Creative Q&A: Y&R Malaysia's Edward Ong

How did you get into advertising?
Advertising got into me, more like. I studied marketing and was going to be a ‘consultant’. At that time, I had no idea what the title meant but it sounded vaguely interesting and could conceivably make me more popular with the ladies. Nothing to lose.

Found the local management consultancy (and by local, I mean within walking distance of my house) and applied for a job. Turns out their main business was to organise management/ marketing seminars. Was paid only slightly less than the guy flipping burgers at the fast food joints but hey, I was on my way to being a ‘consultant’.

After a while, I volunteered to conduct a couple of seminars on I think, the dress code of Marvel superheroes but there was little or no reaction from the bosses. Instead, I ended up writing brochures for upcoming seminars and book reviews of the speakers. All these happened during pre-internet days so one had to actually read those tomes. That’s when I discovered a love of writing. Or perhaps in desperation realised I couldn’t do anything else. Took up a part time copywriting course and 17 years later, here I am.

What was your first ever ad?
It was a brief from a cosmetics company. They needed an ad for lip liners. Pretty straightforward stuff. I was twenty-something and up to that point in my life, it never occurred to me to ask my girl friends or any female within close proximity what a lip liner was. To the suits, it was as if I knew everything there is to know about lip liners and more. As soon as they left the room, I phoned and asked my mom; and for the tenth time that week, she asked me when am I going to get a real job.

What was your first ever job?
Keeping scores during bowling tournaments. The world hadn’t yet invented automatic score counters so somebody had to manually tabulate the points. The bowlers didn’t seem to mind if I accidentally recorded a strike when they hit a split but usually got pretty upset the other way around.

What was your worst job ever?
There’s no such thing as a great job or bad job. A job is simply what you do to make a living. It doesn’t define who you are as a human being. That lousy job you’ve been complaining about with the boss from hell? It’s the same job that’ll push you to question what is it that you really love doing or what are you really good at. It may push you to your next job where you’ll meet your life partner or help you discover your true calling. In the final analysis, was it then the worst job ever? Hmmm.

What does it take to impress you?
Far as I know, I’m president of 'The people who are easily impressed' society. Anybody with a head, torso and limbs (movable or otherwise) is pretty impressive. Sometimes more pretty than impressive. The problem only starts when they open their mouth.

Where do you go to be inspired?
You have to see things with new eyes. Two people can walk through the same boring park and both will have completely different experiences. Having said that, it’s not really physical places that inspire me. The most inspirational place I’ve had the pleasure of visiting is the human heart. Real life stories. Dreams, hopes and fears harboured within. Sad tales. Happy memories. Different ways of looking at the world. Nothing beats that.

If you can spend one day with a celebrity or historical figure, who would it be? Why?
Adam? He was first person that ever lived, and was given the task to name all the animals. You gotta be pretty smart to do all that. Also, the man was born fully formed and didn’t have the benefit of going to Harvard or come to think of it, pre-school even. He was taught by the big Guy himself. Be interesting to hear Adam’s views on gardening, farming, languages, geography and talking snakes. The only request I’d make is that he put on some proper clothes and not walk around the garden naked or with a fig leaf around his waist.

What is your guilty pleasure?
Buying books. Comics mostly. I read a lot of non-fiction, and am not really into superheroes leaping over tall buildings in brightly coloured spandex. Also, I find it hard to accept why saving the world is best done when you’re dressed as a bat and your sidekick is an underage boy wearing his swimming trunks and little else.

If you have to come back as an animal, what would you be? Why?
Some kind of fish? Preferably something that tastes horrible to anything with a stomach. I’d want to be able to swim everywhere and anywhere. Don’t mind giving up my arms and legs just to able to see what two thirds of the world looks like. Come to think of it, that’s how much it’ll cost you these days.

What is the last book you read?
A people’s history of the American empire by Howard Zinn. It’s somewhat thick with lots of nice pictures. Actually, a better title would be 'America’s Top 40 sins’ but not in a perverted kind of way. The last page left me with a cynical taste of America. The rest of the book gave me enough fodder for dinner table conversation with a foreign client.

What is the first thing you do when you wake up?
Uh, try to go back to sleep. Or continue with whatever dream I was in the middle of. Am usually rather rude to whoever wakes me up so it’s best to let things lie.

Worst haircut you've ever had?
My last haircut was when I was four years old. You must be referring to the hair implants. It’s manageable. No complains really.

Describe your typical day.
Like riding a rollercoaster. Why any sane person would pay to sit in one at a theme park is beyond me. Everything’s happening at the same time and they’re all wanted yesterday. Then there’s the deluge of emails. Answering one is like lopping off a head of Hydra. As soon as one goes, another two takes its place. Occasionally, I’m asked to attend a focus group which I’ve since discovered, is anything but focused.

Can you suggest a question for our next Q&A candidate?
What would you do if you were stuck in a room with yourself?

If you had a personal zoo that could only have three animals, which three animals would you pick? (question provided by BBH Asia-Pacific's Noel Yeo)
I’d pick creatures that once existed or animals that, thank heavens, never will. First, the unicorn. More than a horse with hardened hair follicles, it’s always been a magical, fascinating creature for as long as I can remember. Second, the Cheshire Cat. Its smile alone makes it the Mona Lisa of the animal kingdom. And finally, the luckdragon from the Neverending story. Oh, the places you’ll go.