Adfest is delighted to welcome three of Asia’s most respected creative leaders Mitsuyuki Nakamura, Kate Hyewon Oh and Yang Yeo to its panel of Jury Presidents for 2019.
Nakamura is Global President of dentsu X and Managing Director of the Global Business Center of Dentsu Inc. He will lead the Media Lotus and the first-ever eCommerce Lotus categories. Hyewon Oh will lead the Brand Experience & Engagement Lotus and Direct Lotus jury. She is Chief Creative Officer and Executive Creative Director at Cheil Worldwide based in Seoul, and creator of award-winning campaigns like ‘Life Saving TV’ for Korea Telecom, which won an Innova Lotus at Adfest 2016. Yeo will bring his infectious laughter as well as his expertise as APAC Creative Kaiju (1st Generation) at Hakuhodo Inc. to lead the Outdoor Lotus and Press Lotus categories.
“It is an honor to add three such formidable talents to our line-up of Jury Presidents. Mitsuyuki and Yang have both led Adfest juries before so they understand our commitment to unearthing work that reflects the diversity of cultures in our region. This will be Kate’s first time as an Adfest Jury President, and her achievements as a creative leader make her the perfect person for the job,” says Jimmy Lam, Adfest President.
Nakamura joined Dentsu Inc. in 1990 and has dedicated 29 years of his life to its media, content creation and platform development business. He is responsible for the expansion of the dentsu X network from Asia to Europe and the Americas, helping dentsu X expand its footprint from 27 to 59 offices within a single year.
While leading dentsu X Thailand as CEO, he oversaw a threefold growth in business size and won Media Agency of the Year, Digital Agency of the Year, Creative Agency of the Year and Integrated Agency of the Year. Nakamura returns to Adfest having led the Media Lotus and Branded Content & Entertainment Lotus categories in 2015.
“I am excited to lead the first-ever eCommerce category and Media Lotus jury. As someone who loves consolidating data, insights, content, media services and creative into sophisticated solutions, I am looking forward to seeing the work that wins,” says Nakamura.
Yeo started his career at Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore in 1992, moved to BBH London, opened Fallon Asia, was appointed Chairman at JWT China, and rebooted W+K Shanghai – all before joining Hakuhodo Inc. Tokyo in 2017. Over the years, he has collected an enviable collection of Grand Prix awards and has been named ‘Creative of the Year’, ‘Designer of the Year’, ‘Agency of the Year’, and ‘Marketer of the Year’ more times than it’s possible to list here.
He says: “I am so looking forward to March, when I will return to my favourite regional creative festival as Jury President of two major categories. Adfest is the best place to meet new friends, and catch up with old mates of the industry. It’s also a great place to get inspired, witness the creativity bar being lifted, and I can’t wait to dive right in, again.”
Oh is also taking time away from her role as Chief Creative Officer at Cheil Worldwide to join Adfest 2019 as Jury President, Brand Experience & Engagement Lotus and Direct Lotus. At Cheil, she leads the strategy, creative direction and production of integrated campaigns for major Korean brands like Samsung Electronics and Korea Telecom. Her collection of Lions and Grand Prix trophies is growing – fast.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to see the work that is leading the way and hopefully changing the world for the better. I will do my best and contribute to Adfest’s reputation as a festival that puts the region’s best creative works from the Asia Pacific and Middle East on a global stage,” she says.
Adfest is now accepting entries to the Adfest 2019 Lotus Awards. The deadline for categories that will be judged remotely is Friday 11th January 2019, while the deadline for all other categories is Friday 18th January 2019. Next year’s festival and Lotus Awards ceremonies will be held at Peach Royal Cliff Hotels Group, Pattaya, Thailand from 20th March to 23rd March
