Jury Spotlight: Edward Yeung
This year The ANDYs have added five seats to the “table” for rising stars to participate on the world-class Jury. We believe the more senior jurors can learn just as much from them, as the rising stars can learn from the senior jurors. This unparalleled access is critical to our industry’s future. Edward Yeung, Associate Creative Director with Spotify in New York.
What was your introduction to the advertising industry?
I attended the School of Visual Arts with the hopes of pursuing Design, but ended up double majoring in Advertising because I was told that it would be more scalable and profitable as a career. I had always assumed that I would work at a pure design shop, but when I met with Cynthia Pratomo and Andrew Guirguis at Anomaly, I fell in love with their energies and decided to take my first full-time role there as part of the design team. I’ve always strived to continue to learn and grow, and somewhere along the way, the role “designer” stopped feeling like the right fit. I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to transition into an art director role, and I guess that’s how I landed in the advertising industry.
What is one advertising campaign that you wish you could have been a part of creating?
I have trouble answering questions like these because for so much of my life I was obsessed with this unrealistic goal of perfection. Nowadays I try really hard not to compare myself to others, though many days I fail at that. There are amazing campaigns that I definitely admire, but I try not to let any feelings of jealousy creep in. That being said, I think the #HATEISAVIRUS campaign and community has been so meaningful and inspiring in how it combats the racism towards the Asian and Pacific Islander community. Luckily, this campaign is ongoing, and while I didn’t take part in creating it, I have had the pleasure and privilege of chatting with the folx who did create it, and hope to be involved in whatever way I can this year.
What are you hoping to learn while being a part of the ANDYs Jury?
It still feels surreal that I’m part of an advertising jury, have won advertising awards, and work in the advertising industry, because I don’t think I understand at all what makes good advertising! I hope being part of the ANDYs Jury can help enlighten me. I have never been awards-focused in my career, and I think there have been many instances where I’ll bring an idea to a brief that doesn’t fit what a traditional advertising brain is looking for. I always felt like one day I would just “get it”, but have since let go of that desire.
I’m hoping to learn from points of view that are different from my own. I hope to learn from the wonderful mentee that I have been paired with. And finally, I hope hearing from this diverse range of esteemed professionals on the jury can help me figure out what’s the next step I want to take in my professional life.
As a rising star of the ANDYs Face the Future Campaign, how/what else can the industry do to be more inclusive?
The sad truth is that many people of marginalized communities are not given the same opportunities as our straight White counterparts. Our industry should continue to look for talent in non-traditional ways and our leaders should be taught how to be more open-minded when determining what talent means. There is so much talk about our industry always being more inclusive and I think it’s time that we truly commit to what we preach.
How can we be more inclusive? Literally include more people that you normally wouldn’t for whatever bias you may have. We shouldn’t be satisfied with our efforts when it comes to inclusion because there is always more work that can be done to fight this flawed system that we live in. The scale is tipped so unfavorably already, that even if we think we are doing enough to be inclusive (or in some cases have met some quota), we can always be doing more.
By submitting work into The ANDY Awards, not only may your work be awarded and celebrated widely but funds are earmarked to put towards: charitable donations, scholarships, mentorship programs, and more programs that invest back into the advertising and marketing industry. andyawards.com