Leo Singapore’s Asheen Naidu talks Creativity, Culture, and Singapore’s creative evolution in the latest m25 Global Creative Series
Over the past few months Campaign Brief Asia has featured interviews with leading Asia based creatives in their m25 Global Creative Series. Today’s interview features Asheen Naidu, Group Executive Creative Director at Leo Singapore – a highly-awarded and respected creative leader whose career has spanned South Africa, New York, Australia, and Singapore. With accolades including a rare D&AD Black Pencil and a Cannes Lions Grand Prix earned while ECD at BWM Dentsu Sydney, he believes in the power of bold, impactful ideas and is now navigating Singapore’s rapidly evolving advertising landscape.
Can you tell us about your journey to the Group ECD role at Leo Singapore. What inspired you to pursue this career in Advertising and what challenges you faced while carving your niche?
Unlike a lot of creatives, I’ve wanted to be in advertising since I was 13. A bit nerdy, I know. I was lucky to grow up in South Africa, where there was an abundance of fun, entertaining and memorable ads everywhere you looked. Or at least it seemed that way to me. I had my favourites, but I couldn’t help but feel I could do a better job at most of them. I went to the library and learned about what it would take to get into advertising and my mission was set. Over the years, I’ve been lucky to work in my native South Africa, New York, Australia and here in Singapore.
In terms of challenges, country-specific differences, technology, changing media landscapes, and the evolving role of ad agencies are just some that have popped up. But no matter the change, a good idea and a surprising solution to a problem will always win.
Which project stands out as the most memorable for its impact on your market or region?
My favourite piece is for NRMA Insurance in Australia, where we built a car out of all the extras that competitors didn’t automatically cover. It was the perfect example of how a surprising solution can really stand out and get people’s attention and engagement.
How has the Singapore advertising market transformed over the past decade, and what factors have driven this change?
I think Singapore has always been solid when it comes to hard-working regional work, but has typically struggled to tip that over into category-redefining or world-first type of work, which really captures people’s imaginations. Global fame and freshness of ideas used to only come from smaller clients. However, over the last few years, with the likes of “Vaseline Verified”, Heineken’s “Trust Bars” and some of the global Samsung work from BBH, we’re seeing Singapore punch well above its weight on big, global brands.
In what ways is Singapore positioning itself on the global advertising stage, and what unique strengths does it offer that resonate with international brands?
Singapore is a regional hub for a lot of global brands. Besides the obvious advantage of geography, I think the biggest strength lies in the fact that it’s a melting pot of cultures, languages and traditions. In our small Singaporean advertising community, we have people not just from the region but from all over the world. So, there are creative minds here that, when working together, can speak to cultures locally as well as all across South East Asia and the world, with a very fresh approach. As a Global brand, you have a wide variety of perspectives, seeded in rich, diverse backgrounds. Pair that human intelligence with AI and the technology Singapore is so adept with, and you have a really exciting and potent offering.
How do local cultural values and creative storytelling influence advertising strategies in Singapore?
Besides the iconic “Singapore Girl” for SIA, which has been running since the 70s, more recent work like “It’s not crazy. It’s the Navy” has stood out as good examples of how to tap into national pride in a really cool way. And a recent example from Leo Singapore is the McDonald’s LoveSG campaign, where we identified McDonald’s Garlic Chilli Sauce as the national sauce of Singapore and sent out 40,000 sachets to Singaporeans in 10 cities across the world, giving them a taste of home on National Day. On the whole, I feel like Singapore does tap into local insights well, but perhaps we could see that brought to life in more unexpected ways.
With the rapid adoption of digital tools and AI, how is technology reshaping creative
processes and outcomes in the Singapore advertising industry?
I’d like to think we’re embracing it as a country. We certainly are at Leo and Publicis Groupe. I think AI can help us get to great, much faster, which is helpful when our turnaround times have shrunk so drastically. The combo of human and artificial intelligence is where it’s at. But, as in other markets, we’re still trying to figure out how to really get the most out of it.
There are lots of examples of hyper personalisation and scaling, but not many beautiful pieces of creativity that have come out as a result of it. I think the opportunities lie in connecting those two aspects. I think of ‘Shah Rukh Khan My Ad’ from India, which brought together those two things so beautifully. Those are the kinds of spaces we can and should be exploring more.