Pumani-18: so hot right now

July 21st, 2008

Just two years ago, Asian ‘tiger agency’ Pumani-18 was nothing more than a poky studio in downtown Kuala Lumpur.

Today, Pumani is a creative powerhouse, employing over 400 young creatives under one roof, all of whom are expected to work punishing 14-hour shifts and dress like catwalk models. Hundreds more every day pay the 50 ringgit charge to use the agency’s Mauro Lipparini-designed bathrooms, in the hope of one day bumping into someone who might give them a placement.

But the really interesting story is Pumani’s popularity outside the creative community. In the UK, where business success is rarely celebrated other than in the Apprentice, it’s hard to imagine an advertising startup becoming a household name. But in Malaysia, Pumani-18 has become popular with every level of society, admired by schoolkids and grandmas alike. Indeed, Pumani fever has now reached the point where the agency can get away with billboards like this one:

So who is responsible for Pumani-18’s remarkable rise? Exactly! Hu is responsible, flamboyant bitch creative director Jackie Hu to be exact.

Thanks to his exquisite dress sense, demanding personal style and constant TV appearances, Jackie Hu has become one of the nation’s favourite celebrities. He even has his own fragrance, ‘Hu is She’, which we have been lucky enough to sniff from the slim wrists of the man himself. Verdict: Catty, inspiring

Pumani-18 wins at Cannes

Entry Filed under: Ideas, Pumani-18, advertising