Q&A with BBH China’s Johnny Tan

BBH China chief creative officer Johnny Tan sat down with Miranda Ward at Spikes Asia to discuss the need for creative nuance in China, the overuse of the word content, risk averse clients causing scam and how hard it is to find staff with talent.  

How can international or Australian brands flourish in China?

I think from an advertising standpoint the most important thing is for brands to stay curious about this culture and be respectful about it.

I’ve worked on many global brands where they’re from the perspective of New York or London or even in this region, and far too often there are people who still talk about ‘one size fits all’, ‘why can’t we just re-cast in Asians but in the same spot?’ Or ‘oh yeah, this is a universal truth it will work everywhere’. No it isn’t, the nuances are so different.