Monday, November 01, 2004

Men In Black

AdAsia Magazine, Singapore, November 2004 issue

Last month I used this space to express a strong opinion about the best use to apply the volume of expertise in advertising that Singapore has to offer. Under the title ‘Go North, Young Man!’ I pointed towards the place where all that knowledge would find its best use, i.e. China. Does this mean that I’d like to see the place evacuated, leaving only the women and children behind (metaphorically speaking)? Not at all. In fact, all the signs are there that Singapore has a great opportunity to extend its advertising reach to the region, and beyond.

Case in question: Amsterdam. The Dutch capital is at this very moment rapidly turning into the Advertising Capital of the Western World. Yes, you read this right. Not London, not New York: Amsterdam. One international agency after another opens its doors in order to use the place as a development hub for international brands, themes and campaigns. What causes this? Several factors.

First of all, Amsterdam offers an enormously creative environment. The city itself has character like no other, and a significant part of its inhabitants look like they just came in from another planet. In fact, rumour has it that Men In Black III will be shot here.

Second factor is the famous level of tolerance of Dutch society. Creative people, advertising’s main commodity, tend to be free spirits. They also like to express themselves outside the office, showing individualistic behaviour (except the fact that they all dress in black, of course).

Regulars of New York and London know that these things apply there as well. In fact, MIB I and II were shot in the Big Apple. But there’s a third factor in play.

This came from Brian Elliott, partner and co-founder of Strawberry Frog, one of the hottest ad tickets in Amsterdam these days. International agencies increasingly prefer Amsterdam because it doesn’t suffer from the continuous pressure and cultural dominance of Anglo-American advertising. If you’re in London or New York, there’s no getting away from your home market, a market so huge that it eclipses your view of all others. International advertising, according to Brian, can only thrive in a culture that by necessity is used to looking outside of its own borders, a place where confinement is no option.

Think of that for a while. Because in a few years’ time, this is exactly what will happen in Asia. Right now, China’s advertising market is still in adaptation mode. The part of it that’s anywhere near sophisticated is dominated by foreign brands. In this phase, these are mainly in the business of adapting themes and concepts created elsewhere, to the peculiarities of China’s market and culture.

Within the foreseeable future, this will change. China is simply too important, too big to stay in the adaptation phase. Soon, agencies in China will find themselves encompassed by a huge, dominant home market that stands in the way of developing truly international concepts, just as US branches currently find themselves trapped in American advertising.

Hong Kong poses a short-term alternative in becoming the Amsterdam of the East, but not a long-term one. It’s too near, too dependent on the mainland. But Singapore can do it. It combines distance and lack of dominance with first class knowledge of all the cultures involved. The only thing it needs is a bit more loosening up. Could Singapore be a place where Sony (an Asian company, after all) will shoot MIB IV in, say, five years’ time?

It sure seems a nice target. And things look promising. We seem definitely to be moving in that direction. But will the agency world follow?