Title: Deputy Chairman and Executive Creative Director, Naga DDB, Malaysia
Ted Lim looks more like an accountant than a creative director.This may have something to do with the way he runs Naga DDB – with a heart for creativity and a head for business.
The English Literature graduate spent the last 20 years building some of Malaysia’s most famous household names like DiGi, Perodua, Tourism Malaysia, ASTRO and Appeton, while moving international brands like Panasonic, BMW, Energizer and Nippon Paint.
Along the way, he helped Naga DDB win over 50 new business pitches and grew the MYR 20 million agency into a MYR 200 million creative powerhouse.
Under his watch, the agency picked up 3 Agency Of The Year Awards and was voted Advertising+Marketing’s Creative Agency Of The Year by clients on the back of a string of accolades that included Malaysia’s first D&AD Yellow Pencil, 5 Cannes Lions, 4 Clio Awards, 2 One Show Pencils and only Asia-Pacific Effie.
For his troubles, Ted was inducted into the Malaysian Advertising Hall of Fame, named the country’s top creative director by Campaign Brief Asia and AdoiMagazine.com editor’s choice for most successful creative director.
He credits Shakespeare for teaching him why people do the things they do and Bernbach for showing him how to persuade people to do the things he would like them to.
Today, Ted sits with the DDB Worldwide Creative Leadership Council in New York and helps run the DDB Asia-Pacific regional creative review when he is not busy running Naga DDB in Malaysia, spends too much time at work and too little with his kids.
The bread-and-award winner has served as Jury President at AdFest and the Kancil Awards, judged at D&AD, Clio, the Australasian AWARD and YoungGuns.
He also headed AWARD School.
Despite the hype, Ted is probably not the easiest person to spot at a creative convention. Try looking for the guy without the ponytail.
