Cover For Hung Vo, the journey towards becoming one of Asia’s most influential marketing figures is by no means a series of undefeated triumphs in the media world
For Hung Vo, the journey towards becoming one of Asia’s most influential marketing figures is by no means a series of undefeated triumphs in the media world
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We began our conversation with Mr Hung Vo with a simple question: After two decades in the industry, who do you see yourself as in the world of media and marketing?
There are paths defined by growth, by quiet contemplation, by the subtle bruises that time and profession leave behind—alongside those moments when you look back and realise you’ve never stopped learning. For Hung Vo, the journey towards becoming one of Asia’s most influential marketing figures is by no means a series of undefeated triumphs in the media world, but rather resembles what he describes as a journey of “108,000 miles.” A journey where Hung Vo has had the privilege of being part of a creative ecosystem, one that fosters beauty, truth and humanity and allows these values to quietly ripple outward.
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Listening on behalf of the “applied anthropologist”
Above I see myself as an applied anthropologist who listens, who tells human stories using a language that is tender, emotional, and unfailingly kind
I see myself as an applied anthropologist who listens, who tells human stories using a language that is tender, emotional, and unfailingly kind
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Hung Vo, reflecting on your journey, how would you answer the question, “Who are you” in today’s marketing landscape?
I’ve never thought of myself merely as an “advertiser” or someone in “commercial services.” I see myself as an applied anthropologist who listens, who tells human stories using a language that is tender, emotional, and unfailingly kind. To me, marketing is a door. A door that opens into the inner world of the human mind, where every behaviour stems from something, and every emotion conceals an untold story. We cannot approach media by boxing people into demographic grids. We need to look beyond the data to the human being: someone in love, someone heartbroken, a pair of trembling hands holding a newborn for the first time, or someone quietly seeking the meaning of life. A good marketer blends the intellect of a scientist with the soul of a storyteller. It’s not about speaking well, it’s about understanding deeply. About reaching the complex gently, and allowing people to feel it simply.
With a world moving so fast, how can marketers avoid being swept up while staying grounded in their humanistic core?
No manipulation. No assumptions. Just dialogue.
In my work, I hold to a very personal principle: that communication must be civilised and compassionate. If we grab attention but fail to foster understanding, then we’ve done little more than make noise, and that is not the heart of this profession. I believe in the educational function of marketing - not in the academic sense, but in the sense of illumination. Helping people see life more clearly, feel it more deeply, and connect more meaningfully. I don’t want to craft campaigns that leave people anxious, suspicious, or turned into passive consumers. I want to reach the human part within each of us, that quiet place where gentleness, vulnerability and kindness still live. Real marketing isn’t about stoking desire. It’s about walking alongside people as they come to understand what they truly need, and slowly grow into the freer, better version of themselves they’re reaching for.
For me, three qualities define a true marketer, qualities I seek without compromise: relentless curiosity, sharp perception, and a vivid imagination. The world never stops shifting, yet our emotional landscapes remain deeply familiar. Today’s marketer must be attuned to those emotional curves, able to read them through the different stages of life, and position the brand not just in the market but in rhythm with the human journey.
Above I’ve grown used to “lighting the fire and retreating”
I’ve grown used to “lighting the fire and retreating”
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You once shared that every campaign you do must touch on human factors. Can you share the moments that made you absolutely believe in this value?
Take the Go To Return campaign, season nine, for instance. We didn’t say: “Buy Biti’s shoes,” but rather, “We’ve known each other for eight years.” It was a familiar and tender reminder, gently opening a space for personal memory and reflection.
Or in the 40-year Biti’s campaign, instead of promoting the product, I posed a question: “What does this 40-year journey mean to young Vietnamese today?” From there, the message evolved, not as a marketing pitch but as a generational exchange and a cultural reflection.
Do you ever feel like a lone pioneer? When strategic thinking is often the first thing to be forgotten after the limelight?
There is a loneliness that comes with it. When a campaign succeeds, the spotlight often falls on the creative director, the filmmaker, the talent. The person who asked the foundational question usually steps back, quietly. I’ve grown used to “lighting the fire and retreating.” I don’t need my name remembered, only that the idea lingers in people’s hearts. Strategy means choosing to remain in the shadows. Not to dim the light, but to allow it to travel further.
There are three essential qualities I always seek in a true marketer and never waver on: an insatiable curiosity, a finely tuned sensibility, and a vivid imagination.
Turning to education, you always humbly calls yourself a “sharer” instead of an “educator”. Why?
Because I believe that education is not about imposing knowledge, but about meeting people where they are. The name Young Marketers comes from gratitude. I’ve received so much from this profession, it feels only right to return the favour. For the past 12 years, our philosophy has remained constant: nurturing individuals, inspiring the right values, and defending human integrity in marketing, no matter the cost.
I don’t fear my students surpassing me. What I fear is not having enough time or strength to give them all that I should.
Projects such as EduStation and Future Impact Academy are born of this same spirit. I believe that “the past is the map of the future.” Studying history reveals that our ancestors left behind answers to many of today’s dilemmas. We just haven’t fully understood them yet. EduStation came from a desire to reconnect with our nation’s wisdom. Future Impact Academy is an educational dream where culture, art, psychology and global citizenship form the bedrock for nurturing future-ready individuals.
We don’t learn to imitate. We learn to discover who we are and to live truthfully in that knowledge.
“AI” doesn’t feel pain when it makes a mistake in a campaign
Above To me, AI is a kind of test. It compels us to reflect: What does it mean to be human in a world increasingly programmed? - Hung Vo
To me, AI is a kind of test. It compels us to reflect: What does it mean to be human in a world increasingly programmed? - Hung Vo
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Do you think AI will change and create major disruption in this industry?
AI will certainly alter how we work, but not why we work. It can draft content, generate ideas, deliver data. But it lacks intuition. It has no hunger to grow. No capacity for empathy. And, perhaps most crucially, it cannot feel pain when a campaign misses the mark. What defines a great creator is not the tool they use but the spirit behind it.
AI can help you run. It cannot help you choose the path.
To me, AI is a kind of test. It compels us to reflect: what does it mean to be human in a world increasingly programmed? When nearly everything is automated, what endures, and what remains beyond replication, is our insight, our instinct, and our compassion. These are not data points; they are deeply felt. AI might help you craft the message, but it cannot ask the question that transforms a campaign into a cultural conversation.
I’m not afraid of AI. I’m afraid of a generation that no longer questions, that no longer wonders and no longer feels the human pulse behind a campaign.
Above The brilliance of an idea lies not in its technical execution, but in how deeply it connects with others
Above I believe in standards, not to impose difficulty, but to protect the values of the craft I’ve chosen
The brilliance of an idea lies not in its technical execution, but in how deeply it connects with others
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Young people today have so many options. If you had one piece of advice, what would you say to a young person just entering the industry?
Learn to listen. Don’t be quick to write a tagline, or rush into launching a campaign. Walk the streets of Saigon at 11pm. Sit quietly at a bus stop at 6am. Speak to a lottery ticket seller, a single mother, a student unsure of the road ahead. When you truly listen to life, you’ll never run out of ideas. Because in that space, you write from the heart, not out of duty, but from a place of meaning. And once that happens, you’re no longer working minute by minute. You’re simply living your craft.
The brilliance of an idea lies not in its technical execution, but in how deeply it connects with others.
Your journey of more than 20 years sounds long, but it always feels like it is just beginning, because perhaps your heart is still full of questions. After “108 thousand miles”, what keeps you in this profession?
An unanswered question.
A new generation still needs to be moved by stories left untold. And a belief that: when done with care, marketing can uplift society. It can restore trust between people. It can offer us another way to live that is gentle, thoughtful, and quietly beautiful in a world that too often forgets such things.
I believe in standards, not to impose difficulty, but to protect the values of the craft I’ve chosen.
If I had to answer what drives me, it would come down to a single thought: Is this worth doing? Does it go deep enough? Does it reach enough people? For me, creating a campaign isn’t just about satisfying the client. It’s about being able to sleep soundly, to look in the mirror and say: “I did this with sincerity and unwavering professional integrity.”
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Above Standards may be invisible, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist
Standards may be invisible, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist
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“A zero tolerance standard” is a very strong statement. Can you share more?
Standards may be invisible, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. They’re in how we write: choosing honesty over popularity. They’re in those moments when, even while racing ahead, we pause to admit: “We don’t yet understand our audience.”
Standards are not about perfectionism. They’re about kindness, upheld through discipline. A discipline that can feel isolating. Often uncomfortable. But essential. Because if those who came before us do not preserve the ethics this profession demands, if they do not protect the very notion of “standards”, then those who follow will inherit only doubt. And they may never know what is truly worth believing in.
Talent is not in short supply. What we truly need are individuals with standards and the will to raise them for the next generation.
If you had to name the “big dream” you are cherishing right now, what would it be?
I dream of an emotional education for the Vietnamese people. Not just one that teaches how to succeed, but one that teaches how to understand. Not only about doing, but about living with one another. I dream of young people learning to name their own emotions, to listen and to heal. To realise that success doesn’t come from being better than others, but from becoming their truest selves.
And I believe that, if guided with care, marketing can help realise that dream. Because marketing isn’t just the art of persuasion, it’s the art of understanding. Of igniting hope. Of helping society grow with greater purpose.
In a market constantly distracted by what’s “new,” I remain committed to what’s “right.” I don’t dream of making the advertising industry larger. I dream of nurturing the people who will one day elevate it.
Thank you for an inspiring conversation Hung Vo, not only for what you have said, but for how you have lived it.
This article was published from the original article in Tatler – Nha Tap Tinh Hoa, Vol. 7: Khai Thien.
To own the latest issue of Tatler Vietnam – Nha Tap Tinh Hoa, please visit the link here: https://shorturl.at/mMHOv
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