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6 ISSUE257AUGUST2020 | WEEKENDER COVER STORY
can we deduce that the ‘antipalm oil lobby’ can now be perceived as the “Devil” in this context. For rejecting God’s Gift.
In which case, this could be masterstroke of sorts.
Also in that light, the new devil in disguise could be the Kraft Heinz Company with its negative campaign on palm oil, making “palm oil-free” claims on its products.
Since China and India are our primary markets, someone needs reminding that India has over 33 million Hindu gods and China has the world’s greatest irreligious population where no amount of God-bait headlines
will work. While Crude Palm Oil (CPO) prices remain volatile, analysts say our growth should focus on the strength of China and India’s inventory replenishment.
Malaysia is expected to export palm oil and palm-based products worth RM65 - RM70 billion this year compared to RM63.73 billion in 2019.
Note to Advertisers: A few days ago, political party PAS urged all states to introduce Jawi script on billboards and road signs in efforts to uphold the nation’s history. As a matter of record, Pahang made it mandatory to use Jawi on road signs since January 1 and failure to do so could lead to fines of up to RM250 per offence.
7 ISSUE257AUGUST2020 | WEEKENDER POST-MCO
We sourced the latest pictures of 12 ladies from our industry to see if readers think they look any different since our MCO phase….you’ll agree some are even looking younger….
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Airin Zainul
Director - Business Development, Animation & Brand Licensing, Primeworks Studios, Media Prima Group.
Broadcast Journalist, Radio Announcer & Producer, BFM 89.9
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Eileen Ooi Audrey Raj
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Head, PHD Malaysia Omnicom Media Group
Elaine Lee
General Manager Media Prima Omnia Sales
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Linda Hassan
Group CMO, Domino’s Pizza Malaysia & Singapore
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Lau Yin May
Kudsia Kahar
Media Brand Creator, Speaker & Media C-Suiter METAMORFOSA Sdn Bhd
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Group CMO & Customer Experience Officer Malaysia Airlines Bhd
Amanda Leong
General Manager Zeno Group Malaysia
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Nikki Fok
Director, Integration (Strategy) Entropia Global
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Renda Low
Gavina Rajendran
Head of Marketing & Learning IPG Mediabrands Malaysia
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VP Marketing (HOD) Yeo Hiap Seng (Malaysia) Berhad
Chia Ting Ting
Chief Commercial Officer, FG Media (Malaysiakini Group)
11 ISSUE257AUGUST2020 | WEEKENDER BRITISH ADMEN LIGHT-UP THE SILVER SCREEN
Thirty Second Cinema.
Part II. Ridley Scott. ‘As good for you today as it’s always been’
By Paul J Loosley
Looking at Ridley Scott you may be forgiven for thinking the easy route to great directing is to thrust a nasty huge smoking cigar between your teeth and shout ‘action’. (Although director Michael Curtiz, he of Casablanca, said the secret was to, “sit on top of the camera and pant like a tiger”). Well the Cubana certainly seemed to work, the amount of information Ridley as a director was (and still is) able to pack into a single scene was remarkable. Film scholars describe the component parts of a shot; cast, set, location, wardrobe, props etc, as mise en scène.
12 ISSUE257AUGUST2020 | WEEKENDER BRITISH ADMEN LIGHT-UP THE SILVER SCREEN
So, let’s see how smartly he did it.
Observe the accompanying clips from an apparently simple 30”, Hovis bread commercial, directed by Ridley in 1973.
A delivery boy brings some bread to the top of a hill then rattles back down the cobbled streets, past old workers’ cottages, riding an ancient boneshaker bicycle. In the end scene the boy returns to the bakery.
In the remarkable final five second shot in the bakery (the whole spot is only 5 scenes) there is an unbelievable wealth of information. The period china, old pots and pans, the waistcoats and cropped baker’s hat, the short hair style all of which, at a glance, speak to the early 20th century rural England. The single-source lighting through a leaded window and the boy’s hat and scarf indicate a cold morning. These things, and the fact that the bread was hand-delivered signposts an ‘authentic’ bakery; not a jot of mass production or artificial ingredient. So, in one single scene Scott has communicated actual product properties of freshness, naturalness, taste Ridley Scott’s impressive and wellrecognised body of work.
and wholesomeness, and the emotional and engaging pleasures of a past when things were calmer and thought to be, at least in post-modernist terms - better. Fully justifying the advertisement’s final statement; “as good for you today as it’s always been”.
This is not visual vanity, it is based definitively, and possibly instinctively, on a conviction that one can place full trust in the viewer to be able to absorb impressions at greater speed and in greater detail than the reactionary mind might believe possible.
13 ISSUE257AUGUST2020 | WEEKENDER BRITISH ADMEN LIGHT-UP THE SILVER SCREEN
Let’s face it, Ridley knew that swift communication and brevity in a single scene from a 30” TVC is vital to a successful advert.
Yet how did he bring that knowledge to the big screen I hear you ask.
Well, a case worth examining is the single opening scene on the flight deck of the spaceship Nostromo in Ridley’s second feature, Alien (1979). As the camera, in a single continuous shot, slowly explores the interior of the ship, we observe an unusual darkness in foreboding monochrome. The complete absence of people reveals a dehumanizing air of suspense enhanced by the incongruously neglected space helmets reflecting the computer screen. Especially telling is an abandoned mug of coffee on the console. That it’s a very ordinary china mug, not some futuristic chrome or polycarbonate material which, in what is not just a director’s touch, signals a sense of realism and an incongruity in both its casualness and anachronism.
Overall an existential impression also exists where ‘something ‘bad’ had either happened, Mary Celeste style, or something bad was about to happen.
To conclude, film experts, David Bordwell and Kristen Thompson sum up Ridley’s communication skills, “these
14 ISSUE257AUGUST2020 | WEEKENDER BRITISH ADMEN LIGHT-UP THE SILVER SCREEN
theories then, set the filmmaker the task of representing some historical, social, or aesthetic reality through the selection and arrangement of mise en scène”.
So, Ridley, born in the bleak mining world of North East Britain, learnt early that the devil was indeed in the detail. Thus, it was his attention to every single facet of a scene that he effortlessly transferred from the 30” TV spot to the major 2-hour+ feature film. And it was so successful it earnt him both a bunch of Oscars and a knighthood.
With perhaps a little help from his favourite Cohiba.
Next week. Part III. Adrian Lyne: ‘Get your kicks on Route 66’.
Paul J Loosley is an English person who has been in Asia 40 years, 12 as a creative director and 26 making TVCs. Recently awarded a Master’s Degree in Film at UCL. And still, for some strange reason, he can’t shut-up about advertising. Any feedback; mail p.loosley@gmail.com (please keep it smoking hot).
15 ISSUE257AUGUST2020 | WEEKENDER MCMC
The ethical dilemma in the tech business.
By Ken Pennington
Last week’s big news: The big four – Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon or largely known as GAFA – the four horsemen of the tech world were grilled by US Congress over anti-trust issues. We shall skip the background to why this came about since you can after all, Google it after reading this. Although, this hearing will not result to any political or regulatory action in America but it will certainly raise awareness and pressure on the right people in regulatory bodies such as the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice to give thorough consideration for future decisions. I believe this is an
16 ISSUE257AUGUST2020 | WEEKENDER MCMC inevitable difficult conversation that every government must have, perhaps even more so in every other nation where these tech giants are operating and draining revenue out from.
From a similar strain of discussion, the Australian government seems bent on making Facebook and Google pay for constantly putting their hand into local media outlets’ cookie jar in what seemed like an unfair practice since forever.
The ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) released a draft code to tackle this on-going issue of “acute bargaining power imbalances between Australian news businesses and Google and Facebook” in a landmark decision to protect the value
... They just push the 6% cost back to advertisers and advertisers will have no choice but to continue spending with them. It is really high time for our MCMC to take a proactive stance to question digital giants on our turf too...
of local journalism and media ecosystem.
Obviously, this does not come without protests from the two tech giants calling out the government as discriminatory and unfair. But seriously, what is fair?
When the Malaysian government imposed a 6% digital tax on foreign-owned digital platforms as an effort to ‘equalise’ competition, it did not create even a nano-dent on Google and Facebook in Malaysia. They just push the 6% cost back to advertisers and advertisers will have no choice but to continue spending with them.
It is really high time for our MCMC to take a proactive stance to question digital giants on our turf too. I can almost hear groans from digital evangelists who are also pro-Darwinian theorists. If you are a non-evolving media company, you have no place in this world. If you are a lowly merchant who can’t give up 30% margin to be listed on apps, you do not deserve to do business.
This is the world’s biggest ethical dilemma and seems like everyone warrants a pointof-view. If you were the CEO,
17 ISSUE257AUGUST2020 | WEEKENDER MCMC you want maximum growth, maximum revenue, maximum returns, you want to achieve the highest mortal possibility, you want to conquer the world.
GAFA is like a race horse with blinkers. They are not about to get distracted by anything and everything is about growth.
Ask Grab, ask Lazada, ask Boost, ask any tech companies and they will tell you the same.
If you were a digital evangelist, you will not empathise with the cumbersome, innovation-averse, traditional media model and you’d think they deserve to die.
You’d think helping them, even in any small way, is stifling innovation. If they’ve not evolved themselves, why should they be helped?
However, if you were a journalist and are passionate about what you do, you’ll be lamenting on unfair practice and environment posed by these digital giants.
And you will wonder what is a nation when it is devoid of good honest journalism.
And if you were a policymaker, you want to protect your market and people but without stifling growth
... They want to buy you out to destroy you or to spurt their own growth. You started with nothing but you could be a billionaire overnight...
prematurely and obviously this is history in the making on a daily basis – there is no rule book, no constitution, no playbook to guide you because from now on, every time will be the first of such events.
And if you were a budding start-up founder, whose platform is making waves and poses noticeable threats to the tech giants and they want you out. They want to buy you out to destroy you or to spurt their own growth.
You started with nothing but you could be a billionaire overnight. It’s like a serious case of durian runtuh hurricane-level.
That’s the goal of almost every start-up – get listed or get acquired.
18 ISSUE257AUGUST2020 | WEEKENDER FOMO 2 FOFO
By Greg Paull Co-founder and Principal, R3
There is no shortage of issues to keep marketers up at night. With revenue down in many categories, teams working from home, supply chains disrupted, and consumers doing cartwheels in all directions, no one can blame marketers for finding solace where they can.
Regardless of which camp you’re in, FOFO (Fear of Finding Out) is the one place of refuge marketers like to hide in from time to time. FOFO is a term used in the medical community to describe the psychological barrier that stops people from seeking medical advice for worrying health conditions. FOFO is the complete opposite of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and is common in many areas in life.
There are three things that set FOFO in the hearts of marketers:
FOFO #1 – Is our team and partnership structure resilient?
Building a strong team that can withstand the winds of change should be the primary
19 ISSUE257AUGUST2020 | WEEKENDER FOMO 2 FOFO
concern of any CMO. Marketing teams which have the right mix of talent, innovation and experience to adapt to new ways of working will deliver for any brand and business.
P&G has embraced FOFO in the last two years by breaking their model – by changing their corporate structure and changing agency relationships in place for 50+ years through Fixed and Flow, in-housing and pushing holding companies to work together.
FOFO #2 – Are there leaky pipes in our media and financial processes?
Every dollar counts, and with higher accountability comes the need to examine the health of media and financial processes. An increase in fraud during the pandemic means that marketers need to put checks in place and move to fix gaps quickly. Ignorance is not bliss.
Unilever has embraced FOFO recently by being a leading voice on Brand Safety and Diversity and pushing their global marketing communities to be
better at appropriate content.
FOFO #3 – Are we digitally integrated and competitive?
The imperative for digital transformation has been revived, but not in the way it was at the turn of the Millennium. Marketers now realize that posting videos on YouTube and engaging social influencers on IGTV does not mean that they have fully embraced digital marketing - especially when first-party data, e-commerce and customer experience remain disconnected set-pieces.
L’Oreal has embraced FOFO by radically changing their talent pool, forcing every marketer and potential candidate to sit a digital ‘test’, hiring 3,000 new digital talents and pivoting to e-Commerce and online engagement better than anyone else.
20 ISSUE257AUGUST2020 | WEEKENDER FOMO 2 FOFO
The FOFO Recovery Program
1/ Confront Your FOFO
The first step is to be open about the risks to your marketing continuity. Find an expert who has qualified experience and shows a genuine desire to help and keep an open mind.
Bring in talent from your Finance and Internal Audit teams as active stakeholders to help you hold marketing accountable.
Audit.
Benchmark.
Look in the Mirror.
Look for Best Practice.
2/ Create a Culture of Confidence
Great leaders remove the blame and provide confidence that the wrong course can be corrected. Client agency relationship evaluations are not just about identifying pain points, they help build better cultures within teams. • Celebrate success. • Recognize failure. • Pay your agencies on results. • Ask your agencies how you can improve
3/ Think Short & Long-Term
Giving people a “how” is as important as communicating the “why.” When receiving diagnosis from experts and consultants on the health of your marketing teams and processes, always make sure that they empower you with immediate action.
Greg Paull is principal and cofounder of R3, a global independent consultancy focused on driving transformation for marketers and their agencies. www.rthree.com
