TBWA to run AdFest Young Lotus Workshop

TBWA\Asia Pacific will teach young creatives from around the region the art of creating ‘Disruptive Ideas’ at the Young Lotus Workshop at AdFest in 2011.

“It’s with undisguised pleasure that we take up the reins of hosting next year’s Young Lotus Workshop. Initiatives like the Young Lotus Workshop are important for the simple reason that they’re one of the most potent ways to ensure that our industry rejuvenates itself,” says John Merrifield, Creative At Large at TWBA\Asia Pacific in Singapore (left). “I’ve yet to meet a single participant in any of the young competitions who was not thoroughly energised by the process.

The AdFest Young Lotus Workshop is one of the most respected platforms for nurturing young creatives in the Asia Pacific. The last Young Lotus Workshop in 2009 was hosted by Dentsu Inc., when 15 teams from 15 cities took on the challenge to answer an integrated brief on “How to lure young people currently not interested in advertising”. With the cancellation of AdFest 2010, the participants for the 2010 Workshop will be given first right of refusal to participate in the Young Lotus Workshop 2011.

Next year, the Young Lotus teams will learn all about TBWA\’s ‘Disruption’ philosophy – the art of asking better questions, challenging conventional wisdom, and overturning assumptions or prejudices that get in the way of visionary ideas. For the first time at AdFest 2011, the 3 finalist teams will present their ideas on stage at the Young Lotus Session on Thursday 17th March. All delegates in the audience will be able to vote on the team most worthy of winning the delegates’ “Popular Vote”.

“We are very excited to introduce this new format to the Young Lotus session, which will not only present the finalists the rare opportunity to pitch their works in front of so many people and build their confidence, but also allow the delegates greater participation and engagement in the process. This is very much in line with our theme of Jump Starting the careers of young creatives,” says Vinit Suraphongchai, Chairman of the Working Committee of AdFest.

“Over the past decade, TBWA\Asia Pacific has produced some of the region’s most influential advertising ideas, so next year’s Young Lotus participants will have the rare opportunity to learn from the world’s best. The Young Lotus Workshop is notoriously challenging and rewarding, and it has shaped many successful careers in Asia,” says Jimmy Lam, President of AdFest.

The Young Lotus Workshop will take place before the commencement of the 3-day festival, which takes place in Phuket, Thailand from 17th – 19th March.