Unexpected Intros: Maggie Cheung
At DDB, we have a simple belief. That Unexpected Works. It means that the best idea is the one you never saw coming. The thing that catches you so off guard that you can‘t look away. And the only path to genuinely unexpected works is through creativity.
And in order to create awesome works, you need awesome people. Because you can’t make the unexpected if you only work with the usual suspects. In this Unexpected Intros series, we take a peek behind the curtain at some of the diverse thinkers that make up our network, and validate Bill Bernbach’s notion that an idea can turn to dust or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it.
1. Name, Title, Office
Maggie Cheung, Group Business Director, DDB Group Hong Kong
2. Introduce yourself in three emojis.
😬 😏 😅
3. What was your very first job?
My first job was a summer job as a receptionist in a global law firm. I actually got paid pretty well despite my lack of experience. I remember feeling so grown up.
4. How did you wind up in advertising?
I was client-side for the first decade of my career, working in marketing departments engaging with all sorts of agencies/design houses. I thought it seemed a bit more fun to be on their side suggesting ideas to clients, instead of listening and responding to ideas…. I was also curious to see if agencies had always been overcharging me as a client 😏
5. Piece of creative that inspires you?
Snickers “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry”. When they launched it over 10 years ago, I just loved it. Who didn’t love Betty White, right? The insight is just so clever, universal and timeless. There have been plenty of campaigns since that I have really admired but this remains my favourite.
6. What are you currently reading, watching, and listening to?
I don’t read much ‘intellectual stuff’ (unfortunately😅), I read mostly crime thrillers…. For me, this is a way to de-stress, but I haven’t read much lately as I usually read a lot when I travel and there hasn’t been much of that with ongoing travel restrictions in HK recently. So, I’ve moved on to binge-watching Netflix TV series. I’m particularly obsessed with anything by Harlan Coben.
I’ve recently also started to watch a bit of K-drama, and I’m finding out what all the hype is about 😬.
Music I don’t really have specific preferences. I love a lazy Spotify scroll though.
7. What’s a goal/hope/dream of yours?
I’d love to be able to fully dedicate myself to animal rescue, and have a farm somewhere to house lots of rescue dogs running around.
