecca Carrasco to join their team as Senior Creative. Rebecca will be working alongside Creative Director, Dejan Rasic and the Lowe Hunt creative team – replacing senior writer, Howard Collinge who recently resigned from the agency. Carrasco, who until being tempted by the Lowe Hunt offer, had been taking a break from advertising to take a course at Uni. She was previously at Saatchi & Saatchi, Sydney and Auckland and before that at Colenso BBDO in Auckland. She first came to the attention of the industry by being top student at the inaugural YoungGuns a few years back.
Says Dejan Rasic: “I’m really excited that Rebecca is joining us. She is a proven creative talent and will be a major asset to our creative department. We have had a brilliant year, but our focus now is to maintain the quality of our creative product moving forward. We’re very proud to have her on board to help us achieve that."
Lowe Hunt has managed to re-invent itself over the last year after its internationally applauded and awarded work on LynxJet, receiving the highest number of Cannes Lions ever won in the one year by an Australian agency, becoming one of the top global agency performers this year.

M&C Saatchi Melbourne has appointed art director Murray Bransgrove as head of art, starting January 3 next year.
Bransgrove, who will partner creative director Steve Crawford, comes most recently from DDB in Sydney. Originally from New Zealand, Bransgrove worked for M&C Saatchi Auckland as well as NZ agencies Colenso BBDO and Publicis Mojo before moving to Australia.
Major campaigns he has worked on include VW, New Zealand Herald, Visa, ANZ and McDonalds.
“We are extremely pleased to welcome Murray back into the M&C Saatchi fold. He has an impressive history in creative work and the combination of Murray and Steve will be a great one," M&C Saatchi regional creative director, Tom McFarlane said.
Bransgrove replaces Tony Banks, who has formed a new agency Day & Age with former M&C Saatchi, Melbourne CD Paul Taylor. Bransgrove will start work around the same time as the agency’s new Melbourne managing director, David Brown.

Following outrage from ad people around the world at the tasteless, fake Lego print campaign, the creative team responsible have been fired by Saatchi & Saatchi China and they have issued an apology to the ad world. The ads spread virally after being posted on an advertising blog, Ads of the World, sparking outrage among bloggers (including one posting a protest video on YouTube).
In a statement forwarded to the CB Blog, Saatchi & Saatchi China denied any knowledge of the fake Lego campaign:

I would like to call to your attention to clarify that the previous LEGO ads
posted here did not come from Saatchi & Saatchi China. Lego is not our China client. The creation of these fake ads was purely personal behavior.
Saatchi & Saatchi China (the company, senior executives, and our creative directors) have never seen nor approved to run these ads. After indepth investigation, two staff have been dismissed today as their irresponsible personal behavior have severely affected our company's professional image. Their illegally using Saatchi & Saatchi's name, and the senior director's name behind those ads without our company's consent is an intolerable act. We, Saatchi & Saatchi, reserve the right to take legal action against these individuals.
Head of HI and Admin,
Ms. Cherry Yang
Saatchi & Saatchi Guangzhou, China

The inaugural World Press Awards, the brainchild of Neil French (left), have extended the deadline for entries to Friday, January 12th 2007. Entry forms are available only online at www.worldpressawards.com
Predictably, the World Press Awards had many requests for an extension to the November 30th deadline and since the entry-system is working so well, and the entry-collation organization in Singapore seems to be clicking along nicely, it's no big headache.
Remember, the jury panel for the World Press Awards is a formidable lot indeed. Pick up any creative awards book and you will stumble over their names again and again and again:
Jeremy Craigen – Executive Creative Director, DDB, London
Tham Khai Meng – Co-Chairman and Executive Regional Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide Board
Marcello Serpa – Executive Creative Director, AlmapBBDO Brasil
Mark Tutssel – Worldwide Creative Director, Leo Burnett
Erik Vervroegen – Executive Creative Director, TBWA/Paris
Graham Warsop – Chairman and Executive Creative Director, The Jupiter Drawing Room, South Africa
Neil French (Unemployed ex-Creative Director of no particular interest)
All of them, without exception, have won every advertising creative award worth winning.
All of them, without exception, have propelled their agencies to a new level of creative excellence.
All of them, without exception, are brutal and hard on work that is derivative, trite and hackneyed.
Their individual credentials, not to mention their list of awards, would fill too many pages. Suffice then to say, each member of the jury was chosen for his talent, expertise and experience.
ENTRY KITS AVAILABLE ONLY AT www.worldpressawards.com
ENTRY DEADLINE: Friday, January 12th, 2007

The MacRae Brothers - Kenn from The Furnace, Sydney and Simon (ex Euro RSCG, now freelance) - have beaten over 700 other entrants to make it to the final two of Project Greenlight Australia.
Kenn and Simon are now calling on the support of their industry colleagues to help them win the $1 million dollar production budget to direct a feature film they wrote and entered in the competition.
The winner, who will receive a million-dollar production budget, will be announced next Tuesday.
Vote for the boys using all your email addresses at www.projectgreenlight.com.au, and
SMS 'MACRAE BROTHERS' to 1999 7222 as many times as your expense claim will allow. Multiple votes repaid with multiple schooners at the MacRae Brothers Mad Monday celebrations to be held soon.
Voting closes midnight Sunday.
WWW.PROJECTGREENLIGHT.COM.AU

Lowe Worldwide has announced the next phase of its investment in growth in Australia and New Zealand, extending the application of its Lowe/Draft concept in Australia and New Zealand, and appointing a new management team in Australia.
The changes will see Stephen Pearson, currently chief executive of Lowe and Draft in New Zealand, become chief executive of the Lowe Group in Australia and New Zealand.
Judi Lewis, currently general manager of Draft New Zealand will become chief executive of Draft in Australia and New Zealand.
Chairman of Lowe Oceania Lionel Hunt (pictured) said that Lowe Hunt Sydney Managing Director, Ben Colman would be leaving the agency.
“I would like to thank Mr Colman for his efforts over the past five years particularly his championing of the agency's Brand Explosions concept and
for helping build the agency's digital capability.“
Mr Hunt said that the appointment of Mr Pearson and Ms Lewis would enable them to bring their skills and expertise to Lowe Hunt and Draft in Australia while retaining oversight to the successful New Zealand operation.
Cameron Harland, currently Lowe’s general manager in New Zealand will be appointed to the Lowe Board and become managing director New Zealand.
Matthew Scott will become general manager of Draft New Zealand.
Mr Hunt said there would be significant investment in the direct side of the business. In time Draft would be superceded within the Lowe group with a creatively-focused direct operation owned by Lowe and rolled out around the world from first quarter 2007.
Mr Pearson and Ms Lewis will be based in Sydney, but will divide their time between Australia and New Zealand.
Mr Pearson said that the opportunity to create a truly integrated direct and advertising agency was very exciting.
“Lowe is in the business of ideas, not ads," he said. “Expect also much greater integration and collaboration between trans-Tasman creative teams."
“Australasia is already part of Lowe’s global creative renaissance and we have an opportunity to accelerate that and make an even greater contribution to the network."
He said the changes would bring benefits to clients on both sides of the Tasman.
“Not only will we extend the model of integrating advertising and direct services, but we believe the sharing of creativity between agencies offers the true power of a great network," he said.
Mr Hunt said he would remain chairman of Lowe Hunt in Australia to support the new executive team in its integration and development plans.

BMW has awarded its MINI business to Berlin agency, Plantage. Taking over from Jung von Matt, Plantage will handle communication for Germany and as part of MINI’s international “A-team", will also tasked with the development of global brand and launch campaigns.
The international creative team was led by Jason Schragger, David Smith and Karl Dunn. The three began their careers in Australia and had last worked together in Amsterdam. David Smith was at Leo Burnett Sydney, where he did the maccas cheeseburger spots and has most recently been at Strawberryfrog in Amsterdam. Karl Dunn was at BBH in Singapore, Beacon in Japan and a few agencies around Australia. Jason Schragger is from perth, did a stint at BBH and Lowe in Singapore, and ios well known for his ikea spot 'Dog'.

The first ever graduates of AWARD School Thailand celebrated on Monday 27th November at the stylish ‘To Die For’ in Bangkok. Hosted by AWARD Committee representative South East Asia, Tay Guan Hin (ECD JWT SEA), and one of the world’s most celebrated creative stars Jureeporn Thaidumrong (ECD and Founder JEH United) Bangkok’s top creatives, students, sponsors and media gathered to view the best selection of student work and to celebrate in the next creative generation in advertising.
Mr. Apichai Inthutsingh, picked up the top student award, his prize a trip to ADFEST held in Thailand in March. The second place award went to Mr.Suriya Chanvipaswongse.
Mr Mark Ingrouille, CEO from McCann Worldgroup (Gold Sponsors AWARD School Bangkok 2006) presented the students with their prizes, and was ecstatic that both student winners were from his own agency.
The following agencies contributed to the holding lecture and tutorial sessions: McCann Worldgroup, Jeh United, Ongoing, Euro RSCG Flagship, and Ogilvy&Mather
AWARD School is taught by industry professionals only, and is the best way to get your start in the creative department of an advertising agency. It is held in Australia, Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and may well go to India and China in 2007. The Singapore School will commence again in May 2007.
For further information about applications for the 2007, please visit www.awardschoolonline.com

A phenomenal $3000 was raised for the Braybrook Primary School at the MADC Adstream Bonza Bash on 24th November.
Supported by Adstream for the past four years, this year’s MADC fundraiser was held at the popular Esplanade hotel, with profits going to The Song Room, an organisation that runs over 100 programs annually for disadvantaged schools in the community across urban, rural and metropolitan areas.
The Song Room donated the money raised, to the 90 children at Braybrook Primary School, most of which receive the Education Maintenance Allowance. Previously the school only had one tambourine and one triangle but will now have access to a plethora of instruments, and a teaching artist who will now bring music into their lives.
Heath Rudduck, President of the MADC commented, “The MADC Adstream Bonza Bash was spectacular and a huge success shared by hundreds of MADC members, friends, clients and sponsors.
“The Song Room is a fantastic organisation and we are proud to support this charity which has brought so much joy to the children at Braybrook primary school.
“We look forward to holding this event again next year."
Creative band 'FURIOUS DRAGON LOVE' hammer out Dirty Deeds at the MADC Bonza Bash.
Dave Ponce de Leon (Leos) on vocals
Jay Hynes (AIF) on guitar
Ben Couzens (GPY&R) on the flying V
Frank Trobbiani (ex-Singos) on the skins
Jason Ryan (JWT) on the bass

200 AFA AdSchool students and lecturers celebrated 15 years of AFA AdSchool at Graduation Ceremony held at the Paddington Town Hall on Friday.
In 15 years AFA AdSchool school has progressed from a TAFE level course to a post graduate program, which is accredited by leading universities in all states, UTS, RMIT, QUT, Curtin ECU, UniSA and University of Canberra.
AFA AdSchool has been educating industry professionalssince 1991, with and estimated 8000 students completing our subjects since the beginning of AFA AdSchool in 1991. In 2006, approximately 750 students nationally will complete an AFA AdSchool course, with more than half of those in Sydney.
AFA AdSchool is the leader in professional training for the marketing communication industry. The program is conducted by the Advertising Federation of Australia for people in marketing, advertising, media and communications. The objective is to encourage excellence and promote best practice in the business. The program provides the progressive learning in all disciplines of advertising and marketing, for all levels, from trainee to senior executive level.
The program consists of 20 short courses where senior industry managers teach the latest knowledge in digital, strategy, creative, media, account management and production. New courses introduced in 2006 include ‘Digital Project Management’, ‘Channel Planning’ and ‘Effective Engagement’ (Advanced Strategic Planning’).

Melbourne based TVC production company The Pound has lured new directors Richard Overall and Anto Skene.
As a former creative director at TBWA/Chiat/Day New York, Overall has begun to carve out a niche for himself with his expansive, stylish and humorous direction. Formerly with @radical.media, he has decided to move closer to home and has joined THE POUND in Melbourne, where he now lives. His least favourite colour is teal.
Anto has extensive experience in creating music videos. His work has won numerous awards, most recently ‘Best Video’ at the Below Ground Music Video Festival in July, for his renowned clip “In Front of Me" for TZU. His clips, including work for Tim Rogers and Tex Perkins, can be seen on THE POUND website.
For their reels contact Fiona McGregor at The Pound: www.thepound.com.au

BMF Sydney has taken out the B&T Agency of the Year title, as well as the Direct Agency of the Year award in a lunchtime ceremony in Sydney yesterday. BMF creative partner Warren Brown (pictured) was there to accept the award.
Saatchi & Saatchi won the New Zealand Agency of the Year title for the second year in a row, while Saatchi & Saatchi Interactive NZ was named Digital Agency of the Year.
Lowe Hunt Sydney was named Creative Agency of the Year while its brilliant 'LynxJet' work for Unilever won Campaign of the Year.
NSW Agency of the Year went to Saatchi and Saatchi and DDB took out Victorian Agency of the Year.
Marketforce Perth took the Other States Agency of the Year award for the second-year running while cummins&partners Brisbane was named Emerging Agency of the Year.
AWARD’s trans Tasman co-chairmen Paul Prince and Philip Putnam received the Personality of the Year accolade for their amazing feat in transforming the creative organisation over the last year. Auckland based Prince, who could not be there to receive the award, said that Darryn Devlin, his AWARD co-chairman until June this year, also deserved recognition for leading the drive to independence.

George Patterson Y&R Melbourne's popular Carlton Draught “Made from Beer" radio campaign, written by Ant Keogh and Grant Rutherford, has won the top awards in round 3 of the 2007 Siren Awards. The winning spot, “Carlton Draught Story", tells the highly improbable story of the beginnings of the Carlton Draught brewery.
Judges and previous round winners, Jonas Peterson and Paul Reardon from Clemenger BBDO, said the ad was a worthy winner. “They told a great story at a gentle pace," said Reardon. “It was well branded and well directed. What’s more it made me laugh."
Keogh and Rutherford, who have recently left the agency, said they wanted to get back to basics with the ad. “I don’t know if it is unique but it has a fair sting in it. The main character dies. Most ads aren’t so black probably," they said.
A commercial called “Chocolate Milk Song" for 7-Eleven by Andrew Woodhead from Leo Burnett Melbourne was highly commended in the single category.
The Round 3 winning ad, "Carlton Draught Story", also formed part of the three-ad campaign that won the Campaign category.
There were also three highly commended campaign entries. “The Strike Bowling Bar", a campaign of four 45-second ads to launch Strike Bowling Bar, was created by Kent Howlett from Hot Tomato on the Gold Coast.
The second highly commended was “RSPCA" for RSPCA by Tim Hamlin for DMG Radio Melbourne, an emotive and highly confrontational campaign urging people to “dob in" those who are cruel to animals. “Yakka Fake Legends" for Hard Yakka, written by Andrew Wilson from Wilson Everard Advertising and featuring comedian Austen Tayshus, was also highly commended.
The Round 3 Craft category winner was “Cirrus Communications - Anywhere in the World" for Cirrus Communications. The ad was produced by 2006 Craft Silver Siren winner, Vaughan Jones from Hot 91 on the Sunshine Coast.
The Craft category recognises the important role of sound engineers in creating good ads for radio, and encourages them to keep pushing the boundaries in sound. The Craft winner from each round will be awarded the power to judge the Craft category in the following round.
All spots can be heard at www.sirenawards.com.au