It’s one thing to win a Grand Prix in a creative awards show; it’s yet another feat to win a second one for a completely different ad campaign. This is what Amber China has done in this year’s AD STARS awards show with their campaigns “Chop Chop 2.0 Beef” for Ammeloo and “The Anti-Perfect Collection” for Diesel, winning Grand Prix trophies under Print and Promotion respectively.
“Chop Chop 2.0 Beef” is part of a print ad series depicting the sharpness of Ammeloo’s kitchen knives by “chopping up” animals like a cow, pig, and goat into blocks or cubes for cooking.
The print campaign created with the help of Illusion in Bangkok has already been winning awards including a highly sought after Wood Pencil at the D&AD Awards before breaking through with a Print Grand Prix in this year’s AD STARS.
AD STARS 2018 Print Executive Judge Guan Hin Tay, Global Executive Creative Director of J. Walter Thompson, summed up the praise for the campaign saying, “we loved how the ‘Chop Chop’ campaign uses creativity to sell a mundane product. It’s an arresting image, and the attention to detail and craft is amazing. When you realise it’s an ad for a kitchen knife, it is delightful and surprising – we saw many agencies from China that are excelling in the Print category.”
Amber China was set to win yet another Grand Prix as winners under the Promo category were announced. “The Anti-Perfect Collection” for client Diesel featured pieces of jewelry made with cosmetic surgery implants as it made a stand against China’s obsession with pursuing the perfect but ultimately, impossible standard for beauty. The campaign was part of Diesel’s worldwide campaign, “Go with the Flaw”, a call for people to embrace their imperfections and to go beyond them.
“There were a few contenders for the Promo Grand Prix, but everyone on the jury was surprised with this work from Diesel. Some may say it doesn’t have the scale of other campaigns, but it promotes the message of imperfection in the most unusual and audacious way. It builds on Diesel’s ‘Go with the Flaw’ campaign and starts a conversation about being yourself,” enthused Woon Hoh, Chief Creative Officer of Hakuhodo Asia Pacific and Promotion Executive Judge.
This year’s grand harvest at AD STARS is a product of the brilliant creative teams in Amber China led by Chief Creative Officer Chee Keong Tan, known for his award-winning work as Group Creative Director in Ogilvy & Mather Malaysia. He came to Amber China in 2016 to lead the creative teams in the agency’s Beijing and Shanghai offices and to assist Amber Liu, Founder & CEO and himself a top creative mind. Tan holds an impressive record: served as senior creative positions in BBDO Malaysia, Leo Burnett Malaysia, and Ogilvy & Mather Hong Kong, ranked 7th in Campaign Brief Asia’s 2016 “The Most Awarded Creative Directors in Asia”, won trophies in Cannes Lions, D&AD, One Show, Clio, LIA, ADFEST, Spikes Asia, AMEs, Effies, and more. He also won Malaysia’s first LIA Grand Prix during his stint in BBDO Malaysia in 2015.
(READ: CK Tan joins Amber China as CCO)
Yet, Tan humbly shared the triumph with his team and their clients. “We are humbly honored to receive two Grand Prix wins across Print and Promo. It has been an overwhelming experience, made possible by our amazing clients, Diesel and Ammeloo. I would like to sincerely extend my gratitude to them. And of course, my team. They are just simply amazing,” he said.
(READ: AD STARS unveils its winners at the AD STARS 2018 Gala Awards Ceremony)
