On My Radar: Nicole Ma

What’s the best ad campaign you’ve seen recently?

A recent favourite campaign of mine is from a Brazilian consumer complaint website, Reclame Aqui. They’ve made an anti-corruption smartphone app called Corruption Detector with facial recognition technology. The app enables anyone to access any politician’s corruption information by simple scanning an image of their face with the app. What I find really interesting about the work is the cultural shift that has now enabled anti-corruption as a subject to become accessible for everyone to participate in. This feels really empowering. 

What website(s) do you use most regularly and why?

I usually use Zhihu (the Chinese version of Quora) and news websites. I’m always curious to understand what is happening in and around the world. I believe it’s important for people working within the creative advertising industry to understand different countries, cultures and how people tick as it’s the prerequisite to producing good work.

What’s the most recent piece of tech that you’ve bought and why?

An air purifier, as the air quality isn’t great in Shanghai where I live.

Facebook, Instagram or Twitter?

It is a pity that all those social networking services are blocked in China, but instead we have [messaging service] WeChat and Weibo.

What’s your favourite app on your phone and why?

I have two favourite apps. The first one is WeChat, and the other is Taobao, for online shopping. They are both incredibly powerful in that they meet almost all my demands as a consumer.

What’s your favourite TV show and why?

A debate programme called U Can U Bibi [Let's Talk]. They invite young people with different and unique views to debate on any chosen topic. It’s quite different from traditional discussion programmes, as it dares to debate on new and contentious topics which have historically not been talked about publicly [in China].

What inspires you?

I am always excited by new briefs and projects: they stimulate my need to keep questioning and growing as a creative director. I can occasionally lose inspiration from time to time but with new briefs, come new questions that I've never encountered before and that challenges me. I usually find that the biggest challenges create the strongest triggers for inspiration.

What film do you think everyone should have seen?

Forrest Gump. "My mom always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.”

What’s the most significant change you’ve witnessed in the industry since you started working in it?

The most significant change I’ve found is not the transition from traditional advertising to digital, but the difficulty in finding good creative talent. In the past, there were so many excellent young people who wanted to join the advertising industry, but now they’re choosing to join brands and tech companies or choosing other professions altogether. This is really worrying, as there’s a real problem in the industry if it cannot attract young talent. I think we all need to pay more attention to this problem.

If there was one thing you could change about the advertising industry, what would it be?

For me, I think it’s essential we change our own value recognition to make sure the advertising industry is respected again. First and second party providers aren’t in a one-way relationship and should treat each other as partners.

What or who has most influenced your career and why?

I’m very self-motivated when it comes to my career. I’m driven by my love of advertising and it makes me want to grow, study and work in this field. No matter what difficulties I have, I never forget that, and there is no other reason.

Tell us one thing about yourself that most people won’t know…

I always like to buy a local book when travelling or on a business trip. English, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Spanish, French, etc. Although I don’t always understand it, I like to enjoy the feeling that I’ve essential bought the feelings of the author who wrote it.