Grey Global Group's Mellors to Asia-Pacific Creatives: You Suck

Tim Mellors, worldwide creative director of Grey Global Group, has a message for his Asia Pacific creatives: You suck.

He didn’t say it quite like that, of course. But in this video (below), where he is much more diplomatic, the message is plain: Grey’s creative in Asia Pacific is the worst of the global network, and must improve.

Specifically, that improvement will be measured in shortlists and Lions won at Cannes, the ad festival.

Marketing Magazine sat down with Mellors in Singapore for Grey’s Asia Pacific ‘Business Unusual’ conference. Here’s a digest of what a rumpled-looking Mellor said:

One of the things biggest on my agenda has been how to come into this area, to Asia, and look at our creative profile, which is not as strong as it needs to be.

We use as most agencies do Cannes, which is truly the global adfest, as a yardstick. We needed to double our shortlisted work and win twice as many Lions. And we achieved that. This area [ie Asia-Pacific], unfortunately, was the weakest in terms of that accomplishment, so that’s why I’m now bringing this concentration to it. And that’s in light of the fact that globally this is problem, this is the strongest creative area of the world now, along with to some extent South America …

We have a lot to learn in this area, and I want to find out what’s happening that we’re not filling our potential in terms of doing award-winning work. So it’s a very simple yardstick. And there are many other festivals … but just as a global yardstick Cannes serves as a way of comparing, even with our sister agencies in WPP. At JWT I think Mumbai is their strongest agency.

I want to now from my people, the guys and women who work creatively here, what’s standing in our way of just doing better? I’m going to ask that very succinctly and straight.