When Kitty Lun Kit-ying passed away at 71 after a tragic swimming pool incident in Fo Tan, the Asian creative world lost more than a high-profile executive. It lost a pioneer who refused to stay comfortable. You didn't just meet Kitty; you felt her energy. She ran major agencies across Hong Kong, Taipei, and Shanghai before taking charge of Meta's Creative Shop for Greater China. She wrote lines that a whole generation memorized. Her cultural footprint changed how the region looked at public service announcements.
Most people entering the agency business want a safe corporate ladder. Kitty tore the ladder down and built a rocket ship. She started as a copywriter at Leo Burnett back when local role models for women in advertising simply didn't exist. Instead of waiting for doors to open, she kicked them off their hinges. Her iconic work on the 1990s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) campaigns and the Fight Youth Crime slogan “No Take 2” (“生命冇Take 2”) embedded themselves into everyday Cantonese speech. That's the holy grail of copywriting. Your words stop being ads and start becoming culture.
How Kitty Lun Shaped the Modern Agency Era
Agencies in the 1990s and 2000s were loud, ego-driven places dominated by men. Kitty climbed to the top without losing her empathy. She served as Managing Director and Chief Creative Officer at Euro RSCG Partnership Hong Kong, then took the helm as Chairman and CEO of Lowe China from 2006 to 2016. Under her watch, Lowe China became a creative powerhouse, winning top international honors and scaling unprecedented business growth.
She didn't manage by sitting in an ivory tower. She mentored hundreds of young creatives who later became industry leaders themselves. Ask anyone who worked with her, and they'll tell you about her relentless optimism. She possessed an infectious laugh and an unshakeable belief in great ideas. She was also brave enough to call out industry biases long before diversity became a corporate buzzword. In 2011, she hosted the Cannes Lions main stage forum focused on gender balance in creative roles, stepping up as a Cannes juror for both the Press Lions and the Glass Lions.
Making the Jump From Traditional Agencies to Big Tech
Most legacy creatives panic when technology disrupts their traditional business models. Not Kitty. In 2016, after decades leading traditional agencies, she made a radical career pivot. She joined Facebook—now Meta—as Head of Creative Shop for Greater China.
She wanted to understand how raw human creativity could survive and scale across massive digital platforms. She bridged the gap between old-school storytelling and data-driven social media. Later, her role expanded to cover Creative Shop across the wider APAC region. She proved that true professionals never stop learning. She didn't cling to the past. She ran toward the future.
Lessons From a Legendary Career
If you want to know what made Kitty Lun special, look at her book Advertising Without Lipstick. It cut through the industry fluff. She believed in hard work, absolute integrity, and treating people right. She never hid behind corporate jargon.
Her sudden passing left her peers in deep grief, but her blueprint remains. If you're building a career in creative fields, take a page from her playbook. Stop making excuses. Stop waiting for permission. And remember that life really doesn't have a take two.
