Tourism News

Tourism News Phuketwan Tourism News
facebook recommendations

NEWS ALERTS

Sign up now for our News Alert emails and the latest breaking news plus new features.

Click to subscribe

Existing subscribers can unsubscribe here

RSS FEEDS

Not every passenger approves. Will Phuket's arrival bring tears for Cannes?

Phuket 'Out to Rival' Cannes Global Advert Awards

Monday, June 7, 2010
PHUKET is to be the destination for a ''world-first'' event, the Global Advertising Awards. To be held in February 2011, the awards are expected to boost Phuket tourism, bring hundreds of delegates, and promote the island around the planet.

The organiser of the event, Pat Ferrara, met with Governor Wichai Praisa-ngob today to outline the proposal, which is expected to attract advertising industry leaders from around the world to Phuket from February 20 to February 25. Mr Ferrara, an advertising industry veteran, said the Phuket awards could outdo the existing advertising awards in Cannes and become the ''world's most coveted award'' within three to five years.

A colleague promised that Phuket would receive publicity from the event that would enable it to compete ''with the Caribbean, with Rio, with Miami'' as ''absolutely the place to go.'' Most of all, though, the event would be taking on the existing annual festival in Cannes, which Mr Ferrara said he helped to develop.*

High-fliers from ad agencies on Madison Avenue in New York are expected to be among the visitors to Phuket for the festival, which will mostly be concentrated at the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa, at the beachside resort of Karon.

Awards will cover print, television, radio, the Internet and other media. Phuket can expect to have some brilliant marketing ideas floated.

There to hear the organisers outline the concept were the president of the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organision, Paiboon Upatising, the director of the regional office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Bangornrat Shinaprayoon, Methee Tanmanatragul, former president of the Southern Chapter of the Thai Hotels Association, and other industry leaders.

The gathering heard that despite the existing travel warnings and alerts, Thailand's Commerce Ministry was backing the Global Advertising Awards with 16 million baht in funding. With the support of the Advertising Association of Thailand, the new Phuket awards are expected to quickly establish a regional and global presence.

Mr Ferrara said he planned to fly in representatives from 50 of the world's top advertisers and 50 of the world's top agencies.

He said the Phuket competition and festival would differ from the Cannes competition by avoiding peer judging and having the clients decide winners of the awards. The entry fee for Cannes was too high at 650 Euros for a single entry, he said.

As well as becoming the centre for the most coveted awards in three to five years, Mr Ferrara said that Phuket would ''become a known entity,'' and other world events would follow.

''I think we will be able to place Phuket as a resort of class, a resort of elegance, and a very, very special place for conventions and corporate meetings,'' he said.

He said the clear difference between Phuket and Cannes would be that the Phuket awards would be given '''by the people who pay the salaries.'' ''Over the years, clients have become very, very educated,'' he said.

The entry fee ''is going to be very, very reasonable,'' he added, enabling small agencies who could not previously compete with large agencies to show their genius.

News of the Phuket event is expected to cause considerable interest and controversy in the advertising world, where many hardened copy writers will probably opt to enter and attend both sets of awards.

The Global Advertising Awards already have a perfunctory online presence that Mr Ferrara says will expand considerably once the competition begins.

*We got this wrong. Mr Ferrara helped to develop another set of awards, the Clio awards.

Comments

Comments have been disabled for this article.

gravatar

Another great idea to put Phuket on the front page to the world. Goes hand in hand with the World Expo Plans and the Patong tunnel.

Unfortunately all the hi-so's that attend these events are not subjected to nor see the real problems that exist here. Not one will have to hail a tuk tuk to find their way home, not one will be subjected to time share or tailor shop touts, nor a knife in the ribs outside a 7/11 during their tinted window tours, their bodyguards will see to that. Limo here, limo there. Oh, the lifestyle of the rich and famous.
They will simply share around the 16 mill baht on offer and put very little back into the real economy of Phuket. The 16 mill Govt. funding would be far better spent trying to solve some local issues instead.

Editor: Micro-economics? Phuket also needs macro-economics to stimulate long-term growth.

Posted by innocent bystander on June 7, 2010 16:56

gravatar

"Place Phuket as a resort of class" - compared to Cannes ?

Mr Ferrara is a true entertainer who can certainly make everyone have a good laugh.

That said, promoting Phuket is in everyone's best interest but shooting for the moon with totally unrealistic projections is counter-productive.

Phuket is a great place and has a lot to offer but it is not and never will be anywhere near to world class resort destinations.

This is still very much a third world country, regardless of the window dressing various vested interests try to put up.

Enjoy and promote Phuket for what it is and has. Don't try to sell a pipe dream.

Editor: Cannes has been through tough times and a couple of world wars, and Phuket is just a tourism pup by comparison. The so-called ''third-world'' has been obsolete as a concept for more than 20 years: the globe now consists of developed countries and developing countries. No reason why a developing country cannot aspire to become a developed country. The first event does not sound unrealistic. Let's see what time brings.

Posted by Amazing Thailand on June 7, 2010 17:00

gravatar

It's time for Thailand to realize where it really stands - on the upper rungs of the Third World, nothing more. First the country has to develop to become a really democratic, egalitarian, honest and law-abiding society and then all the rest will follow.

All these high-falutin' ideas just make Thailand look silly. Big talk, no substance.

Editor: This isn't a Thai idea, it's an expat (''first world'') idea, so to dismiss it with same same put-downs is unfair. By the way, the concept of a ''third word'' disappeared with the ''second world'' (Communism) about 30 years ago. These days, there are two kinds of countries: developed countries and developing countries.

Posted by The Infidel on June 7, 2010 20:50

gravatar

1. Too far by plane from New York / London / Paris / Hamburg for a six-day getaway.
2. There is already one, that is working quite well. Peer bias? Really? Ask an ad-man about his customers...
3. Looking farang maybe wrong.

Why not an international festival for ads for Asia?

Posted by Lena on June 8, 2010 03:53

gravatar

I think it's a great idea - a good example of Phuket trying to be different instead of copying something else.

Thais are creative people in advertising, this kind of event is right up their alley (soi!). Ever notice how many design & ad books are in the stores here?

Watch a little Thai TV and you'll see there is world-class ad talent here which lends itself well to this event.

Posted by Philip on June 8, 2010 06:11

gravatar

Thai TV ads are about whitening creme, diet supplements, how beautiful your breath gets, when you use toothpaste (never because you want to keep them healthy) and a magician whom you can trust with your dirty laundry. The Thai ad men like to bully fat girls, ugly boys and people with darker skin. They too often use simple racial stereotypes to play the customers and maybe they have to, otherwise the ads would not work so well. These ads are boring at best. Others would call them offensive and a tool for discrimination against poor, ugly and dark skinned people, because of the underlying negative theme about them.

But you are right. Some of the ads are world class, creative and funny - and mostly for mobile phone services. Other favorite ads of mine last year was this singing girls: "when i was just a liiiitle girl, ...." I nearly cried the first time, I saw it. A second one, was the public get you act together ad, when a bus was rolling the wrong way, because no one tried to help but sitting inside arguing. Just great. A young, vibrant, fancy international advertisement festival should be like a light tower for Thailand's creative industry, inviting and showing off to all Asia and the World. That would make a great festival. But do not try to start with the super bowl. That is doomed from the beginning.

Posted by Lena on June 8, 2010 13:33


Friday March 29, 2024
Horizon Karon Beach Resort & Spa

FOLLOW PHUKETWAN

Facebook Twitter