Ben Welsh reflects on film and radio at AdFest

M&C Saatchi Asia Creative Chairman Ben Welsh is jury president for this year’s Film and Radio categories at AdFest. Here he reflects on the first few days of judging.

I like AdFest. It’s much more down to earth than Cannes. A lot of the work that wins here wins at Cannes. Judging isn’t that different either – locked up in a dark room all day looking at a lot of crap work, hoping you’ll come across a gem or two – then the drinks that follow in the evening. The biggest difference – no rose!

No, the biggest difference here is the fascinating journey you take exploring the region’s rich cultures. There’s a new category called Lotus Roots which celebrates this and I kept finding myself wondering if what I was watching had been entered in Roots.

Advertising is a perfect snapshot of a country’s culture. Anyone who wants to understand what’s really going on in the region should spend a few days watching ads. You’ll discover that as well as loving the truly bizarre, Japanese look back at their school days as the best days of their lives. Not surprisingly, because they’re all sad at work being anonymous salarymen.

The Thais have a great sense of humour based on the eternal battle between sexes.

Malaysia is obsessed with trying to ensure everyone gets along.

India is proud of its wonderfully weird and diverse culture.

Korea still suffers from the Korean War.

China isn’t quite sure what it is yet.

And there weren’t enough entries from anywhere else to get a good idea.

I take my hat off to the team in Indonesia who got briefed to sell life insurance to people who believe that everything is God’s will: ‘Inshallah’. Now that is a tough one.

Culture popped up a lot when choosing the metal – particularly when selecting the very best work – as you will see.

AdFest’s culture deserves a Roots Lotus of its own. Vinit and Jimmy Lam have created something special here. The jury was a delight, the helpers couldn’t be nicer and Jeremy Craigen is ensuring we get to play hard after we work hear

We’ve finished film and radio; tomorrow it’s Innova and Integrated.

Not sure the cultural nuances will be as visible, but I’m looking forward to it.