Ever since it was founded as a British trading post in 1819, Singapore has been a destination for visitors from far-flung places. Writers, artists, illustrious personalities, adventurers and merchants, all came to the “Crossroads of the East”. In 2007 this dynamic city was the destination for the global jury of the inaugural World Press Awards.

Print advertising is a classic, timeless communication channel nestled in today’s modern dynamic digital media landscape. So, it was fitting that the judging took place in one of the world’s most famous 19th century hotels, Raffles. Rising up around this legendary national icon was the Singapore cityscape with its towering, glassy, modernist structures epitomising 21st century chic.

The show was immaculately organised and orchestrated to perfection by Neil French, who was the perfect host of a very enjoyable week.

We all congregated on Day 1 to be comprehensively briefed by Neil. The room was full of hundreds of print advertisements from the four corners of the world. The work showcased the rich diversity of writing styles, art direction and skills associated with great print advertising.

Newspapers and magazines are a personal choice and an emotionallyled experience. Readers’ emotions develop throughout their journey from front cover to back. Advertising has to break into the reader’s flow. Ideally, the way through is simple, visual and relevant. Great print has to credit the reader with intelligence and reward, inform, entertain and deliver something useful and meaningful to them. Strong visual engagement is vital to making a connection with the reader. You have to grab them by the eyeballs. This reflects the level of importance attributed to photographs, illustrations and imagery in newspapers and magazines. People rapidly sift when they read. They make instant decisions. The way words and pictures combine and connect with the reader are vital to the success of an advertisement. Are they interested? Or will they just turn the page?

The cull began. There seemed to be a general consensus of the finest work, given the number of coloured stickers on particular ads. The chosen short-listed work was placed on a table and the rejected work was thrown onto big piles. A graveyard of discarded ads littering the floor.

The best work was extremely fresh, both conceptually and executionally. The work that stood out made a strong emotional connection and treated viewers with the utmost respect. They were superbly engaging and invited me to involve myself in the story.

For example, a genuinely fresh campaign for Havaianas from Brazil caught my eye on Day 1 and really stood out. It was an all-copy campaign that was both visually engaging and successful in capturing the DNA of the brand. The ad celebrated Havaianas’ vibrant personality with spectacular art direction, typography and intelligent copywriting. “Havaianas. Worn in Ibiza where they wear nothing.” The typography was original and was a potent, harmonious combination of words and pictures.

Another piece of work I admired was for Playstation 2 from Paris. Again the visual engagement was outstanding. God is in the details, and the craft and art direction of this piece was truly world-class. It captured the brand personality in such a compelling, original and intelligent way that it literally took you into the mind of the gamer.

A fine example of brilliant print advertising was the Stuffit Deluxe campaign from New York. In print, you have the opportunity to have a one-to-one conversation with the reader. This piece of work was a hugely rewarding communication because the art direction was immaculate and visually robust. I particularly liked “A Japanese tourists’ guide to New York”. (This consisted of a series of tiny photographs of the same subject matter, the Statue of Liberty. The way we design our ads is vital to their success.) This was pure design and a wonderful visual feast.

Other great works that stood out and was admired by the jury were campaigns for Mercedes-Benz, 42 Below Vodka, East Timor, Gambling Helpline, Clima Bicycles and Marmite Squeezy.

An award show is only as good as the jury and this new show has set a remarkably high bar. The annual will be a wonderful showcase of the world’s finest press advertising.

At the end of the judging we retired to the terrace of the Raffles Hotel, the birthplace of the legendary Singapore Sling, for a well-deserved drink. Our work was complete.