Sun, Mar 25, 2001 page3

• Jerry Fan gives Lien new look

  Jerry Fan, President Chen Shui-bian's image consultant during the presidential campaign, made headlines when he recently assumed the same position with Lien Chan. Fan, also the executive creative director of the Fantasy Creative Co (ㄈ合創意有限公司), spoke with `Taipei Times' staff reporter Joyce Huang yesterday about his experiences working with both politicians and his first two commercials for the KMT chairman

  • • 
    • 
    • 

  Taipei Times: Although it has been one year since the presidential election, KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) are still seen as competitors in the political arena. Having once been Chen's image consultant, how does that experience of being in the green camp facilitate your ability to update the image of the blue camp's leader?

  Jerry Fan (范可欽): This is not an easy question to answer, because you look at me as someone who has leaped from the green camp to the blue camp.

  

  Jerry Fan, image consultant to KMT Chairman Lien Chan, says that working for Lien and working for Chen Shui-bian are two completely different endeavors.

  PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES

  However, the way I perceive my shift is that these two political heavyweights, though still competitors, have gone through a reversal of their political roles.

  Therefore, as the factors that contribute to their fierce competition vary, I don't relate my advertising strategies in the DPP camp to those in the KMT camp or vice versa.

  To me, participating in KMT camp campaigning is a totally independent experience. Times have changed. We have done a lot of homework to come up new strategies [for Lien] that have nothing to do with Chen.

  Besides, professionally speaking, our relationship as an image consultant with either Chen or Lien is simply contractual. Plus, our contract with Chen ended last March.

  TT: Even so, given the fact that you had worked on Chen's political charisma so thoroughly, you must have discovered at least some of Chen's weak points that you can now turn into targets for Lien to use in negative campaigning.

  Fan: If, hypothetically, I get the chance to join Lien's presidential campaign in three years, I may stand at such a vantage point, and then we can discuss negative campaigning.　As of now, it's still too early to say because we've only produced two commercials for Lien.

  What we've tried to present in these was simply the strategic correlation between the KMT's reforms and consumers' economic concerns [about DPP rule], thereby making the election for chairman more than just the KMT's internal business.

  TT: Since you mentioned the strategic thinking behind the ads, one thing that particularly strikes me is that you seem to have targeted all voters instead of just KMT members. Isn't the slogan -- "The KMT has to make a good showing so that the hard times can pass (國民黨要爭氣,苦日子才會過去)" -- used in the ads meant to attack the DPP government?

  Fan: [Laughing] This is very politically sensitive question. I can only say that our client [the KMT] is delighted to see that the result is a provocative one.

  They would prefer to see [the election] as not just about the KMT's chairmanship but about the negative impact triggered by the transfer of power.

  However, when we were working on production, we aimed to reach out only to KMT members and to those former party members who are no longer in contact with the party. That was our main purpose.

  But if we can influence non-KMT members, such as supporters of the People First Party and the New Party, that would be good, too.

  TT: Some academics have argued that the style you utilize in Lien's commercials is "DPP style." For example, Lien was never a street fighter wearing a red band around his head, as he is shown in your commercials. What's your reaction to this?

  Fan: We will never take advantage of the way we portrayed A-bian to refresh Lien's image, because Lien and Chen are two very different people with different backgrounds, personalities and mannerisms.

  In fact, we tried very hard to shape Lien's unique charisma as a political leader. The reason people tend to criticize us for following the former style is because they all know I've worked for Chen, and so they tend to make that easy comparison, which is not fair to us.

  If I was strictly behind the scenes, they wouldn't have made such a comparison.

  TT: What is the most difficult part of shaping Lien's new image?

  Fan: I'm not shaping Lien's new image. What can two commercials do? Lien's new image can never be shaped with just two commercials. There's more to go. It took us 21 ads to round out Chen's success. Lien certainly has a long way to go.

  TT: So, how many more commercials do you think Lien needs?>

  Fan: [Laughing] At least one more than Chen's 21.

  TT: Seriously, how do you differentiate Lien from Chen?

  Fan: Lien is from a party that has 50 years of ruling experience, while Chen is from the DPP, which rose from the streets and finally seized power.

  However, after their reversal of political positions, both are still adjusting to their roles cautiously and climbing on their learning curves. How much they will achieve politically, during the process, will depend on how they distinguish themselves later.

  TT: Finally, what messages do you think you'd like to deliver to the audience through Lien's commercials?

  Fan: The new face of the KMT. It's positive for people to see that the KMT is trying to make a break from its past. Even though we've also featured the ruling DPP's difficulties, I'd also like the audience to witness the inter-party competition that can make people's lives better.
• Most Popular

  • 1

    Jokic’s 55 point pays off for Nuggets

  • 2

    Thousands evacuated ahead of storm

  • 3

    Detroit Pistons win streak hits seven

  • 4

    Softbank says it has sold its shares in Nvidia, turning focus to OpenAI

  • 5

    Sea alert raised as Fung-wong moves northward