Creative Minds: Linghui Dai on being an ad maverick by day and gaming ninja by night

 

Name: Linghui Dai (Dai Mao Zi)

 

Origin: Ningbo, Zhejiang, China

 

Places lived/worked: Jiujiang, Jiangxi, Ningbo, Zhejiang, Shanghai (China)

 

Pronouns: She/her

 

CV:

 

Creative group head, Havas Shanghai, 2018—present

1. How did you end up being a creative?

Since I majored in advertising during college, I wanted to choose a job related to my field after graduation and join an advertising company. At the same time, writing is my strength, and coming up with ideas is a natural talent of mine. So, I naturally entered the creative department of an ad company and became a copywriter.

2. What's your favourite piece of work in your portfolio? 

My favourite is 'Don't do advertising'. I participated in this project, although I wasn’t the primary creator. It embodies the efforts of my leader, my boss, and all my colleagues, and it caused a great stir in Industry. 

Although it’s not an international work, I have a deep personal fondness for it because it provoked thought among advertisers in a highly impetuous employment environment in China. Even if it caused resistance and complaints, it still stimulated thinking and discussion, reminding us of our love for advertising.

3. What's your favourite piece of work created by someone else?

At the Cannes Lions Festival, I saw a set of print ads that KFC had done a few years back. The concept was very simple, but the visual impact was explosive. I believe this is an idea I could have come up with in my lifetime, but I lack the clients, environment, and execution team to realise it. As a copywriter, I have a natural longing for visual works.

I have written countless texts and am very eager to have a great art partner to explore the visual side, creating things that, without many words, instantly strike as clever. This is also why I chose to pursue creativity in the first place.

4. What kind of student were you?

I was a big fish in a small pond. I was one of the top students in a not-so-prestigious school, and the teachers favoured me. However, my studies were highly unbalanced. I had a natural talent for Chinese and language-related subjects and could achieve good grades without much effort. Although I was a science student, my performance in science subjects was terrible. I wouldn’t do any exercises during self-study periods, but I would spend the entire evening writing novels. I only like doing things I enjoy and learning subjects that interest me. If I’m not interested, I simply don’t study them!

5. What career did you think you'd have as a kid?

As a child, I wanted to become a writer because I always won prizes in essay competitions. Although I am not a writer now, my work is still related to writing in a way, so I haven’t completely let go of my childhood dream.

6. Do you work best under pressure or when things are calm?

I am a pressure-driven performer. I don’t like pressure, but to be honest, I often achieve better results under pressure because I am generally a laid-back person, and calmness makes me feel bored.

7. Do you have a nickname? If so, how did you get it?

“My nickname is ‘Dai Mao Zi' which literally means 'wearing a hat'—because my last name is Dai and I always have to wear hats, and hats are quite cute as a name.

8. How would your co-workers describe you?

From one of my colleagues: Quite talkative!

9 . Do you have any secret or odd talents?

My nose is very sensitive. If someone farts in the room, I can smell it within three seconds. Even if my boyfriend tries to fart a few meters away from me sneakily, I’ll notice it right away.

10. What food can you not live without and what food would you be happy to never taste again?

I like eating spicy strips, they’re the most delicious thing in the world. I don’t like cilantro, it has a weird taste that makes me nauseous.

11. What's your guilty pleasure? (Don’t limit yourself to food, this could be anything you indulge in.)

I’m addicted to gaming. I can stay up all night playing games without eating or drinking. I often reverse my day and night schedule on weekends. But games are so much fun that I might one day die suddenly because of them.