Dirt helps us to embrace our differences

Creative Myths About Asia — Stereotype No.3 The Asian talent that’s available is great at copying but don’t expect any originality.

It’s long been said there’s a lack of original creative talent in Asia. Apparently, very few Asian creative ideas make the journey to foreign shores, but in an increasingly connected world, Asian creativity is finally finding its wings.

We also seem to have short memories, not long ago we were all watching in awe at the creativity of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics or sadly singing along to PSY’s Gangnam style. Originality in Asia is everywhere, and it’s migrating from the cultural fringes to the mainstream just as fast as it can be uploaded to the web.

As a result we are starting to see global creative ideas being developed in APAC for viewership around the globe. Lets take a recent Unilever example to illustrate.

Football is the global game, with something like 3.5 billion fans worldwide, it’s fair to say getting a little dirty on the pitch can truly unite people no matter their shape, size, background or status.

So Unilever’s Breeze set out to celebrate and humanise diversity and discrimination in this short stunning film. In 60 seconds it sets out to tackle almost every discrimination there is; disability, poverty, race, gender and education. Encouraging us yet again to get dirty as “Dirt is good, Dirt helps us learn to embrace our differences”

This was then taken further with the creation of ‘the ball for all’. Unilever took high-resolution photos of the skin of young players, each from diverse ethnic backgrounds, and paired those colours with a matching paint. Each colour then went on to form its own segment of the football. This idea alone leaves the idea brimming with world-class creative thinking.

They then arranged a game between the kids whose diverse ethnicities and backgrounds went into creating the balls’ unique identity. This encouraged the JSSL Singapore International Sevens (Asia’s biggest youth tournament) to use it for all of their games, making ‘The Breeze Ball for All’ the official ball of youth football in Asia.

Using a platform such as football is maybe a little obvious, but it’s nonetheless an ideal way to spark a global movement. Official playing balls used in regular tournaments often create a talking point (take the 2014 FIFA World Cup Ball, for example). The Breeze ball will be seen by players from 160 different teams made up of 13 different nations, as well as 15,000 spectators.

This idea does more than just showcase the outstanding level of talent that exists in Asia, it further emphasises my earlier point that brave, smart work does exist in the region. It takes more balls than footballs to create something that does not adhere to typical advertising conventions.