Ronald Ng’s London International Awards tip: Months of digital imaging or touching up cannot save an idea that was thought up in a few minutes

Ronald Ng (on left), chief creative officer at BBDO Proximity Singapore, was in Las Vegas last week representing Asia on the London International Awards Print, Poster & Billboard jury. Here’s Ronald’s review of his judging experience and observations on what it takes to win at LIA and other international shows.

The London International Awards were judged in Vegas last week. Where the hotel pool is only open from 9am to 5pm. But the casinos are open 24/7. Why? The more time you spend away from the casino, the less money the casinos make from you. So I guess it makes sense.

Award shows are very much like gambling, aren’t they? We invest a handsome amount of money, and pray for lady luck to work for us. And going by the lean number of awards given out by the Outdoor/Print/Billboard jury that I was part of, it seems ironic that the London Awards are judged in Vegas.

So what won? Great work, of course.

But a lot of great work also did not win. Work that has won Golds in other big shows only got Bronzes or shortlists here. If you won a Bronze at the LIA, you should celebrate. A Silver calls for champagne. A Gold calls for some serious decadence.

The few that rose to the top came from greatness. Amazing insight. Fresh thinking. Clever storytelling. Topped off with beautiful execution. Not vice versa. And this is very important. Many on this stellar jury were strongly against campaigns with brilliant art direction sans brilliant idea. The lesson – months of digital imaging or touching up cannot save an idea that was thought up in only a few minutes.

We’re here to build brands with great work that will make our clients famous. And as a result of all that, hopefully our moms and dads will take notice of the people behind the ideas.

Award shows are not beauty pageants. Though we all love hot-looking people, they need to have great personalities and be able to keep our attention. No amount of lipstick can cover for shallowness. Trust me. I’ve tried it, and I looked terrible in ‘Red Rum Summer Blast’.

The LIA Awards are tough, and because of that, we want to win one even more. No awards cabinet will be complete without a prestigious LIA statuette. But remember, smart thinking first. Then smother that cleverness with brilliant writing and art. Otherwise, you’re gambling your money away. Regardless whether it’s in that casino in Vegas, Pattaya, London or the south of France.

Ronald Ng was in Las Vegas judging with an amazing line-up of world class creative talent including below top: Mark Tutssel (Global Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett Worldwide) and Tham Khai Meng (Worldwide Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy & Mather).