James Tan’s SpongeBob-like Curiosity Is What Drives Him
“Words and I go way back, to a time when I would constantly find myself penning down every fleeting thought,” says Cheil UAE’s associate creative director James Tan. The creative began his career as a copywriter many years ago, something that came to him quite naturally from a young age. Now, as he puts together creativity and strategy to create impactful work for clients, he’s come to see the benefits of combining the two to find creative solutions.
Exploring his time working in Southeast Asia and the UAE, sharing how things occasionally get lost in translation and why SpongeBob inspires him day-to-day, James speaks to LBB’s Nisna Mahtani.
LBB> How did your personal creativity transpire during your childhood?
James> As a kid, I used to daydream a lot in class. All the chatter would fade, the teacher’s voice would become a distant echo, and the walls would narrow in, as my mind wandered away from the classroom, down the busy hallways, across the school canteen, and into the principal’s office – where I would often find the stern eyes of my mom staring back at me.
When I got home, my toys would be there to greet me, calling me out to play with them, drowning out my mom’s furious rant in the background. And at the end of the day, while in bed reading a book, words would come alive telling me stories of where they’ve been. I was pretty much in my own world growing up. I didn’t call it creativity. It was my solace, my escape, my reality.
LBB> When you chose to go down the creative career pathway, how did you hone your skills?
James> I took the perilous journey up the mountain, sat under trees to meditate, practised my moves under a waterfall in slow motion, caught fish with my bare hands blindfolded, and slashed my way through the bamboo forest. In a less crouching tiger, hidden dragon context, the mountain was my daily grind at work, the constant time and effort I put into every job.
Trees were the awards and everyday work that I exposed myself to, pondering, dissecting, and questioning why and how the ideas came to be. The waterfall was the barrage of campaigns where I got to apply what I learnt and the fish were the multiple projects that I constantly dipped my hands into – learning from the successes and failures. Lastly, slashing through the forest was about having the resilience to just keep pushing forward, despite the never-ending resistance and obstacles. You live, you learn. Nothing comes easy.
LBB> How did you decide on copywriting as a profession and what were some of the campaigns which inspired you to get into the industry?
James> Well, given that my doodles were more like primitive cave drawings, I decided to turn to a less controversial form of expression – copywriting. After all, words and I go way back, to a time when I would constantly find myself penning down every fleeting thought. Also, I have always been intrigued by how ideas and words have the potential to shape perceptions through different narratives painting different realities.
So, I guess my becoming a writer just seemed like a natural fit. That said, instead of calling out campaigns, I’d rather attribute how I got into advertising to random conversations with friends who happen to be in the industry, and a little old bookstore back home, Basheer, where I used to spend hours flipping through award books and magazines like US Ad Review and Lürzer’s Archive – which unexpectedly tore a hole in the space-time continuum, pulling me into an alternate universe, and spawning this current version of who I am today.
LBB> Talk us through the first job you had and some of the most valuable lessons you learned during that formative time.
James> Stumbling into advertising was an unexpected occurrence, a series of random events falling out and into place, which eventually led me to my first job as a copywriter. The pay was shit, the hours were long, and the dropout rate for newbies like me was high.
What I got out of those formative years (and still getting some), is to be more like SpongeBob. Yep. Always be curious, question everything, and be a sponge. Observe, absorb, and retain knowledge and experiences from everyone and everything around you. Then shamelessly squeeze out and filter what you’ve learnt and apply sparingly. And like how SpongeBob does it at the Krusty Krab, put in the time and effort in your craft, get your hands dirty, work hard and stay dedicated to flipping Krabby Patties. The more you do, the more you’ll learn. Lastly, always leave a little crazy in you, as a buffer to let loose, have fun and be dumb. There’ll always be a Plankton out to get you (your doubts, fears, critics), so keep up the ability to laugh things off, move on, and stay tuned for the next episode of WTF coming your way.
LBB> Who inspires you and where do you find inspiration in your own work?
James> I like to think I’m not the only person in the crowd with voices of different people, things or personas conjured up from the mystical realm of imagination. Here, where fantastical creatures, sci-fi landscapes and a multiverse of realities collide, these characters speak to me as their voices become a string of beautiful words falling into place, on pieces of paper – inspiring the next poem, idea, script, or campaign line I write.
But to be honest, in reality, this wonderous process (that I wished was the case), is usually just a regurgitation of gibberish mess that I often find myself sifting through to make sense of. The thing is, inspiration usually comes when you least expect it, after letting your thoughts marinate overnight, with writing stuff out again and again, and from taking the time to talk and hear from others. You can’t force it. You just have to let it happen.
LBB> With a background in copywriting, what do you believe is the key to writing content that engages with an audience? What are some of the key things to keep in mind?
James> Every brand is like a stranger invading a party, coming in unannounced and uninvited. Naturally, it’s going to be awkward for everyone in the room if our conversations and content aren’t relevant or interesting enough for our audience to engage with and relate to. For me, it’s not just about what we’re saying, or how we’re saying it. It’s also how we can create more meaningful connections between the brand and our audiences, without forcing products or services in their faces.
That said, I believe there should be a fine balance between:
1) Creating content that builds brand affinity from a local context by tapping into specific areas of interest that are both beneficial and purposeful to key audiences and the brand.
2) Creating content on a product and service level that meets business objectives in a way that speaks to someone, rather than just telling them.
Also, it’ll be good not to generalise your audiences and have one-size-fits-all mass communication, because talking to everyone could ultimately mean you’ll end up relating to no one. If you have to, then at least be entertaining, keep it real, and be so damn different you’ll leave a lasting impression. It’s not always about ROI, numbers, and sales figures, sometimes it’s more about how you make someone feel about you, or themselves that makes all the difference. Little by little, it’s often how real change and impact happens.
LBB> You combine creativity with strategy and solutions-based work for clients. Can you tell us a little more about this approach?
James> A lot of the time, I feel the line between strategy and creativity is blurred, and often confused. Strategy is the seed of creativity, not the other way around. Having a well-thought-out strategy built on real insights and opportunities, that identifies specific approaches and tactics is key to defining or even inspiring good creative campaigns and executions. Without a clear and defined strategic direction, it’s like calling the creatives to charge into battle, to eventually realise that the enemy, or rather the brand’s business and marketing objectives, are in a completely different place.
As marketers and strategists, we need to dig deeper, be more informed of the possibilities and limitations of creativity, and be more objective than subjective. After all, seeing beautiful visuals doesn’t do or mean much if they’re not saying anything. This is why I believe that strategy is an integral part, the foundation of any creative execution and communication. A good one has the legs to go the distance, to create meaningful stories, touchpoints and experiences. And for creative solutions to be more effective, it always helps to narrow the strategy down to one single, simple, clear and distinct direction – which for those who have been there, understand that this simplicity isn’t always easy to nail.
LBB> You worked in Southeast Asia before moving to the Middle East. What made you keen to make the change?
James> Before moving to the Middle East, I never really felt the need to be anywhere else. I was happy in my little bubble – on a tiny red dot in middle earth, which I called home. Family. Friends. Food. Love. Work. I had everything I could ever need. However, when the opportunity to move to the Middle East came knocking, it sparked my curiosity and I went from all the ‘whys’ to ‘why not?’. I guess for me, it’s always better to try and know for yourself, than to be left wondering, ‘what if?’. And in doing so, you find out more about yourself. Looking back, I’m glad I made the leap. Imagine all the experiences and stories I would have missed out on if I didn’t. Grow with the flow. I suppose the more you do, the more you become.
LBB> In terms of creating content specifically for a region, what are the differences between Southeast Asia and the Middle East? Equally, what are some of the similarities?
James> The most obvious differences as you know, are culture and language – especially when it comes to creating content for a specific region. For example, we once had a Korean client, who wanted to create a TVC to launch its services in Egypt. To be culturally relevant, the approach was to be light-hearted, funny – typical Egyptian humour.
I initially wrote the context and conversations of the script in English, which was then Arabized and made funnier. However, when it came to getting approvals from the main clients in Korea, the script was back-translated from Arabic to English and then to Korean. The clients in Korea didn’t feel it was funny enough, and made their changes accordingly, which was then translated back to English and then to Arabic again. You can imagine that this went back and forth quite a few times, with everyone coming from three different cultural and language backgrounds, wondering WTF is happening to this Frankenstein of a script.
No one was really happy with the end result. The thing is, even though everyone had good intentions, somehow when an idea or execution goes cross-continental, and too many personal opinions get in the way, a lot will be lost in translation. That said, the moral of the story is to create content that’s relevant to your audience in your region, it helps to trust in the initial idea, those with the experience to do so, and not overly complicate the process with unnecessary details.
LBB> What’s some advice you’d give to your younger self?
James> I’ll start off with all the winning lottery numbers for the past 20 years, tips on the stock market and investment opportunities (hell yeah!), and then go on a long rant to my younger self on the list of regrets and disappointments in life, to which he’ll probably start zoning out. So, I guess I would simply say. Know yourself. And keep being you.
