WHY HONG KONG NEEDS A WINNING TICKET TO RIDE…

We come into this world alone and we slowly close the door and leave this world alone.

In the middle is lots of, well, stuff, most of it unnecessary, but one often becomes a hoarder.

Amongst all this could be some good stuff- like those who become lifelong friends.

You might fall in love, marry, maybe you become a parent and you might reconnect with your own parents as you now understand them what they were going through so much better.

When in your bed, you often enjoy being alone with your thoughts, listening to the silence, embracing your pillow and having a conversation with yourself about today, about tomorrow and visit your world of dreams.

This is perhaps where and when you might discover who you really are and why you’re Here. Or maybe over There.

Copyright ©️ Hans Ebert

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WHY HONG KONG NEEDS A WINNING TICKET TO RIDE…

With Longines HKIR Week coming to a close for another year, came an idea pretty much out of left field, where horse racing in Hong Kong and the city itself could become more than the sum of its parts through cameras, lights, action, thundering hooves and storytelling creating a new brand personality for the city. 

Back in the day, I would have suggested film directors with the status of a Steven Spielberg or China’s Ziang Yimou, below, be given a free hand to produce a ‘feel good’ film that takes place during Longines HKIR Week when there are overseas visitors in Hong Kong.

During these days of streaming, and episodic mini series, why not produce something more fantasy driven and interactive- something not unlike Nike’s “Write The Future” series? 

Place this in the hands of a new generation of creators with the brief being to make Hong Kong a magical place where different worlds meet and is seen through the eyes of a young boy.

Think of something along the lines of “Black Stallion” and “Empire Of The Sun” or even the Harry Potter series.

If one is going to dream, dream BIG and have Hong Kong breakaway from more of the same light shows and giant rubber ducks aimlessly floating in the harbour.    

Nothing is going anywhere with a safety pin attached.

For Hong Kong to make a truly memorable comeback, what’s needed is something positive and different- different not for the sake of being different, but because it’s needed by a city waiting to be inspired, and reinvented. 

Of course, the odds of something of this scale happening might be remote, but it doesn’t mean retreating into a shell and producing just another predictable horse racing documentary for Netflix. 

At least,  “Ride Like A Girl”, was a film about Michelle Payne, the first female rider to win The Race That Stops A Nation- the Melbourne Cup.

It’s not about producing another “Seabiscuit” or “Secretariat” either, but something where horse racing is the backdrop to a human interest story, something perhaps like an updated version of what film and commercials director Joe Pytka’s wonderfully entertaining debut feature film “Let It Ride”.

Something as special as this almost happened some years ago when the M in A&M Records, Jerry Moss, was thinking about a film telling the story of his champion galloper Zenyatta, who, by the way, was named after the third album by Police. 

The horse was bred and sold to Mr Moss by the one-time lawyer for PolyGram Records Eric Kronfeld, below, for around US$60,000. 

Zenyatta won 19 races straight and Eric stopped going to the races after the filly’s ninth win. It was too much for him to take- the winning streak.

There’s an amusing story around the purchase of Zenyatta and with plenty of off the track backstories in the background and the tough talking Eric Kronfeld, below, who worked closely with a couple of us in setting up various music businesses in China.

Returning to reality…

About a month ago, one remembers reading something about the CEO of the HKJC, Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, mentioning how horse racing needs storytellers. 

There are many industries that need storytellers in their communications though this talent doesn’t exactly grow on trees.

Having said this, with the right story- for example, about a young stable hand, who is still trying to get over the loss of his firefighter father and has dreams of one day being a successful horse trainer.

Together with his favourite horse and while out for a gallop, something magical happens that takes them down a rabbit hole of adventure and introduces audiences to the different characters they meet along the way.

This just might be something that Hong Kong needs to create a unique brand personality for itself and for these constantly changing times.

It could possibly open up a field of dreams that inspire and re-energises Hong Kong along with big global brand names to look beyond the obvious and present the world with a garden of ideas from which so much positivity can grow.

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Born in Ceylon, Hans Ebert is an award winning advertising executive whose powerful campaign to gain the Right Of Abode in the United Kingdom for ethnic minorities in Hong Kong won Gold at the London Advertising Awards.

He also helped launch McDonald’s in Hong Kong, created the Happy Wednesday brand for the HKJC, was part of the team to launch STARTV and MTV in Asia plus ran the International divisions of Universal Music and EMI Music in Asia.

As a journalist, he has interviewed every iconic personalities from Billy Joel, legendary music producer Quincy Jones, and actor Peter Sellers to working on music for David Bowie, Robbie Williams and Gorillaz.

He also coined the term Canto Pop when writing for Billboard magazine.

He has a penchant for women who remind him of Diane Keaton.