MUMBAI: Asian Federation of Advertising Associations (AFAA) has elected Pradeep Guha, who represents the Advertising Council of India, as the chairman of its newly mandated executive committee for a period of four years.

Raymond So, representing Taipei Association of Advertising Agencies, was elected deputy chairman.

AFAA is known in the Asian region for organising the biennial AdAsia Congress. It has also helped incubate the AdFest held annually in Pattaya and the Asia Pacific Media Forum held biennially in Bali, Indonesia.

The new four-person committee consists of Bharat Avalani (regional IBC director, Asia Africa Middle East & Turkey, Unilever), Anthony Kang (representing Association of Accredited Advertising Agents, Singapore), Soon Dong Lee (representing Korea Federation of Advertising Associations) and Ramesh Narayan (representing the Advertising Council of India).

Guha said, “There is a real need for an umbrella body like AFAA which represents the interests of marketers, agencies and the media to play a more proactive role in the Asian subcontinent.”

AFAA was founded in 1978 and has representations in 15 Asian nations including India, Japan, Korea, Taipei, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan and UAE. Its primary objectives are to unify all Asian associations involved in the various aspects of advertising and upgrade the standards, ethics, and practices of advertising and to bring about a meaningful contribution from advertising activities to both regional and national socio-economic development.