Singapore , 29 March 2007 – The Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Singapore announced today the appointment of Calvin Soh, Chief Creative Officer of Publicis Asia, President/Creative Director of Fallon Asia, as Chairman of the Singapore Creative Circle Awards 2007 (CCA).   

Soh has won Golds and Silvers in One Show, Lions at Cannes , silver nomination and commendations in D&AD and top honours at Asian regional shows, and was ranked No. 1 in Asia in 2000 by Campaign Brief.

He was headhunted in 1999 to work in Fallon NY and Minneapolis across fortune 500 clients like Citibank, United Airlines, EDS etc.

A natural leader, a client advocate, and a highly regarded creative person in Asia-Pacific, Soh returned to Singapore in 2002 to set up Publicis groupe-owned Fallon Asia.

“Traditionally, the CCA has been a showcase of local talents for the global ad industry. We're long past that stage now. What the CCA should be is a showcase of global talents for global clients. For our industry to grow, we need to be outward looking, not inward. CCA needs to be a show that commands respect from our peers, that part will never change. However, it needs to command respect from our clients as well, who ultimately are purchasers of our product. And we can bridge that gap by rewarding brilliant ideas without having to resort to measured effectiveness either. The CCA will also continue to evolve like our industry has. Digital used to be this small monkey in the room, left to do its own thing. Well it's grown to be a 900-pound silver backed gorilla and like it or not, we have to embrace it,” says Soh of the direction for CCA 2007.

“As such, the CCA will be a celebration of creativity, regardless of medium. This change will naturally be an evolution but change it must and change it will,” added Soh.

Since its inception in 1980, the annual Singapore Creative Circle Awards (CCA) has been the event of the year for creative professionals in the advertising and marketing communications industry in Singapore . Over the past 26 years, the stringent judging standards maintained at the CCA have challenged local industry professionals and helped Singapore grow its reputation as one of the world leaders for print advertising.

Last year, a total of 1,655 entries were received, representing an 8% increase over the last event and is the second highest record in the history of CCA.

About the Singapore Creative Circle Awards (CCA)
Since 1980, the Creative Circle Awards (CCA) has been instrumental in pushing creativity to the edge and in the process raising the creative bar year after year. Over the past years, CCA have challenged local industry professionals and helped Singapore grow its reputation as one of the world leaders for print advertising. The winning entries bear testimony to the high standards that CCA is known for and most of our top award winners have gone on to capture awards in international shows such as Cannes International Advertising Festival, Clio Awards, The One Show, D&AD and many others.

Organised by the Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Singapore (4As), the awards encompasses all aspects of creative communications with awards given out in four major disciplines - Advertising, Design, DM & Promo and Interactive.

The award presentation or more popularly known as The Gong Show is a well celebrated event of the Singapore ad industry. As the Oscars of the industry, it has consistently attracted some 1,000 people coming together each year to celebrate and recognize the creativity and craftsmanship of our top advertising talents.

About 4As (Association of Accredited Advertising Agents, Singapore)
The Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Singapore was founded in 1948. Better known as the 4As, this non-profit trade association represents advertising and marketing communications practitioners, agencies and related businesses in Singapore. The 4As works in close co-operation with other related trade associations, schools and government bodies to nurture talent and to improve the stature and prominence of the advertising and marketing communications industry. Among the key events organised and promoted by the 4As are the Singapore Creative Circle Awards or the Gong Show; the Students Creative Awards, commonly known as The Crowbars; and the Singapore Media Awards.