The trouble with tourism...

I discovered these garish sculptures on a recent holiday to the island of Phu Quoc, Vietnam. Parts of the island are pristine and unexplored, but others are ruined by hideous adornments like these.

Squint and you might see me standing amongst a herd of concrete swans, and before a miniature replica of the Sydney Opera House.

My foot finds a friend

Celebrating the New Year at sunset in Luang Prabang, Laos

Vietnamese fashion

I sometimes wonder what I might be like if I were born in another country. If I were raised in mid-west America, would I wear sneakers with jeans and a bum bag? Would I be less likely to know the capital cities of other countries?

My curiosity relates to my own identity as a Vietnamese Australian. Obviously where we’re born and how we grow up has a major impact on our tastes and aesthetics.

So, if I had grown up in Saigon, it’s entirely possible I might find this garment (above, featured in Vietnam Airline’s latest in-flight magazine) attractive. I’d probably be wearing mini-dresses with puffed sleeves, and shoes bespangled with sequins.

I love Vietnam (I'm typing this from the Sofitel Saigon), but I am also thankful that I grew up in a country that has a flourishing fashion industry.

I also wonder this: how can a country that designs such immaculate recipes (like the betal leaf-wrapped beef rolls served at the Temple Club… I salivate as I type) also design horrors like this one? I blame the Communists, who stamped out fashion wherever they raised their red flag. And yet, their propaganda is excellent. Ponder that.

Right Angle Studio: tips on being a 'Betapreneur'

I have always been impressed by Right Angle Studio and its founder, Barrie Barton, who is one of the cleverest young digital publishers in Australia.

I recently interviewed Barrie for CreativeInnovation, and you can read the story here

I've known Barrie for years and am always surprised at what he turns his hand to next... this year, it was launching a venue, The Pond in Sydney to promote Pure Blonde, and a hotel room to promote Victoria, called The Lost and Found Hotel. All this without losing Right Angle's focus on publishing (Right Angle publishes 'The Thousands' online city guides including twothousand.com.au and threethousand.com.au).

Right Angle's founders (and brothers), are the lovely, enviably intelligent and imaginative Chris and Barrie Barton. They belong to a new generation of entrepreneurs dubbed ‘Betapreneurs’ by UK trend-forecasters LS:N Global.

Betapreneurs rely on online communities to beta test ideas quickly and cost-effectively. If audiences respond well, those ideas are expanded. If not, they can be collapsed quickly, minimising losses. It's a far more efficient way of testing new market opportunities, and is made possible by digital technology.

How to manage creative employees

I've met enough creative employees in my time as a design/advertising journalist to know they're not always easy to manage. People who are imaginative and full of ideas don't necessarily respond well to things that may detract from their creativity, like starting work on time, or wearing a suit and tie.

So, I recently put together this story about Creative Talent Management. I interviewed Patsy Peacock, CEO of fbi recruitment in Sydney and James McGrath, creative chairman at advertising agency Clemenger BBDO in Melbourne about what makes creative practitioners tick.

You can read the story on CreativeInnovation.net.au here

(Above: an illustration of Clemenger BBDO's creative department in Melbourne)

Alex Bogusky tells all: Fast Company

Why don't Australian business magazines write more stories like this one, an expose of advertising executive Alex Bogusky, published this month in Fast Company?

The article debunks the myth that Bogusky is one of the world's most brilliant advertising creatives, instead painting a picture of a deceitful, dictatorial and terrifying entrepreneur - albeit a highly successful one. Anyone with an interest in advertising should read it.

Why not redesign yourself?

I've always wished I were brave enough to invent my own persona, ditching the personality traits I was born with in favour of traits that are more fun or advantageous. Instead of being incessantly polite and cautious, I'd become spontaneous, loud and extroverted. Instead of worrying about doing the right thing, I'd be deliciously ruthless and irresponsible. I wouldn't like to ditch my 'real' self permanently, but why not use an alter-ego when traveling overseas or interstate, or meeting strangers? It would be very convenient.

...... This year, I interviewed two people who have designed their own personas.


First, Captain Australia... a 'real life super hero' whose green-and-gold costume is ingeniously constructed out of an old tracksuit, yellow gum boots and a discarded pair of gardening gloves. He admits his costume is far from perfect, and attracts the ridicule of passers-by. He is aware that his DIY-outfit detracts from the seriousness of his mission to make the streets of Australia safer and kinder. Clearly, he is eccentric. But I admire his bravery for stepping out of himself and into his green-and-gold tracksuit as 'Captain Australia' every weekend.

I also interviewed Pia Andersen, founder of Vintage Allsorts. Blonde, voluptuous and impeccably groomed, Pia has made a career out of her Marylin-esque looks. She lives and breathes the vintage era with a wardrobe full of 1950s Chanel and a house full of retro furniture. Pia is so enamored by all things vintage, she is rarely seen any other way. Since meeting Pia, I've noticed that whenever an ad agency needs a retro pin-up girl, she books the job. And given that TV shows like 'Man Men' have put the 1950s back in fashion, she's doing very nicely.


Both interviews appeared in Sunday Magazine.

What Men What

I don't profess to be an expert, but this article for CREATIVE magazine debunks some myths about marketing to men. It includes a word of warning from Southpaw's John Mckelvey when using sub-cultures like graffiti and skating to target young male consumers : "When some brands attempt to get all 'youth', it feels a bit like your dad rapping," says Mckelvey, who is co-founder of Sydney creative consultancy Southpaw.

I also enjoyed Nicholas Reynolds' - director at Curious - take on gender: "I hate the depiction of the modern male. He seems confused. Introspective. Guilty. Even of our human bodies. Let's get hair back. It's fucking crazy if you think about it. It's an outright rejection of our form of 'humanness'."

'What Men Want' appears in the Aug/Sept issue of CREATIVE, out today.

ADFEST, Tokyo (20-23rd July)

I just returned from a week in Tokyo as Editor of ADFESTbuzz and Lotus News atADFEST (Asia Pacific Advertising Festival).

ADFEST is an award show that’s passionate about nurturing creativity in the Asia Pacific. One of my favorite interviewees was Kazuyoshi Hayakawa, director at Camp KAZ Productions.

Not only is Kazuyoshi hugely talented (his commercials are famous in Japan and Thailand), but he’s the smiliest person I’ve ever met, and he has one of those wonderfully expressive faces that you never tire of looking at.

We had to speak via his translator, which is never the same as interviewing someone directly, but our conversations gave me a small taste of his philosophy and talent.

Steve Henry, HHCL

Last week I met Steve Henry, who was in Tokyo as Grand Jury President of this year's ADFEST Lotus Awards. I asked him about his vision for HHCL, which was one of the world's most awarded agencies in the '90s, famous for producing offbeat campaigns for brands like Pot Noodle.

Steve says HHCL had an almost perverse desire to break all the rules, "but hopefully with enough intelligence to make sure we were breaking the right rules." It worked for more than 15 years, until the agency sold to WPP and ultimately closed.

Steve was impeccably British and charming all week (although surely someone who has such a perversion for rule-breaking must have a darker side lurking beneath the surface!)

My interview is published here.