ADFEST has chosen the creative leaders who will preside over its juries at the ADFEST Lotus Awards 2024. The juries will be led by Malcolm Poynton, Global Chief Creative Officer, Cheil Worldwide, Jury President of Effective Lotus, INNOVA Lotus and the inaugural Sustainable Lotus, and as Grand Jury President, he will preside over the Lotus Roots with the other Jury Presidents.

Judging will take place just before ADFEST 2024, which will be held Thursday 21 – Saturday 23 March 2024, at the Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall (PEACH), Royal Cliff Hotels Group, Pattaya, Thailand during the ADFEST, with its theme of Human Intelligence.

Malcolm Poynton commented, “Asia is quite simply the most exciting region globally; the most diverse, the most populous and increasingly, the most creative. ADFEST plays a big part in pushing the region’s creativity forward so, it’s an honour as the 2024 Grand Jury President to work with this year’s incredibly talented jurors to help shape a show that inspires what’s next.”

The ADFEST 2024 Magnificent Seven Jury Presidents are:

Grand Jury President of Lotus Roots and Jury President of Effective Lotus, INNOVA Lotus and Sustainable Lotus: 

Malcolm Poynton, Global Chief Creative Officer, Cheil Worldwide, London 

Jury President of Brand Experience Lotus, Commerce Lotus and Direct Lotus:

Bill Yom, Founder & Chief Creative Officer, Jung von Matt HANGANG, Seoul  

Jury President of Design Lotus and Print & Outdoor Craft Lotus:

Ashwini Deshpande, Co-Founder & Director, Elephant Design Pvt. Ltd., Pune 

Jury President of Digital & Social Lotus, Digital Craft Lotus and Mobile Lotus:

Rei Inamoto, Founding Partner of I&CO, APAC

Jury President of Entertainment Lotus, Media Lotus and PR Lotus:

Wendy Chan, Executive Creative Director, Health APAC, Edelman, Hong Kong 

Jury President of Film Craft Lotus and New Director Lotus:

Emma Daines, CEO, Founder & Executive Producer, Fin Design & Effects, Sydney

Jury President of Film Lotus, Outdoor Lotus, Press Lotus and Radio & Audio Lotus:

David Guerrero, Creative Chairman, BBDO Guerrero, Manila

LOTUS ROOTS, EFFECTLIVE LOTUS, INNOVA LOTUS, AND SUSTAINABLE LOTUS

New Zealand native, Malcolm Poynton has been recognised as one of the World’s Top 10 Digital Minds by Ad Age. He has led Saatchi & Saatchi, Ogilvy, SapientNitro and Cheil Worldwide to multiple Creative Agency of the Year titles. Since joining Cheil Worldwide as Global Chief Creative Officer in 2015, Malcolm’s creative leadership has established the Cheil as one of the world’s leading creative networks, winning Asia Network of the Year, multiple Agency of the Year titles across Hong Kong, China, India, Japan, South Korea and further afield, Spain, Russia and Romania.

BRAND EXPERIENCE LOTUS, COMMERCE LOTUS AND DIRECT LOTUS:

Bill Yom says he balances two personalities - the Korean creative in Germany and the German creative in Korea. Both personalities believe that Bill believes that creativity has the power to change and influence society and its cultures for good. Before founding Jung von Matt Hangang as chief creative officer, he led teams at BBDO/Interone, Serviceplan, Cheil Worldwide and Cheil Greater China and his work has been honoured at international Awards Shows with Grand Prix, Gold, Silver, Bronze Trophies at D&AD, New York Festivals, The One Show, Clio Awards, London International Awards, ADC Europe, Spikes Asia, Eurobest and Cannes Lions.

“For me, being the jury president means I get to encourage and appreciate ground-breaking ideas in our industry. I'll be on the lookout for entries that are truly unique and original, ones that stand out because of their amazing storytelling or their ability to make people feel and think deeply,” Bill Yom commented. “ADFEST stands as one of the most prestigious award shows in our region, and it's crucial to ensure that our creative talents are fully aware of the incredible opportunities it offers. This platform isn't just about recognition; it's a gateway to showcasing the immense possibilities and potential within our industry. Keeping our creative minds informed about these possibilities is key to nurturing and fostering ground-breaking talent within our region.”

DESIGN LOTUS AND PRINT & OUTDOOR CRAFT LOTUS:

Ashwini Deshpande is part of the core group that steers the Design Alliance Asia consortium. She is an active founding member of Association of Designers of India and The Collective, an initiative by women creative leaders to create safe workplaces, and advisor to Indian Creative Women that promotes diversity. Impact Magazine has featured Ashwini among 50 Most Influential Women in Media for seven consecutive years and she is included in Campaign India’s A-List. Among her impressive collection of awards is the Design for Asia Special Culture Award by the Hong Kong government, given for edited the Colours of Asia book that she edited.

DIGITAL & SOCIAL LOTUS, DIGITAL CRAFT LOTUS AND MOBILE LOTUS:  

As the founding partner of I&CO, a global innovation firm with offices in NY and Tokyo, Rei Inamoto leads the vision of the firm as well as its overall output. He brings a unique perspective to creative work, with expertise built on broad international experience in Asia, Europe and the US as well as an unusual combination of background in advertising, design and technology. Prior to I&CO, Inamoto spent over a decade at AKQA as Chief Creative Officer and five years at R/GA. Among his many accolades are being name in Creativity 50 and The Top 25 Most Creative People in Advertising.

ENTERTAINMENT LOTUS, MEDIA LOTUS AND PR LOTUS:

Wendy Chan is the ultimate all-round creative, moving effortlessly between traditional, social, client, pharma and PR during her career. She enjoys using all forms of creative solution to solve business challenge. Chan has won more than 80 awards, including China’s first-ever Cannes Lions. She has been selected as Global top 50 influencer by MM&M in 2019. And top Creative 100 by Adweek in 2020. Her past accolades also include selection as one of the China Top 10 Art Directors in 2007 and she has supported the industry by joining juries at Cannes Lions, Spikes Asia, One Show, ADFEST, LIA, Long Xi and China 4A.

FILM CRAFT LOTUS AND NEW DIRECTOR LOTUS:

Emma Daines is recognised as one of Australia’s most experienced and pioneering VFX producers in Australia, with a career that spans over 35 years. She founded Fin in 2001, the first female-owned and led VFX studio. It now has a core team of over 180 artists in studios in Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore, Shanghai and Los Angeles. In 2022, Daines won the Women in International Business Award at the Australian NSW Premier Export Awards and Titan: Platinum Female Entrepreneur of the Year Award; while Fin Design + Effects won the SHOTS 2022 Asia Pacific award for ‘Best VFX Company of the Year’. Daines also co-founded OWNED, a global coalition with over 200 members, dedicated to championing women in all aspects of commercial production.

FILM LOTUS, OUTDOOR LOTUS, PRESS LOTUS AND RADIO & AUDIO LOTUS:

David Guerrero founded BBDO Guerrero in 1998, after just 10 years in the business. Among its best-known campaigns is WARC Grand-Prix winning global tourism push, “It’s more fun in the Philippines.” Its campaign for P&G’s Pantene tackled the issue of gender-based inequality in the workplace, was recognised by UN Women in New York, and won the ADFEST Effectiveness Grand Prix. And, in a first-of-its-kind partnership, the zero-plastic shampoo bar called “The dissolving bottle”, has just gone on sale in the EU. Guerrero is also a recent Harvard graduate with an MLA in Creative Writing and Literature and his book on creativity, “You have to go through a lot of crap to get to good ideas”, has been nominated for a 2024 National Book Award in the Philippines.

“ADFEST is where our region's rich history of creativity continues to be written. And I expect our 2024 winners to be as surprising, unique, and diverse as the places we each call home. I look forward to working hard with our amazing jury to ensure the ideas that will shape our future get the recognition they truly deserve,” David Guerrero commented. 

ADFEST 2024 is open for entry submissions and delegate registrations. For more information, visit www.ADFEST.com

ADFEST is a non-profit-making entity that believes passionately in its role to nurture and support the creative industry in the Asia Pacific and MENA region. It is one of only 8 regional creative festivals included in the WARC Creative 100 Rankings.