Rebirth of Asian ad festival

The Spikes, established by Media magazine in 1986, has celebrated creativity in advertising for over 22 years. Held in Bali for the past three years, it has consistently sought to raise the bar for creative excellence and is said to have been instrumental in putting Asian advertising on the global stage.

Terry Savage, chairman of Cannes Lions, said, “We are committed to bringing a great event to Asia. Haymarket has a similar vision and we felt the power of Cannes and the power of Haymarket is a compelling combination that will be well received by the market.”

The objective of the new joint venture, Spikes Asia - The 1st Asian Advertising Festival, is to build the event into the region's largest forum for individuals involved in creativity and communications. It will be positioned as the region's must-attend event, aiming to attract art directors, creatives, copywriters, media agency executives, clients, account managers, agency heads, producers, directors and journalists from the region and globally.

Annual event

The annual event will take place in September. Launching in 2009, it is expected to be held in Singapore - a destination with world-class facilities and the capacity to grow Spikes Asia.

During the festival, delegates will be able to view the most extensive exhibition of creative work from Asia, attend unique topical seminars and workshops and honour winning work at gala awards ceremonies.

The awards competition will be open to companies who produce work that runs in Asia, with the judging conducted live during the event. Five juries composed of top international and regional creatives and industry experts, each led by a jury president, will judge the entries and award the coveted Spikes Asia trophy to the best in press, film, outdoor, radio, cyber, integrated, direct & promo, media, craft, and design.

As part of the event's commitment to developing young talent in the region, the festival will roll out the Young Tigers competition in 2009. This programme will also give young creatives and students a world-class experience during Spikes Asia and an opportunity to learn and be inspired by the best creative minds in the industry.

“Accelerate growth strategy”

Said Tim Waldron, MD of Haymarket Asia, “This venture with Cannes will allow us to accelerate our growth strategy for the Spikes. The Spikes is one of the toughest trophies to win regionally and we believe that is down to the quality of judging. Cannes Lions have that same view, so the decision to work together in building the most important and prestigious awards festival in the region was an easy one.”

Phil Thomas, CEO of Cannes Lions, added, “We aim to build a series of world class regional events to support our global event Cannes Lions. Spikes Awards already has traction in the region and with our festival expertise we will grow the festival into a major force in the region.”