SINGAPORE : The executive chairman of the Banyan Tree Group has
been lauded with the Lifetime Achievement Award at this year's
Singapore Advertising Hall of Fame Awards.
In its citation, the Institute of Advertising said Mr Ho Kwon Ping
"turned a postcard image of ultimate luxury and bliss into a
picture-perfect reality of a strong Singaporean brand."
It said Mr Ho, who is also MediaCorp chairman, was honoured for his
"contributions to education and society, his enduring leadership
and fiery entrepreneurial dreams" that will help raise the
industry's standards.
Said Mr Ho, "When you see how advertising has been used for
pro-bono efforts to stop poverty or end cigarette smoking or end
domestic violence or so on, the power of advertising is really
great
Young people involved in advertising should not be cynical
and be proud of their work."
This year's Awards also saw a 34 percent increase in entries,
indicating growing market confidence, according to industry
watchers.
Eighty-four finalists competed for 18 awards across all
media.
The Institute of Advertising introduced two new awards this
year.
Moove Media walked away with the Ambient Marketing Campaign Award
for "Cows on the Moove", while Profero bagged the Online Campaign
of the Year Award for "Mercedes Benz and Me."
For the third year running, MediaCorp sponsored four awards.
The Young Professional Award went to Regina Chan from Mindshare
Singapore, while Neil Johnson from DDB Worldwide received the
Advertising Professional of the Year Award.
The National Council Against Drug Abuse campaign by Crush
Advertising won the Advertiser of the Year award, and Mindshare
Group Singapore was named the Media Agency of the Year. - CNA
/ct