Business

Saturday October 10, 2009

BBDO/Proximity’s Ng dives into new waters

By M. HAFIDZ MAHPAR


RONALD Ng, BBDO/Proximity Malaysia chief creative officer, thought he would be posted somewhere in Asia when he mentioned to his bosses last year that he was ready for a different kind of challenge.

Little did he know that he would be made executive vice-president and executive creative director based at BBDO’s headquarters in New York, possibly becoming the first Malaysian to reach such a level in the advertising industry.

“I was shocked!” Ng tells StarBizWeek. “I remember telling David (Lubars, BBDO North America chairman and chief creative officer) that this was all happening too fast.”

He was given a few weeks to decide, and he and his wife Carmen went to New York for a week to visit the office there, and see whether the city was a place they could live in, for it was “a whole different world.”

(Ng had studied at the University of Nebraska majoring in Advertising and Broadcasting, but this year’s trip to New York with his wife was only the second time he had been to the city.)

“The bottom line is, this is an amazing opportunity for a creative person – a chance of a lifetime,” Ng says. His wife, also working in an ad agency (JWT’s business development director), understands that it’s a good move and supports it. Ng will begin his new role in New York on Dec 1.

BBDO is one of the world’s largest marketing communications networks, comprising 287 offices in 79 countries. BBDO New York, which has a staff of about 700 people, is “one of the most progressive agencies in the world (in terms of work),” says Ng.

In his view, BBDO New York “redefines advertising.” Its campaigns include the double Cannes Grand Prix-winning HBO “Voyeur” where a short film was projected onto the side of an apartment building. It’s as if the wall was removed because the film showed a life-size cross-section of eight apartments and the goings-on within, with stories that were interconnected.

The just-released Creativity Awards Report, Creativity magazine’s compilation of results from six significant international awards shows, ranks BBDO New York as the 6th most awarded agency in the world while BBDO is by far the number one agency network.

Ng and BBDO Malaysia can stand proud as well. The report ranks BBDO Malaysia’s Jeep campaign as the second-most-awarded print campaign in the world, while Ng is ranked 12th worldwide in the copywriter category.

Ng says he’s “most happy” that he garnered the same number of points as famous US comedienne and actress Sarah Silverman.

Just a few weeks ago, at the Spikes, BBDO/Proximity Malaysia was the third-most-awarded agency in Asia, clinching a Grand Prix (for the Jeep campaign), three golds, a silver and four bronzes.

Under Ng’s creative leadership, BBDO/Proximity Malaysia has boldly experimented with new ways of advertising, such as the rumour-based Mini campaign done four years ago which became the top BMW case study in the world for that quarter. At a time when viral marketing was still in its infancy here, the agency cooked up a spy story and sent out “scary” e-mails that roused people’s interest and got them to talk.

New York will be Ng’s first overseas post since he joined the advertising industry in 1994. Taking over his creative leader role in Malaysia is BBDO/Proximity Malaysia executive creative director Mun Tuck Wai.

Ng says he feels very fortunate to be given the opportunity to work at BBDO New York. “A lot of this wouldn’t happen if I hadn’t been in BBDO. There’re a lot of companies that say, ‘Stay with us. We’ll plan something for you’ and a lot of times, it ends in disappointment. This (appointment) proves that when BBDO says something, it means it.

“(BBDO/Proximity Malaysia group chief executive) Jennifer Chan and (BBDO Asia chairman) Chris Thomas really took me seriously when I said I’d love to go overseas. They looked at the succession plan and for something for me. And in a year, I got the New York appointment,” Ng says. “That says a lot about the current agency network that I’m in.”

He says Mun has also been groomed to go beyond his starting BBDO position as creative director. Ng says he has absolutely no concerns about leaving the Malaysian office as it is left in the good hands of Mun, who was pivotal in a lot of the work that has made BBDO famous in the last few years.

“He’s one of the best out there. He is the person who should take over,” Ng says.

“My team works very hard. They slog like crazy. Without them I’d be nothing, and that’s the simple truth.”

BBDO/Proximity Malaysia is by far the biggest winner at last year’s Kancil Awards. However, BBDO/Proximity decided not to participate in the Kancil Awards to be held later this month, attributing it partly to the judge selection process, which differed from the recent years. Ng had been jury chairman last year.

Asked whether he is sad not to participate this year, given that the agency has done well over the years, Ng says: “Tough question … We see this as a transition year, with me leaving and Mun taking over. So it’ll be a good opportunity for him to start from next year’s Kancil show – basically start from a clean slate.

“I won’t say I’m sad or happy because I would rather not think about it. But it’s a clean slate for Mun, with no comparison to the previous year. I guess this is the most positive way to look at it.”

Ng says he’s nervous to go to New York, but also very excited. “The most exciting thing is that I don’t know what I’m going to get into,” he says.

He compares it to his scuba-diving experience. “I always don’t know what I would see underwater. There was once that I saw a 30ft-long whale shark. Wow! I still dream of the day a hammerhead shark swims past me. That’s why I keep doing it.

“So I guess it’s like that (with the New York posting). Hopefully great things come out of it.”

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