adobo magazine | May - June 2013

The word on creativity

graham fink

Ogilvy & Mather China

dynasty bu i l de r INTERVIEW Raul Castro

mc ca n n wor l d grou p

Noel Lorenzana medi aqu e st

CENTERFOLD

Mart Miranda

Gru Po Lu mi na

THE FIRM Issue 45 may-june 2013

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E D I TO R ’ S N OT E May-June 2013, Issue 45

Of Mescall, Cannes & the creative edge OH TO BE JOHN MESCALL HEADING TO CANNES. His charmingly macabre ‘Dumb Ways to Die’ is the darling of the awards circuit. As it should be.

Viewers have given it plenty of love from launch, and now jurors from AdFest to New York Fest and every other show in between have judged the work an out-and-out winner.

While there’s still Cannes to conquer, and London, where nine nominations are vying for precious Pencils, the integrated campaign is already one for the record books.

It’s arguably one of the finest examples in recent years of the wisdom of zagging when others zig. What this campaign so ably demonstrates is that no category is sacred. All it takes is a dose of creative thinking to rewrite the rules to killer effect.

Mescall and his teammates shunned the blood, gore and fatality stats that are the stock in trade for a PSA on safety.

They deployed black comedy, an infectious song that made Top 10 charts around the world, and a bunch of offbeat characters, all meeting rather grisly ends. The end result took the web and the notoriously hard to engage youth target segment by storm.

As we head to Cannes, ‘Dumb Ways’ makes us wish we could bottle Mescall’s creative genius. More importantly, it reminds us that impossible is nothing with creativity to make the difference. It’s the industry’s life force.

On this note, it was only appropriate that our Cannesbound issue would celebrate this elusive quality, and the young bloods who will inherit the creative mantle.

The issue salutes award winners from AdFest (pg 111) to D&AD in-book awardees and Pencil nominees (pg 44) and

AME (pg 16 ), FAME (pg 17), Kidlat (pg 138) and Clio (pg 42) champs. And our very own adobo Design Awards (pg 49), which features an accompanying profile of Best of Show winner, Leo Burnett (pg 96).

Our spotlight also shines on a handful of global and local creative giants – Graham Fink, the celebrated British creative talks about the challenges of building Ogilvy’s creative dynasty in China (pg 68), the irrepressible Raul Castro (pg 80), hologram wizard Mart Miranda (pg 90) and Smart’s business guru in blue jeans, Noel Lorenzana, who’s ready to sharpen TV5’s act (pg 84).

The digital pages similarly document the value of creativity to an industry in flux (pg 29) and an e-commerce sector ripe for growth (pg 30). Our showcases, from digital (pg 34) to design (pg 50) and media (pg 108) highlight sterling examples of creative excellence, the kind that delivers cut-through, enviable engagement scores and effectiveness.

Future creative torchbearers take pride of place in our special Raw Talent focus (pg 134), accompanied by profiles of the top schools that are breeding skills prized in this age of flux.

Of course no issue would be complete without our festival Primer. Naturally, the Primer in this issue is devoted to Cannes as organizers gear up for what has to be the biggest, baddest, coolest anniversary celebrations ever staged in industry history.

Our Primer comes with a QR-coded Cannes program for easy download to handsets (pg 159), a form guide to the contenders (pg 162), the speaker line-up (pg 161), the country’s young bets looking for Cannes glory (pg 157 and pg 158) and a guide to great eating in France (pg 167). Cannes has, after all, always been a feast for all the senses.

So dive into our creative smorgasbord!

Angel V. Guerrero Founder, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief

sta f f bo x President & Editor-in-Chief Angel V. Guerrero

Vice-President & Chief Operating Officer Janelle Barretto Squires

EDITORIAL Consultant Editor Sharon Desker Shaw

Managing Editor Mikhail Lecaros

Creative Director Victor Garcia

Staff Reporter Emarrah Sarreal

Layout Artist Mel Patrick Kasingsing Digital Writer Danielle Austria

Digital Editor Christian de Pio Sanchez Multimedia Artist Ricardo Malit

MARKETING Sales & Marketing Head Apple Esplana-Manansala Events Manager Ched Dayot

Account Manager Jona Loren Atienza Marketing and Events Coordinator Andrew Sarmiento

ADMIN Finance Head Steve Pelimiano Accounting & Admin Officer Elsa Bagalacsa

Cover Photo Graham Fink, Ogilvy & Mather China, Chief Creative Officer Cover Photography Jonathan Tay of Amanacliq

Database & Subscription Romina Claros

For advertising, sales, subscription, editorial and general inquiries, please get in touch. editorial@adobomagazine.com sales@adobomagazine.com subscriptions@adobomagazine.com events@adobomagazine.com books@adobomagazine.com info@adobomagazine.com www.adobomagazine.com Telephone +632.845.0218 / +632.886.5351

CONTRIBUTORS Writers Mark Dantes, Nikki Golez, David Guerrero, Morihiko Hasebe, Joey Herrera, Chino Jayme, Kimi Lim, Patricia Lim, Dennis Nierra, Neal Oshima, Pauline Raymundo, Chris de Pio Sanchez, Pippo Soriano, Aids Tecson, Jamie Tolentino, John Ed de Vera, Bobby Vito Illustration Benjamin Abesamis, Jemimah Basilio, Alvin Claros, Meneer Marcelo, Tepai Pascual Photography Sid Maderazo, Neal Oshima, Shampoo Padilla, Ryan Sulit, Jay Tablante, Lorenzo Tan, Jonathan Tay, Ricky Villabona Make-up/Styling Kristl Bansuelo, Regie Escolin, KC Mempin, Camz Materiales, Nadj Zaragoza

Fax +632.845.0217 adobo magazine Unit 203, Bldg 1, OPVI Center (Jannov Plaza) 2295 Pasong Tamo Extension, Makati City Follow us on Twitter @adobomagazine Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/adobomagazine

GOOD TO KNOW adobo would like to apologize to filmmakers Brillante Mendoza and Melvin Mangada, featured in the ‘Two of a Mind’ interview last issue. From the line, “They can’t imagine thousands of people being swept by a film in the Metropolis...”, the word ‘film’ should read ‘flood’. We apologize for any confusion.

Also in error was the credit for Maureen Manuel, who handled styling duties for our March/April Centerfold, mistakenly identified as Marcelo. The same issue also listed Y&R’s Herbert Hernandez as Herbert Bautista and inaccurately designated DM9’s Alex Syfu as 4A’s vice chairman. Syfu is a director of the 4As.

adobo magazine is published bi-monthly by Sanserif Inc. © 2013 Sanserif Inc. All rights reserved. Printed on recycled paper.

No part of the magazine maybe reproduced or transmitted by any means without prior permission of the publisher. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this publication, the publisher and the editor assume no responsibility for errors of omissions or any circumstance of reliance of information in this publication. The opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher and the editor. Advertisements are the sole responsibility of the advertisers.

CO N T R I B U TO RS May-June 2013, Issue 45

Jonathan Tay Photographer

Ryan Sulit Photographer

Jay Tablante Photographer

Neal Oshima Photographer/Writer

KC Mempin Make-up artist/Stylist

Shampoo Padilla Photographer

Regie Escolin Make-up artist/Stylist

Nadj Zaragoza Make-up artist/Stylist

Patricia Lim Writer

Joey Herrera Writer

Jemimah Basilio Illustrator

Pippo Soriano Writer

Meneer Marcelo Illustrator

Alvin Claros Illustrator

BJ Abesamis Illustrator

We couldn't have done this issue without: Writers: Mark Dantes and Aids Tecson Photographers: Lorenzo Tan, Ricky Villabona and Sid Maderazo Illustrator: Tepai Pascual Make-up artists: Kristl Bansuelo and Camz Materiales

96 62

80

68 Graham Fink

Building Ogilvy’s creative dynasty in China

Table of Contents Cover Story

Philippine News Uncertain fate Digital shuffle Lorenzana off to MediaQuest Hits and misses Tiger Energy scoops Clio Gold

08 09 10 16 18

Global News On the move Unexpected reprieve Clio, Cannes applaud Coke Bentley picks DDB Go big or go home

20 21 22 23 28

Digital 29 30 33 34

36 40 42 44 46

47

Graham Fink: Building a creative dynasty

68

May-June 2013, Issue 45

Creative Corner: Alvin Tecson

Design 49 50 62

adobo Design Awards Winners Showcase adobo Exhibit: Eneri Abillar

People 80 84 87

Balancing Yin and Yang: Raul Castro Marketing MVP: Noel Lorenzana Movers

Centerfold 90

Mart Miranda, Video Sonic Manila and Grupo Lumina

Trendspotting 78

Just add water

The Firm

Real-time engagement From a crawl to a stroll Viewpoint: Cracking coding Digital Showcase

92 96

The Work

89

Creative Review: Santosh Padhi Ads of the Month Australia in top form at Clio D&AD: Asia’s year of triumph Bang for the Buck: PowerPacq

100 Selling summer 103 Samsung’s S4 launch coup 104 Nielsen spend data

welovepost: The story of two guys and a bar Leo Burnett: Legacy of excellence

Intelligence Spending dilemma

Marketing

Media 106 Rogue: Crossover appeal 107 PhilStar goes AR 108 Media Showcase

Special Report 111 134 142 155 157 148 150 152

AdFest: Connecting the Dots Raw talent Kidlat Awards NAB 2013 Cannes Primer adobo Masterclass adobo Main Course adobo 7th Anniversary

Roundtable 140 Young bloods on youngblood

Regular Sections 170 Contagious 172 Downtime 174 Events calendar

A D V E R T O R I A L

01

02

Bigger is Better

Photography and Visuals Shampoo Padilla and SumoSam Olympia

Located at Somerset Olympia, a stone’s throw from the historic Manila Peninsula Hotel, SumoSam has opened its latest branch as part of the company’s ongoing quest to win Japanese food-loving foodies’ hearts (and appetites!).

“We’ve come a long way,” says owner and proprietor Marvin Agustin, who, along with business partners Raymond Magdaluyo and Ricky Laudico, opened the first store eight years ago. From an unproven venture incongruously situated next to a row of computer shops, SumoSam became an immediate success, encouraging the owners to begin franchising their creation in its fifth year.

As the 25th store, the Olympia branch represents a re-tooling – “not a re-imagining,” says Agustin – of the formula that has made SumoSam a mainstay in the evercompetitive field of casual Japanese dining. While their mouth-watering menu has remained mostly unchanged, the Olympia branch’s spacious, ultra-modern interiors and an eat-all-you-can tempura and sushi promotion offer Makati diners more options than ever to enjoy their favorite delicacies.

All of this just goes to show, when it comes to living up to one’s brand promise, SumoSam Olympia is proof positive that big really can be beautiful.

7

Highlights 01 Sumosam Olympia is a great venue for private functions and corporate events with separate function rooms with WIFI, projector and screen and provides free valet parking for your dining convenience.

02 Visitors will be treated to a unique dining experience, as Olympia’s futuristic interiors meet traditional Japanese concepts in a comfortable, spacious location ideal for dining and lounging.

03 Afficionados of Japanese food will rejoice with SumoSam Olympia’s eat-all-you-can tempura and sushi promotion.

04 SumoSam Olympia offers cozy lounge ambience, complete with drinks options from cocktails, beers, coffee blends and a selection of fine wines.

03

04

SumoSam Olympia SumoSam’s 25th branch is definitely distinctive, with the Olympia store representing the latest product of an eight-year strong culinary journey With a prime location in the heart of Makati, the restaurant is perfectly positioned for foodies to get their Japanese fix or office workers in the area looking to share a bottle of wine with friends after a long day.

Sumosam is open from 6 AM to 11 PM.

For information and bookings, contact marketing director, Miguel de La Rosa, at 09177067328 or scan the code above to Like SumoSam on Facebook.

8

T HE P H I L I P PI NES

P H I L I P P I N E

N E W S

Uncertain fate Manila Pressure is mounting on the Advertising Board (AdBoard) to abandon this year’s Advertising Congress and accompanying Araw Awards after the 4As announced plans for its own gathering and awards show.

Speaking at this year’s Kidlat awards night, 4A’s chair Matec Villanueva outlined plans for the Ad Summit Pilipinas, which she said would serve as the new home of the Kidlat Awards. The first summit is scheduled for 2014.

In a further blow to the AdCongress, Villanueva also disclosed that the Philippine Association of National Advertisers (PANA) and the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas (KBP) both expressed their support in initial discussions. All three associations have left AdBoard – PANA and the 4As took an unexpected leave of absence a few months ago, while KBP left in 2005.

“Our partners fully support the 4A’s move to organize and host what will be the industry’s regular milestone event,” said Villanueva.

The 4A’s bombshell announcement can only

AdBoard is under pressure to abandon AdCongress and Araw Awards after 4As wins support for a rival event and plans to grow Kidlat from 2014 Illustration Meneer Marcelo

have increased pressure on AdBoard to abandon the 2013 AdCongress and Araw Awards originally scheduled for the latter quarter of this year. Davao had been hotly tipped as the likely venue for the gathering.

AdBoard, under its new chairman elect Nonoy Niles has asked the AdCongress Committee, headed by the committee’s co-chair RJ Esteban, for its official position on the issue.

“I have in fact advanced my point of view that the AdCongress should not proceed without the support of the founding pillars – PANA, the 4As and the KBP,” said Angelito Pangilinan, president of the Media Specialist Association of the Philippines (MSAP) and AdBoard treasurer.

The blow is the latest to hit AdBoard, which runs the risk of devolving into an association of smaller suppliers with the departure of its three biggest members. AdBoard’s remaining five members such as MSAP, the Internet and Mobile Marketing Association (IMMAP) and United Print Media Group (UPMG) are smaller by comparison.

HOSTING DILEMMA AdBoard members debate AdCon’s fate

“...it may be tremendously difficult to have an AdCongress without PANA and 4A’s support. An AdCongress without a culminating Araw creative awards night will be lackluster.” ___

VINCE REYES Chairman of ASAP

“Without the Araw Awards, the AdCongress will be severely watered down; the 4As will not (let) the Araw happen if they are not there.” ___

ANGELITO PANGILINAN President of MSAP and AdBoard treasurer

MANILA AdBoard has had a tumultuous few months with two of its largest member associations taking a leave of absence, but it has at least settled its leadership for 2013, a term that leads into the organization's 40th anniversary next year.

After stepping down with the rest of the 2013 leadership, Bienvenido ‘Nonoy’ Niles Jr, president of the Marketing and Opinion Research Society of the Philippines, has been

re-elected – but this time as chairman. He takes over from 2013’s chairman-elect Ricky Alegre, who stepped down barely days into his second term amid speculation that 4As, disgruntled by the election, would follow PANA and take a leave of absence, which it did.

Frank Abueva (OAAP), Tessie Celestino-Howard (IBA) and Faith Albano (CAAP) have also been re-elected with Niles. They have returned as vicechair, secretary and PR / info officer respectively, with Angelito Pangilinan (MSAP) as treasurer.

Niles is clear on what AdBoard has to do: “It is fair to say that the AdBoard is not complete without the support of major stakeholders in the industry. We will continue to reach out to the associations on leave, persuade them to reconsider their position and come back.

"We will invite them when we do our planning session, and hope that collectively, we can work towards re-structuring or re-inventing the AdBoard to make it a worthwhile, meaningful and relevant umbrella organization for the industry.”

adobomagazine

May-June 2013

Niles will reach out to groups on leave

“I think AdBoard should continue with the AdCongress. We owe it to our member associations, sponsors and stakeholders.” ___

RICKY ALEGRE Chairman of UPMG

“AdBoard should closely review if they have the resource and expertise to mount an AdCongress at the same level as previous AdCons... I believe 4As and PANA had critical contributions to key aspects of past AdCons.” ___

MIGUEL RAMOS President of IMMAP

T HE PH IL IPPIN E S

Digital shuffle

9

Donald Lim, the brains behind MRM Manila’s reinvention, hands over MRM’s reins to digital stalwart and IMMAP peer Manny Fernando

Donald Lim

Manny Fernando

Manila MRM Manila’s former head Donald Lim (pictured) will lead digital strategy across ABS-CBN Corporation’s entire ecosystem, signaling the broadcast giant’s intent to become a power player across digital platforms as well.

Lim, who led MRM’s re-engineering from traditional direct shop to digital marketing heavyweight, assumes his role as chief digital officer and head of the Online Media Group on June 1. US-based Raffy Lopez, chief operations officer of ABS-CBN Global, previously led the group.

Lim said his key task would be to craft a digital roadmap for the entire ABS-CBN system to help the broadcaster retain its market leadership, size and deliver on its brand promise of being “In the Service of the Filipino”.

“We will be their in-house agency on digital,” Lim said, adding that the team would lead digital strategy and development for units such as news, entertainment, television, radio and print publishing among others.

The move marks Lim’s first foray into broadcasting, having previously worked as a marketer (Burger King) and in a digital company (Yehey! Corporation).

Lim will head a significantly larger digital operation as ABS-CBN has a 150-person digital team, 50 of whom are in production, compared to the 60-person office at the award-winning MRM, the agency that helped Nescafé build a Facebook community of more than two million fans.

After re-enginnering MRM, Lim had been tasked with digitalizing the entire McCann Worldgroup Philippine (MWG) operation as its chief innovation officer.

Manila Manny Fernando has taken up the leadership reins at MRM Manila, effective May 2, bringing 18 years of experience in mobile, media and telecoms to his new role Prior to joining MRM as its managing director, Fernando was president and CEO of MegaMobile, a mobile technology provider and content developer, and served concurrently as head of digital strategy of the Inquirer Group of Companies.

Like his predecessor, Fernando also helmed the Internet & Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines, serving as its 2012 president.

In taking over an agency that had been successfully reinvented from a direct to a digital operation, Fernando’s challenge will be to expand MRM’s leadership into new territories while further developing McCann Worldgroup’s (MWG) integrated business offering.

“MRM has an excellent pool of savvy people who can carry the digital marketing practice to the next level. My extensive experience in mobile and digital marketing will reinforce the group’s strengths in creating solutions for MRM and MWG clients to connect even more effectively with the ever-dynamic consumer,” said Fernando.

When asked if he would stick to strategies his predecessor mapped to drive MRM’s growth as a digital consultant to Worldgroup companies in Asia, Fernando spoke of a fluid digital space spurring innovations and evolving marketing practices.

“Innovations take form not only in terms of technology, but also in terms of processes and marketing solutions. The agency has embraced this mindset and has set the example locally and internationally.”

ABS-CBN's new digital czar

MRM Manila's new man at the top

Nandy Villar Past President and CEO of MWG since early 2011.

Joined the group more than two decades ago as account executive at McCann Erickson. Held various roles, including a stint at McCann’s New York HQ in 1999 and was named MD of the local McCann agency in 2006.

Present ABS-CBN’s head of customer relationship management since July 2012.

Broadcaster has steadily attracted a pool of ex-McCann Worldgroup leaders

MARICEL ARENAS

COOKIE BARTOLOME

DINO LAURENA

Past The senior VP for corpo-

Past Served as vice presi-

Past Started st McCann

rate affairs and management board member of MWG retired in the late ’90s after 17 years with the group. Returned to McCann subsidiary Harrison Communications in 2002 as co-MD with former McCann colleague Dino Laurena in 2002.

Retired in August 2012.

Present President and CEO of Play Innovations, a new subsidiary company.

dent of Universal McCann for more than 16 years from 1992 until early 2008. Moved to Carat as its managing director soon after for almost two years. Also served as IMMAP director for a year from late 2009 on.

Present ABS-CBN’s head of Integrated Marketing. Joined March 2010.

Erickson in 1993 before moving to subsidiary Harrison as co-managing director with Maricel Arenas. Appointed managing director of Universal McCann in 2009, a role he held until his late 2011 retirement.

Present ABS-CBN’s head of business development for integrated sports. Joined September 2012.

May-June 2013

adobomagazine

Illustration Alvin Claros

Mini McCann at ABS-CBN?

10

T HE P H I L I P PI NES

Lorenzana tapped to lead MediaQuest Role seen as key to transforming PLDT Manila Noel Lorenzana (above), PLDT Group’s head of individual business, has been given a new role in another part of Manuel V Pangilinan’s First Pacific Company (FPC) empire.

Lorenzana has been named president and CEO of MediaQuest, replacing Ray Espinosa, who will in turn, take on the position of FPC associate director and his new assignment as the group’s head of Government and Regulatory Affairs and head of the Communications Bureau.

MediaQuest Holdings Inc. and its related subsidiaries and affiliates, including TV5,

Flores, Cuadrante fill new JFC positions

represent the group’s media-based interests, which Pangilinan said would be key to PLDT’s transformation process towards maintaining relevance in a competitive market.

Lorenzana joined the PLDT group in January 2012. Previously, he was president of NutriAsia, Inc. for three years and, before that, a veteran of more than 10 years at Unilever (pg 79).

“Noel’s background in the telco space and in fast moving consumer goods will be of immense advantage in his ability to bring the worlds of media and telecommunications closer,” Pangilinan said. “Our multimedia strategy is crucial to the future of TV5 and of the group.”

One media agency head described the TV5 turnaround task as huge. “To become a credible challenger, TV5 has to arrest the decline in ratings of particularly the revenue rich primetime blocks. They need to quickly produce some winning programs, with high enough ratings to warrant re-programming of competitors. They need to develop fresh content and talents. Their previous strategy of taking talents and copying content format from the more established players did not deliver the expected results. They may have the screens but if their content is not compelling, the audience will not be there. Their new management team have strong marketing credentials; we are eager to know what innovations they will bring, particularly on sales and programming.”

Manila Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) has reshuffled its senior management line-up in response to the quick service restaurant (QSR) conglomerate’s overseas expansion focus.

Francis Flores, general manager of its Greenwich brand, has been appointed head of international mainstream markets to support the group’s interests in China and Vietnam.

Flores had been in the Greenwich role since late 2011 and picked up overseas experience while he was assistant VP of marketing of Jollibee USA.

Flores’ role has been filled by Albert Cuadrante, who was until recently JFC’s vice president for marketing, while JFC newcomer, Harvey Ong, has been tapped for Cuadrante’s former role. Ong was the former marketing director of Fonterra, the maker of dairy brands Anchor and Anlene.

Flores’ shift comes as JFC focuses on growing its international footprint this year, its 35th year of operation, setting a target count of 900 stores both in and outside the Philippines.

Meanwhile, Cuadrante said of his new role: “The challenge, therefore, is really to make sure the business continues this strong momentum amidst the intensely competitive QSR environment. That’s why we will need to level-up contributions from the various business drivers, particularly in the areas of product and marketing innovations, customer service excellence and following through on key operational improvements, which will allow us to maximize the higher volume that will result from the efforts.”

adobomagazine

May-June 2013

JFC’s global expansion triggers change

DESIGN BRIEFS DESIGN BUZZ Premium Philippine rum brand Don Papa Rum is a Double Gold Medal winner in San Francisco World Spirits Competition’s packaging design category.

New York- and Londonbased Stranger & Stranger, known for its creative liquor bottle designs, created the brand’s look, based on what it called an “exotic twist on the old Spanish landlords”.

MATUTINA'S TWIST Plus63 founder and designer Dan Matutina drew inspiration from Better Homes’ September 1958 cover in bringing PayPal’s site back to life. “I wanted to show the idea of community by making the whole illustration look like a platformer,” he said. “I wanted everyone to be in close proximity to one another with houses, buildings and different places as points of interests,” he said of the project.

Matutina worked directly with Chris Sybico, PayPal art director, and optimized the design to fit different screen sizes of the iOS app.

ONE AND ONLY In its call for entries, the 4As is marketing its annual competition as ‘The Philippines’ One and Only Agency of the Year’. “The 4As has been in place for the past decade. (This) is our way of clarifying things and asserting ownership of the AOY,” 4As chair Matec Villanueva said of the 4As response to an overseas marketing magazine launching its own competition.

T HE PH IL IPPIN E S

May-June 2013

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T HE P H I L I P PI NES

R 3 N E W B U S IN E S S L E A G U E

March 2013 Philippines Top 10 Creative and Media Wins C R E ATI V E A G E NC Y

ACC O U NT

M O NT H

Leo Burnett

Samsung

Jan

Philippines

DDB

PLDT Telpad

Feb

Philippines

TBWA

Alaska Nutribuild 345

Feb

Philippines

Publicis JimenezBasic

Blackberry

Mar

Philippines

Leo Burnett

Universal Robina Corporation

Jan

Philippines

Leo Burnett

Puregold

Mar

Philippines

Leo Burnett

P&G

Mar

Philippines

Ogilvy

Asian Institute of Management

Feb

Philippines

Grey

Nissin Universal Robina

Feb

Philippines

McCann WorldGroup

Nestlé Cereals

Feb

Philippines

ACC O U NT

M O NT H

Vizeum

Pag-ibig Fund

Jan

Philippines

Universal McCann

Johnson & Johnson

Jan

Japan, Philippines,

MediaCom

Banco De Oro

Mar

Philippines

Starcom MediaVest

Yakult

Jan

Philippines

Starcom MediaVest

Goldilocks

Feb

Philippines

Carat

Max's Chicken

Feb

Philippines

OMD

SM Retail Affiliates

Jan

Philippines

MediaCom

Fonterra

Feb

Asia Pacific

MediaCom

Directories Philippines Corp.

Mar

Philippines

Vizeum

Burberry

Mar

Philippines

M E D IA AG E NC Y

AREA

AREA

NEW WINS PUBLICIS SCORES

Asia Brewery has handed its Beer na Beer brand to Publicis Manila, adding to its Tanduay Black win late last year. Publicis went up against Draftfcb, Havas and Aspac in the shootout with a strategy to position Beer na Beer as a heritage brand with strong Philippine roots. “Given that Beer na Beer has been around for years and has had a string of unsuccessful attempts at a relaunch, we felt we had to take a much bolder approach to the pitch. We came in with a strong recommendation only considering what would be the best for the brand. Client’s comfort levels, well even our own, were challenged. I guess the risk paid off,” said Matec Villanueva, Publicis Manila CEO.

Malaysia, Singapore

GOLDILOCKS' PICK Philippine bakeshop

Manila Carat Philippines has ousted MindShare on Max’s Group of Companies media planning and buying account, pegged at an estimated US$6 million.

The Aegis-owned shop outgunned MindShare, Havas, Universal McCann and ZenithOptimedia for the media agency-of-record brief, which covers communications planning, buying and digital. “We also proposed an activation program that they seemed interested in,” said Angelito Pangilinan, the agency’s CEO.

“The client mentioned that Carat best understood the Max brand; that our proposed strategy was most aligned with its own vision,” he said, noting that Carat’s Consumer Connection System database had provided deep and valuable consumer insight in developing the communications strategy.

“We went beyond mining our database and did chemistry sessions not just with customers but also with food bloggers.”

Bobby Simborio, corporate PR and media manager, Max’s Group of Companies, added: “Carat is the media agency that we think will put balance into everything. It’s the agency that meets all of the qualities we were looking for in an agency — heart for the brand coupled with expertise and work passion.”

Francis Cruz, associate media director, will lead the Carat team on the account. “He also took ownership of the pitch itself, managing all the brainstorming, strategy development, and all programs and plans for the brand,” said Pangilinan.

Max’s has more than 127 branches in the Philippines and has also expanded to the US, Canada, Australia and the United Arab Emirates.

adobomagazine

May-June 2013

Agency triumphs in 5-way shootout

institution Goldilocks has found Starcom MediaVest’s pitch just right for its needs, naming the Publicis-owned media network its new media agency-of-record following a three-way pitch. Starcom has taken over the brand’s media planning and buying duties from MindShare. The shift comes as the chain looks to parlay its home-grown success to extend its presence overseas with Singapore and Hong Kong targeted following store openings in North America and Thailand.

FIT N' RIGHT STAYS JWT Manila has defended its grip on Del Monte’s Fit ’n Right business, nearly a year after the agency scooped the account. It is understood that the creative assignment was recently repitched. The juice drink is pitched as a beverage that aids in weight loss.

Photo mrsmartinezravesandrants.blogspot.com

MindShare loses Max media brief to Carat

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T HE P H I L I P PI NES

Kantar Worldpanel

TOP 10 FMCG BRANDS IN THE PHILIPPINES 01

02

04

03

05

06

07

08

09

10

Nescafé

Lucky Me

Surf

Milo

Ajinomoto

Bear Brand

Palmolive

Silver Swan

Oishi

Safeguard

Reach 985m Penetration 94.3% Frequency of Purchase 54 Consumer Reach Point -7%

Reach 957m Penetration 98.1% Frequency of Purchase 50 Consumer Reach Point -11%

Reach 538m Penetration 88.4% Frequency of Purchase 31 Consumer Reach Point -4%

Reach 497m Penetration 86.2% Frequency of Purchase 30 Consumer Reach Point 2%

Reach 459m Penetration 86.2% Frequency of Purchase 27 Consumer Reach Point -2%

Reach 449m Penetration 87.9% Frequency of Purchase 26 Consumer Reach Point 4%

Reach 444m Penetration 82.7% Frequency of Purchase 28 Consumer Reach Point 7%

Reach 421m Penetration 81% Frequency of Purchase 27 Consumer Reach Point 6%

Reach 417m Penetration 87% Frequency of Purchase 25 Consumer Reach Point 6%

Reach 384m Penetration 93.3% Frequency of Purchase 21 Consumer Reach Point 2%

Local brands account for only 3 in top 10 Nescafé leads Philippine rankings MANILA Only three of the top 10 consumer goods brands in the Philippines are homegrown products, according to new Kantar Worldpanel research.

The three local performers based on Kantar’s new ‘Brand Footprint’, metric are Lucky Me from local food giant Monde Nissin Corp, Silver Swan condiments and Oishi snack foods. The

remaining seven are largely global and regional brands such as Ajinomoto and Safeguard.

Kantar’s rankings used consumer reach points, calculating the number of households and how frequently the brand is purchased, alongside penetration (how many households purchased the brand at least once in 2012) and frequency of purchase (the average number of times households bought the brand) scores.

Nescafé, which has a Facebook fan base of more than two million in the Philippines, unsurprisingly led the pack, with penetration levels at 94%. “In the Philippines, the combination of heritage and active adaptation

to the evolving tastes and attitude of the market have kept brands like Nescafé, Milo, Ajinomoto, Bear Brand, Palmolive, Silver Swan and Safeguard with the biggest brand footprint in the market,” said Fabrice Carrasco, managing director of Kantar Worldpanel in Vietnam, Indonesia and Philippines.

Indonesia offers a study in contrast – nine of its 10 leading brands are Indonesian. Indonesia also accounts for seven of the 12 brands that reach more than a billion customers in Asia.

Indonesia’s count is more than double Asia’s two largest markets – China’s tally of three brands and India’s two.

SPOOF SPAT EQ Diapers new TV spot has been taken off air for spoofing Cebu’s Battle of Mactan hero Lapu-Lapu. In the spot, Magellan offers a box of diapers to the hero and his wife, who discover the product’s poor quality. Lapu-Lapu then challenges Magellan to a fight in the McCann Erickson ad. “The ad was aired with clearance from the ASC and the National Historical Commission. Out of courtesy to Lapu-Lapu City and its officials, the Cebuanos and the Oponganons, the client and agency will discontinue airing of the ad,” said a McCann spokesperson.

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May-June 2013

16

T HE P H I L I P PI NES

Hits and misses Philippine agencies scored wins at a handful of global shows but left the New York Festivals disappointed despite a sizeable shortlist haul. The Advertising Marketing Effectiveness (AME), Clio, One Show, Festival of Asian Marketing Effectiveness (FAME) and D&AD, however, delivered better batting scores for local shops.

AME DDB produced the country’s first-ever Gold at the global AME with its ‘Pacquiao Positive’ campaign to launch PepsiCo’s improved Sting Energy PowerPacq Drink (see pg 46).

The show also delivered wins to McCann Worldgroup and TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno. The pair netted three and two AME bronze medallions respectively. McCann won with its multi-awarded Coca-Cola ‘OFW Project’, a heartwarming tale that grabbed eyeballs online, while TBWA’s bronze came from ‘KNOxOUT Project EDSA’ for Pacific Paint (Boysen) Philippines’ KNOxOUT Paint and Manikako and Energizer’s poignant silent film ‘Gift of Life’. The latter also netted the People’s Choice Webby honor.

D&AD

Clio

One Show

The country has yet to land one of the coveted Yellow or Black Pencils. It however scored two in-book honors in D&AD’s 50th annual: BBDO Guerrero’s multi-award-winning ‘Persistent Headaches’ work and one of the campaign’s executions, ‘Pound’ for client Bayer Philippines’ Saridon brand made the in-book cut.

Ace Saatchi & Saatchi scooped a Clio Gold, the country’s third since 2007, with ‘Tiger Energy Playground’ for Tiger Energy Biscuits (see pg 18).

The campaign came from then Kraft’s (now Mondelez International) ‘One Million Project’ for which roster agencies were asked to submit ideas showing how far they can take the company’s brands under their stewardship.

One Show also produced a better result for the country. TBWA’s ‘KNOxOUT Project EDSA’ delivered a Silver Pencil in the Spatial Design/ Outdoor category.

Murals were painted on one of the country’s congested thoroughfares to demonstrate KNOxOUT’s pollution-reducing qualities in a collaborative effort that involved the agency, client Pacific Paint (Boysen) Philippines and urban artists.

BBDO also secured a One Show win, netting a Bronze in the Consumer Television category for Bayer Philippines’ ‘Persistent Headaches’ campaign.

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May-June 2013

T HE PH IL IPPIN E S

17

FAME The Philippines also achieved a better shortlist to metal conversion rate, with five shortlisted entries netting four trophies. Local agencies only managed a bronze and a shortlist last year.

TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno led the wins with a Gold for KNOxOUT Project EDSA’ for Pacific Paint (Boysen) Philippines’ KNOxOUT Paint in the Most Effective Use of Eco/Green Marketing competition and a Bronze for the same brand for Most Innovative Use of Media.

The country’s other Gold was awarded to BBDO for its viral hit, ‘It’s More Fun in the Philippines’, for the Department of Tourism DDB scored its Bronze for ‘Pacquiao Positive’ for client PepsiCo’s Sting PowerPacq beverage in the Most Effective Use of PR. The latter was also shortlisted in the Beverages category.

WEBBY SENSATION TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno’s tear-jerker ‘Gift of Life’ captured the People’s Voice vote in the 17th Annual Webby Awards after winning over internet audiences. The branded content initiative to support non-profit organization Manikako with funding from Energizer produced a love story between a doll and a robot for online audiences. The universal tale of love, told without a single spoken word, spread like wild fire, capturing 5m views without a single peso spent on media.

On a gold hunt Legend

New York Festivals The Philippines left the show empty-handed after failing to convert 17 shortlisted entries into a single metal win.

The country had gone into the early May creative competition with the region’s second highest number of shortlists behind only Australia and Japan, both tied with 30 shortlisted entries each.

But the Philippines was not alone in Asia Pacific. Only three regional markets succeeded in converting their shortlist into metal – Australia (five Golds), Malaysia (2 Golds) and New Zealand (1 Gold).

The Philippines produced more golds at the international shows, including its first AME Gold but Kidlat’s medal count was unexpectedly down.

Gold

Silver

Bronze

AdFest

FAME

The Lotuses

The FAME Awards

2013

+1 2013

3

Total 6

2012 Total 5

1

1

Year-on-year

1

2

2013

3

Kidlat The Kidlat Awards

1

2012

1

1

Total 2

2013

1

2013

9

2012

12

Total 83

Total 125

May-June 2013

Year-on-year

2

-42

Year-on-year

1

Total 2

Total 6

No change

2013

Increase

2

Total 1

The Clios

2013

2013 2012

Clio Awards

0

+3

Increase

26

37

Decrease Year-on-year

48

76

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18

T HE P H I L I P PI NES

Saatchi bets on Ariel flag for Cannes glory Agency won P&G nod for Olympic work

Tiger Energy scoops Gold at Clio Awards Project came close to being shelved MANILA Ace Saatchi & Saatchi’s triumph at May’s Clio Awards was made all the more sweeter because the work that won nearly didn’t get made had it not been for the agency’s persistence.

‘Tiger Energy Playground’ brought home the country’s third-ever Clio Gold after making history the year before as the first-ever entry from the Philippines to make the shortlist of the Cannes Lions Titanium competition, a category that rewards ground-breaking thinking.

Saatchi had conceived the work for Kraft’s (now Mondelez International) annual ‘One Million Project’, which challenges its roster agency to show how far they can take the company’s brands without worrying about the usual constraints of pre-booked media and preset notions about the brands. The selected agency wins one million pesos to bring its project to life.

Saatchi won the shootout, but a two-month timeframe, coupled with the project’s considerable logistical requirements to ensure a flawless execution grounded the initiative.

But Saatchi’s executive creative director Andrew Petch (above) was unwilling to give up on the project to develop the first playground with equipment that transforms kids’ energy into electricity to power the surrounding community.

The agency kept the group working on the project, building and testing the turbines and alternators for the equipment while waiting for the opportunity to resurrect the venture.

The following year, Saatchi re-pitched the concept of “physical energy creating electrical energy” to demonstrate the brand’s energy benefit for kids in a compelling manner.

“Because we had the time to work everything out, the client – by that time with a new team in place – said, ‘Let’s roll with it’ but let’s take it one step further,” recounted Petch.

The decision was then made to site the playground in one in one of the country’s oldest orphanages, Hospicio de San Jose. “So, not only did we give it to kids who needed free play equipment, we also gave it to a community that needed free electricity,” said Petch.

“This idea demonstrated the benefit of giving kids more energy in a way that we never could have achieved through traditional advertising.”

The idea has won support at Kraft’s regional office, which wants to replicate the playground as a way of doing good and tackling the challenge of getting kids, growing up with computer games, to expend energy outdoors.

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May-June 2013

MANILA If Ace Saatchi & Saatchi ends up bringing home Lions with its 2012 Olympic campaign for Ariel, it would have succeeded once again with a campaign that was initially shelved.

The ‘Olympic National Shirt Flag’ campaign was submitted to Procter & Gamble after it asked its worldwide agency roster in 2010 to provide ideas for a global campaign that would run as part of the company’s 2012 Olympic investment.

But the substantial activation demands and tight time frame made it extremely difficult to globally execute the flag campaign, one of two ideas shortlisted. “We felt why let one knock-back mean the death of the idea,” said ECD Andrew Petch.

Permission was sought from P&G’s Asia office to run the campaign in the Philippines, making it the only global exception to feature alongside the official program. Despite tight budgets and deadlines, the agency succeeded in mounting a massive on-ground activation effort across malls and retail outlets. Filipinos were asked to provide a square piece of fabric from their shirts, which would be replaced with a badge. The donated fabric went towards making the national flag, allowing the country’s Olympic team to carry the colors of the nation to London. “We thought of the colors of the Olympics and Ariel’s benefit of keeping colors brighter,” said Petch of the flag campaign.

Booths were set up in malls, manned by staff to cut, sew on the badges and iron the shirts for donors. Petch said the campaign delivered the best-earned media scores over anything the agency had done before, and he is counting on the shirt flag to charm Cannes judges in the same way it did with P&G and Filipinos.

20

GL O BA L

G L O B A L

N E W S

On the move

Despite another headline relocation to Asia, there remains a ‘disconnect’ between corporate reports and reality on-the-ground

Talent hunt likely to drive HQ strategies alongside business potential

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Photo wikipedia.org

SHIFTING STRATEGIES

Photo profero.com

SINGAPORE Profero, one of the world’s largest independent digital networks, has shifted its global CEO from New York to Singapore, but it remains to be seen if more organizations are ready to make a similar leap.

Wayne Arnold (above) decamped from New York to Singapore in March, following on three headline-making shifts last year: DDB Worldwide relocating its global creative hub and chief creative officer Amir Kassaei from New York to Shanghai, Procter & Gamble shifting its beauty and baby-care business’ global HQ from Cincinnati to Singapore and Maxus appointing Vikram Sakhuja global CEO in Mumbai, the first to run worldwide operations out of Asia.

“Everyone talks about the importance of Asia, to clients and to their business as a whole,” said Arnold, noting that North American and

European businesses looking to expand to Asia had fuelled Profero’s Asia Pacific growth.

“When you ask how many global CEOs are in Asia, there’s a disconnect between company reports about Asia’s growth and what’s on-the-ground.”

Few agency networks though has Profero’s independence to make such a move. “We have the independence and our DNA is to be globally curious as we create a global business.”

Chris Thomas, the Singapore-based chairman of BBDO Asia, Middle East and Africa and chairman of Proximity Worldwide, ruled out a similar move for BBDO even as he predicted that the relocation trend would grow.

“Network leadership, particularly of the holding companies, will need to be near where their primary listing is,” said Thomas. “The time change to manage the scale of business of the US from Asia is very tough on your sleep patterns.”

Still, he noted an uptick in clients and friends taking on global roles based in Asia at the likes of Diageo, P&G, Johnson & Johnson and Mars.

“Our industry will reflect that uptick,” he said, particularly since the creative industries “live at an intersection of scarce global talent and reflecting their client’s organizations.”

Leo Burnett’s Asia Pacific president Jarek Ziebinski said the network was ahead of the pack. “The global leadership team underwent a strategic evolution over the years and is now represented by key leaders from across the world.

Each leader holds key global responsibilities in specific areas. If you ask me whether our network would consider moving its HQ to Asia, the answer is, we already are here.”

Media and strategic talent to follow CEO Profero has strong Asia network: Arnold SINGAPORE Senior strategic and media talent are set to join Profero’s global CEO and founder Wayne Arnold in his new base in Singapore.

Prior to Arnold’s arrival in March, Profero relocated its Australia MD Stuart Edwards to Singapore in a similar role but with wider Asia Pacific business-building responsibilities.

“We are very fortunate that we have a very strong foundation in Asia,” said Arnold of the group’s six-office network following a decade in the region. “We have a core structure here but we’re planning to bring senior strategic and media talent to Asia because there is a need for more strategic and media thinking here.”

He said the additions would ensure Profero was well placed to deliver its USP of putting media, creative and technology together. “If you look at our work at Cannes, you cannot tell if it’s a creative, media or technology idea.”

CHRIS THOMAS

JAREK ZIEBINSKI

MATT GODFREY

BBDO/Proximity

Leo Burnett

Y&R Asia

“In our business there is a scarcity of talent and leadership well-equipped to do increasingly complex global roles – and a lot of that talent is either in Asia or has experience of it – as it is a fantastic proving ground for developing skills that cross large geography, diverse culture and immense complexity.”

“The traditional concept of headquarters also runs the risk of being outdated and needs a re-look for today’s world. Modern organisations should bring their focus on how they can spread their management and talent strategically across key geographies.”

“Y&R continues to invest in broadening and deepening our resources in the region. In fact, that supports our positioning as a global boutique – no single, central global HQ – but rather each market empowered to lead global accounts out of their home market with the support of the entire network.”

May-June 2013

G L O B AL

Unexpected reprieve

21

Super Jury votes on mass acquittal for Abby’s multiple plagiarism case load

TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED NO-SHOWS 2012’s

GOA GoaFest, India’s premier advertising festival, lived up to its 2013 theme ‘Just What You Unexpected’, but not in the way the organizers had hoped for.

A Super Jury, set up by the Awards Governing Council (AGC) to deal with an unexpectedly large case load of creative plagiarism charges, produced an unanticipated verdict: The mass acquittal of agencies on the complaints rap sheet some two weeks after the Creative Abby competition had wrapped up.

To deal with the issue, the council had co-opted the Abby’s 11 jury heads for super jury duty. They considered more than a dozen creative plagiarism charges and conflicting demands to both strip winners of their awards and to reinstate the prizes.

The jury insisted on maintaining the sanctity of the awards process, noting that there was sufficient time between the shortlist and the awards to lodge complaints.

The decision means prizes will be reinstated for BBDO India and DDB Mudra while McCann Erickson India can breathe a sigh of relief that its Print Grand Prix prize is safe.

Paul defends DHL ad from copying charge Says work made Cannes, Spikes shortlist GOA GoaFest was an emotional roller-coaster ride for BBDO Proximity. Its DHL ad was cited for plagiarism due to similarities with work from Ogilvy & Mather Hong Kong for Allied Pickford, its awards withdrawn before finally being reinstated.

BBDO India had been stripped of two gold and one silver prize after complainants pointed to similarities between its DHL campaign ‘If You Make It, We Can Ship It’ and Ogilvy Hong Kong’s work for Allied Pickfords. (BBDO’s reaction below).

But the super jury’s decision is unlikely to change anything for Leo Burnett, which withdrew its Tata Salt Lite radio campaign, the recipient of two golds and two silvers, after questions were raised about the campaign’s release date.

The latest debacle is arguably the biggest blow to hit GoaFest, a festival that has yet to have a year without controversy. The plagiarism allegations have shone a harsh spotlight on the integrity of creativity in a market that has struggled to live up to its potential to become one of Asia’s creative giants.

While GoaFest and India’s creative sector are undoubtedly keen to draw a line under the scandal, the question begs to be asked: How long will it take for India to recover from the latest GoaFest debacle?

BBDO India chairman and CCO Josy Paul, however, came out fighting against the charge: “The campaign was judged by two sets of jury at GoaFest with 12 members each. All 24 jury members did not have any issue with the work. Our campaign was shortlisted at Cannes 2012 and Spikes 2012. Another 30 jury members from around the world have seen our work...Nobody disqualified it.

“Art directors, architects and artists have been known to use, and be inspired by Escher’s drawings for decades now. It’s nobody’s property. The execution, the line, the finish of our campaign makes all the difference.”

May-June 2013

metals champion Ogilvy & Mather India skipped the show and Creativeland Asia took a bold stand against scam advertising when founder and creative chairman Sajan Raj Kurup (right) quit as digital jury chairman and declared an “awards hunger strike”

SCAM SCANDAL Creativeland’s Sajan Raj Kurup’s reaction had been linked to fallout from JWT’s Ford Figo scandal, which erupted days before Goafest. The scandal came to light after the offensive print series (below) was roundly condemned across the world when it was uploaded on Ads of the World. It was subsequently pulled in the middle of judging at GoaFest.

WITHDRAWN ENTRY Leo Burnett withdrew its Tata ‘Salt Lite’ radio campaign after winning two golds and two silvers. Questions had been raised about the campaign’s release and eligibility.

COPY COMPLAINTS More than a dozen creative plagiarism complaints were lodged against awards winners, including Burnett’s Tide (four silvers and a bronze) and ‘Coke Studio’ (gold, four silvers and a bronze), BBDO’s DHL campaign (two golds and a silver), DDB Mudra’s Electrolux work (two silvers, below right) and McCann’s ‘Active Total Security Systems’ work (print Grand Prix winner).

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22

GL O BA L

it's the real thing

1967

Coca-Cola receives first Cannes Lions for McCann's ‘Involvement’

1971

Iconic ‘Hilltop’ Coke commercial debuts on TV screens. Its 2012 iteration nets a Mobile Grand Prix

Whatever the platform, Coke has always made it about spreading joy and building its iconic standing

1979

Memorable ‘Mean Joe Greene’ TVC wins Clio for Best Television/Cinema

Clio, Cannes applaud Coke’s gold standard Stays true to brief to build iconic standing NEW YORK/CANNES From its iconic bottle shape and script to catchy jingles, Coca-Cola has carved an assured place in popular culture, the result of a “gold standard” it set in its global marketing communications.

Two major honors due in the coming weeks underscore the 127-year-old brand’s commitment to creative excellence. Clio Awards bestowed its inaugural Brand Icon prize and the Cannes Lions will honor the brand as Creative Advertiser of the Year, a testament to its many trailblazing marketing initiatives. The brand was among the first global companies to set up a creative department that helped build a heritage

2007

First time Coke wins gold, silver and bronze at Cannes in the same year with videogame ‘Happiness Factory’

2008

Coca-Cola’s refreshed brand identity wins its first Cannes Grand Prix for Design

2010

Coke’s ‘Happiness Machine’ wins Clio interactive gold

of creativity, from the creation of its contour bottle to support for the Olympics since 1928.

Its award-winning advertising has encompassed everything from traditional TV spots to outdoor installations and, in the last few years, cutting-edge digital executions such as its second screen Polar Bowl for the SuperBowl.

Whatever the platform, the work reflects its brand ethos — ‘Coke Brings Joy’ — while keeping Coke iconic. Award-winning work has come from across the world and a variety of agency partners – from the long-serving McCann Erickson, responsible for the iconic ‘Hilltop’ campaign about ‘Buying the World a Coke’ to Wieden+Kennedy, Ogilvy & Mather and Droga5. “As one of the most beloved, enduring and valuable brands in history, Coca-Cola continues to set the gold standard for out-of-thebox creative thinking,” said Nicole Purcell, Clio Awards executive director.

Its relentless pursuit of creative innovation in marketing saw the brand amass more than 100 Lions in over five decades of Cannes competition since winning its first two Lions in 1967. It had one of its best years in 2012 with 30 Lions, a haul that put it in second place in the advertisers’ metal rankings. There were two Grand Prix – Mobile for ‘Hilltop Re-imagined’ and Outdoor with ‘Coke Hands’, a strikingly beautiful poster that succeeded without overt branding.

2012

‘CokeHands’ nets Ogilvy Shanghai an Outdoor Grand Prix at Cannes

2013

Honored with the inaugural Clio Brand Icon award 2013 and Cannes Lions Creative Marketer Award

Coke's X-factor Coke leaders on brand's trailblazing work “Creativity has been and will always be at the heart of our brands. It fuels our business*.” ___

JOE TRIPODI EVP and chief marketing & commercial officer

“The Coca-Cola Company places a premium on creative excellence. It simply makes sound business sense* .” ___

JONATHAN MILDENHALL VP global advertising strategy & content excellence *Source The Inspiration Room

MYANMAR BOUND Ad networks rush to tap Asia's newest advertising frontier

forgettable brands?

94% The percentage of 1,500 Americans in the HD Trade Services survey who could not name a single Chinese brand despite the made-in-China label on most of the gadgets they buy.

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YANGON JWT has signed an affiliate agree-

YANGON Business design and brand consul-

ment with Myanmar’s Mango Marketing for a foothold in this new emerging advertising market. “There’s been an extremely high level of interest in Myanmar among our clients since the economic sanctions began to ease. The country is on the radar of many major companies operating in Asia,” said Michael Maedel, JWT APAC chairman. Burmese entrepreneurs Lynn Lynn Tin Htun and Aye Hnin Swe, who both have backgrounds in marketing, launched Mango as a full-service shop in 2004. Mango’s clients include Unilever, F&N, liquor company IBTC, and Manila-based United Pharma.

tancy Consulus has extended its Southeast Asian network to Myanmar through Device Services Company to help brands in Myanmar expand internationally. Device Services head Tin Zan Kyaw, a former PepsiCo general manager, will head the partnership. Tin said: “We are working with Consulus to help companies attain international standards and get new ideas by thinking outside the box. We hope to see a global Myanmar brand in every industry and sector,” Tin said.

May-June 2013

G L O B AL

23

R3 N E W BUS I N E S S LE AG U E

March 2013 Asia Pacific Top 10 Creative and Media Wins ACCOU NT

MONTH

AREA

Saatchi & Saatchi

Buick

Mar

China

DDB

IKEA

Mar

Australia

Y&R

Westfield

Mar

New Zealand

DDB

NongHyup

Mar

Korea

BBDO

Amorepacific Ryoe

Mar

Korea

McCann WorldGroup

China Telecom Global

Mar

Hong Kong

Publicis

NT Tourism

Mar

Australia

BBDO

Legacy

Mar

Australia

Draftfcb

Whirlpool

Mar

India

Leo Burnett

IPM BST

Mar

India

ACCOU NT

MONTH

AREA

Vizeum

BMW

Mar

Australia

Universal McCann

Haier

Mar

China

Carat

Burberry

Mar

China

ZenithOptimedia

Belle Shoes

Mar

China

ZenithOptimedia

Tourism NT

Mar

Australia

Vizeum

Burberry

Mar

Hong Kong

Maxus

Tesco

Mar

Malaysia

MediaCom

OPPO

Mar

China

Carat

Burberry

Mar

Korea

MediaCom

Banco De Oro

Mar

Philippines

ME DI A AG E NCY

NEW WINS LG'S CHOICE Y&R Indonesia has scooped LG Mobile’s creative business following a month-long review that concluded in mid-March. The agency has been tasked to produce LG Mobile’s upcoming television campaign around a new product launch. The Korean brand is keen to tap the potential of the market, which has shown an enormous appetite for digital gadgets and digital media consumption.

Photo gerry.ws

C R E AT I V E AG E N C Y

VIZEUM COUP Vizeum Taiwan scored the Asia Pacific Telecom Group account following a three-stage media pitch that began at the end of 2012. It has been assigned on- and offline duties on the account to the end of 2014. Asia Pacific is Vizeum’s first telecom client in the market.

BANKING BONUS Saatchi & Saatchi Thailand has scooped the creative mandate for Thanachart Bank following a three-way review that included incumbent Chuosenko.

The bank is Thailand’s fifth largest.

The R3 New Business League has been compiled each of the last 124 months using data supplied by 26 multinational agencies on a monthly basis to R3. In addition, this data supplied is balanced against Client Estimates, Nielsen ADEX, discounted to appropriate levels and then converted to a revenue estimate. R3 is the leading independent consultancy focused on tracking of agency performance, and marketing ROI for clients across the region.

ASIA PACIFIC Bentley Motors China has hired DDB China Group as its first creative lead agency on the mainland. Three other agencies were in the four-way shootout.

DDB’s first major task was creating communications for the luxury brand that debuted at late April’s Shanghai Auto Show.

Prior to DDB’s appointment, communications for what is Bentley’s secondlargest market worldwide was run out of the upscale brand’s global headquarters.

“We immediately liked DDB’s passion for the Bentley brands which they demonstrated throughout the pitch process,” said Richard Leopold, brand and marketing director of Bentley Motors China.

Photo Disney

DDB outguns three rivals in shootout

Richard Tan, president and CEO of DDB Group North China, added: “It’s fantastic partnering with such an iconic brand as Bentley in its second largest market worldwide. This is a great testament to the team of automotive talents we assembled from China and around the world to demonstrate our solid understanding of the market, the brand, the Chinese high net worth consumers and sheer strength as an experienced team.”

Despite signs of a slowing economy, China remains one of the few bright growth spots for luxury car brands, particularly with another 60,000 people joining the ranks of millionaires last year.

HAVAS AOR WIN Indonesian financial

Photo auto-types.com

Bentley picks DDB to drive China expansion

SHOPPER IDEAS Cheil India has bagged shopper marketing and activation duties from The Walt Disney Company for its ‘Disney Princess Academy’. It has been tasked with devising solutions to promote the academy’s products in the modern trade. The entertainment and retail giant has awarded social media and merchandizing promotion duties for the upcoming Planes movie, Marvel releases and Disney Fashion stores.

May-June 2013

institution Lembaga Penjamin Simpanan has handed its media AOR assignment to Havas Media Indonesia following a five-way pitch. The remit covers traditional as well as digital media planning and buying for a group referred to as Indonesia Deposit Insurance Corporation.

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GL O BA L

TEA TASK

Photo designweek.uk

NEW WINS

Twinings Tea has appointed Leo Burnett as its creative agency in Asia Pacific to support its growth plans across the region. Burnett becomes Twinings’ first regional AOR and will initially work on an eight-market remit that covers China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. “We made our decision based on our belief that Leo Burnett really understands what’s we’re trying to do,” said Will Ursell, Twinings’ brand development director, Asia Pacific.

HSBC keeps WPP duo, adds to creative roster

Photocdn.firstcry.com

JWT and MindShare back after pitch

GLOBAL DEAL Singapore-based Arcade has been handed global digital duties for Close-Up, Unilever’s oral care brand. Arcade also works on Unilever’s Clear brand – it has handled Clear Shampoo’s launch campaign in North America and created an immersive 3D game to launch the new Clear Men’s Deep Cleanse variant dubbed ‘Escape Dirt City’.

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JWT, TBWA scoop new Samsonite jobs TBWA wins India brief without pitch

Photo couponsdealdaily.com

LUXURY WIN British fashion brand Burberry has handed its global media planning and buying business, valued at more than £70 million, to Aegis Media, the company’s first global win as a Dentsu-owned agency brand.

The Asia Pacific portion of the business is believed to be in the region of £30 million, dwarfing the more than £20 million that goes to Europe and North America. Digital is expected to account for as much as 60% of the overall global spend.

LONDOn WPP networks JWT and MindShare have retained their grip on HSBC’s global account though new agencies, including WPP-owned Grey London and Bates Hong

HONG KONG/MUMBAi Samsonite has firmed up creative assignments across Asia, awarding new duties to JWT Hong Kong and appointing TBWA\Mumbai for its Samsonite and American Tourister brands in India.

The Hong Kong shop was tapped to launch the company’s Hartmann (right) and High Sierra brands, both acquired in 2012, on top of its regional advertising duties for the luggage company’s mainstay Samsonite and American Tourister labels.

Samsonite plans to introduce the luxury Hartmann brand across Asia Pacific and expand the casual lifestyle High Sierra line beyond its core regional markets of Australia and the Philippines.

Samsonite has enjoyed success on the sales and awards front in its partnership with JWT. American Tourister sales climbed 41.9% in 2012 over the previous year, helping

May-June 2013

Kong, have been added to the creative roster.

JWT and Grey London will serve as lead agencies on the £400 million global brief, while newcomer Saatchi & Saatchi has been handed the global premier and wealth business and sponsorship advertising.

JWT has retained the majority of HSBC’s global brand work and its retail and wealth banking for North Africa and North America.

It also scored a new global assignment – the bank’s 150th anniversary campaign for 2015.

The network will work with sister WPP agency Bates in Hong Kong for Asia Pacific. Bates has had a long relationship with the bank, which was previously based out of the city.

Grey’s assignment covers retail and wealth banking mainly in Europe and Latin America but also the global private banking business.

Five agencies including BBDO and the winning agencies were shortlisted during the five-month review that began late last year.

HSBC began phasing out ‘The World’s Local Bank’ proposition in early 2012 and has yet to decide on a new communications strategy.

HSBC’s decision to retain MindShare as its global media planning and buying agency was announced a month after the creative alignments. JWT and MindShare were first appointed in 2004 after WPP outgunned rivals in HSBC’s consolidated global review.

Asia boost the company’s global bottomline.

Samsonite’s ‘Heaven & Hell’ work created

by JWT Shanghai has since emerged as the most awarded print ad of all time.

TBWA meanwhile won the India creative mandate without a pitch, on the back of the agency’s work on Lavie, a brand of handbags for women from Samsonite’s related concern in India, Bagzone.

“The work done by TBWA\India on Lavie has contributed significantly to the brand achieving success in very little time,” said Suresh Menon, CEO of Samsonite South Asia.

Photo vgmalta.com

24

G L O B AL

25

wpp's digital split

34%

WPP is spending 34%, amounting to some US$72bn, of overall media investments on digital media, up from a base of zero 10 years ago, the decade of Google, according to CEO Martin Sorrell.

$2bn

REAL BEAUTy Dove’s nearly decade-old ‘Campaign for Real Beauty’ is as relevant today as it was at its launch in 2004. As with 2006’s online video ‘Evolution’, the new ‘Dove Real Beauty Sketches’ also took the internet by storm. This Ogilvy & Mather Brazil social experiment employed an FBI-trained forensic artist to sketch a group of women based on descriptions they and strangers provided. More than 15 million people viewed the online film that showed strangers’ perceptions were invariably more flattering.

Dentsu crosses final hurdle in Aegis buy Wins China regulatory nod for deal TOKYO/LONDON Dentsu Inc has gained Chinese regulatory approval for its acquisition of Aegis Media, meeting the final hurdle in its eightmonth-long takeover process.

The US$5 billion acquisition is now expected to close in the year’s final quarter. China is able to rule on global mergers that affect its market

under its anti-monopoly law. The combined Dentsu-Aegis operation will become China’s third-largest advertising company, according to Shusaku Kannan, Dentsu Inc senior manager and spokesperson. “I believe the Asia Pacific region is a market that will grow considerably in the medium to long term. Since client needs are increasing steadily throughout the region, all Asia Pacific countries are important markets for us.

“Under the circumstances, our acquisition of Aegis will position the new Dentsu Group as the leader in the media business in Asia Pacific.”

GLOBAL DIGITAL MOVES Havas taps content chief NEW YORK Vin Farrell has joined Havas Worldwide in the

MEC hires digital chief NEW YORK MEC has recruited the head of Digitas’ global

new role of global chief content officer to provide global oversight of content creation, curation, development, production and distribution. Farrell was until recently SVP of creative operations at R/GA, where he helped build and manage the global integration and output of R/GA's digital studio, experiential, retail and presentation design capabilities. “We’re enhancing our creative and digital offering, and further establishing our credentials as an industry leader in digital and with expertise in content,” said Havas global president Andrew Bennett of Farrell’s appointment.

media practice, Carl Fremont, for the new role of global chief digital officer. Fremont, who joined in May, will work with MEC’s digital leadership and others around the world to form a team that will spearhead the growth of the network’s digital business globally. Fremont previously led a team of more than 500, working with Digitas clients such as American Express, Whirlpool, Delta, Mars and eBay. “Carl’s mix of skills has made him one of the leading digital specialists in the industry; he is uniquely qualified to help us navigate and develop the future of our business,” said MEC global CEO Charles Courtier.

May-June 2013

The search titan, “a media owner masquerading as a tech company”, according to Sorrell, earned $2bn of WPP’s investment in the last quarter and was set to overtake WPP’s biggest beneficiary for now, News Corp.

$400m

AOL and Yahoo earn $400m to $500m from WPP. Despite its popularity and size, Facebook trails at $270m.

40% WPP has targeted to have 40% of its business come from digital, noting opportunities in mobile where consumers spend 30% of their time but spend trails at 20%.

20%

Sorrell also pointed to a disconnect in spend allotted to print, pegged at 20% even though consumers are only spending 7% to 9% of their time on this medium.

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GL O BA L

GLOBAL ADSPEND REPORT

Media agency networks have crunched the numbers and are bullish about adspend growth from 2014 onwards, especially for Asia Pacific, a region that seemingly lost its sizzle in 2012 after advertisers in China curtailed ad investment as economic concerns grew

Growth Forecast

3.2%

2012 $557bn Global Spend*

Brakes on Asia Pacific growth, 2012

5.0%

63%

11.5%

20%

2012

4.3%+ 8%

Year-on-year increase in global adspend

2.8% * Nielsen

Global Spend*

* forecast, Carat

TV remains king in terms of global adspend for 2012, accounting for almost two-thirds of the overall ad revenue.*

Peripheral -6.6% Eurozone Northern and Central Europe Japan North America Advanced Asia

Television

MENA

Newspapers

Fast-track Asia

Magazines

Eastern Europe and Central Asia

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May-June 2013

IPG sharpens teams’ digital competence

1.0% 3.4% 4.5% 5.5% 10.3% 11.2% 13.2%

* ZenithOptimedia

MindShare integrates China TV, online teams Responds to spike in online video viewing

Photo wikipedia.org

SINGAPORE In a first for IPG Mediabrands globally, its Asian operations have become “fully hybrid” with planners adept at handling on- and offline media to craft a single marketing solution.

Launched a year ago by IPG’s Asia cluster, ‘Project Hybrid’ was set on achieving 90% compliance by April 2013.

Madhavi Tumkur, IPG head of marketing communications for its Asia cluster, explained that the move did not mean traditional media planning jobs would become extinct. “The job description will be augmented and reprioritized.

People who planned newspaper and radio before

TV came in didn’t become extinct afterwards.

They learned TV planning and continued to stay relevant.”

Under ‘Project Hybrid’, the network “repurposed” digital planners as ‘superspecialists’ in areas such as search, social, creative services and real time buying, or turned them into integrated planners and buyers, comfortable with digital in the same way they are with traditional media.

To reach its compliance target, IPG provided intensive training programs over the past 12 months, coupled with deep changes in structure, KPIs, incentive systems, infusion of a range of new capabilities, and various cultural initiatives to eliminate the line between online and offline.

Tumkur said teams across the region were now capable of creating digital/cross media plans while all TV buyers were capable of selling digital video and digital TV ads. “Each of them had at least one campaign executed. Some are now required to do advanced planning and strategy,” said Tumkur added.

Hybrid skills vary across markets. “There are markets where we have more than 20 conversation planners alone managing peerto-peer content, communities and commerce for our clients.”

“Today, digital is the mainstream; not a speciality. It is the second largest medium globally as well as in many of the Asian markets.

The lines we draw between offline and online are anachronistic and actually only exist in the minds of those in denial of the new reality,” said Prashant Kumar (above), CEO of IPG Mediabrands for World Markets Asia.

0.2%

Latin America

* Nielsen Global AdView Pulse report

IPG ‘Project Hybrid’ at 90% compliance

Global Spend*

Forecast by Region 2012-13*

Cinema

0.3%

2015

* forecast, ZenithOptimedia

Digital/Outdoor

8.7%

5.6%

2014

2012 Global Spend by Medium*

Asia Pacific underperforms as adspend growth slowed significantly, the result of China’s slight 1.9% increase.*

2012

Global Spend*

* forecast, Carat

* Nielsen

2011

3.7%

2013

SHANGHAI MindShare China has repurposed its television tactical planning team as investment strategists for today’s multi-screen environment.

The shift comes amid forecasts of a sharp growth in online video, with reports that 65.1% of China’s 538 million internet users were watching online videos regularly.

The agency now has more than 100 investment strategists, technologists and thinkers to deal with shifting viewership trends.

The launch of a multi-screen investment team delivers upon the need for a movement from silo to integrated solutions,” said Trisha Armstrong, head of investment, MindShare China.

Developed an integrated process, roles and systems to support multi-screen investment, where investment decisions would be critical in the upfront media vehicle selection process for driving incremental reach, managing inflation and providing greater integrated communication strategies.

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GL O BA L

Go big or go home Global campaigns are bigger than ever, helped by internet audiences giving the work a viral boost

Vodafone

Evian

Pepsi Max

Fanta

Campaign ‘The Kiss’ to promote new text and talk phone plan, Red. Agencies Grey London, OMD The Work Launched on TV and online, this well-made 90-second spot marks a significant departure in the tone the telecoms giant had previously adopted.

Set to Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi’s haunting Walk, the spot tugs at the heartstrings: It traces a couple’s lifelong relationship, with a kiss marking each stage of their life together. From the very first as young sweethearts, right through to their golden years. Despite the sentimental content, the spot is well crafted and movingly conveys the point that ‘Good Things Should Last Forever’. It’s Vodafone’s latest ad to push the message of solid lifelong partnerships, and in this case serves as a metaphor for the operator’s new unlimited talk and text product, Red.

Campaign ‘Baby & Me’ to grow consumer preference beyond brand’s high-end market for-women positioning.

Agencies BETC Paris, Havas Media International The Work The new baby dancing spot – a follow-up to 2009’s Guinness World Record success of ‘Live Young Roller Babies’ video – is another internet sensation.

In the latest installment, adults see their inner infant reflected on a store window. With the magic of CGI, the babies smoothly mimic the adults’ complex dance moves to the beat of Yuksek’s remix of Ini Kamoze’s ‘Here Comes the Hotstepper’. The spot was due to be broadcast in 15 markets worldwide, including China, following the April 19 online launch.

Evian appears to be saying a drink of its brand of water will set consumers’ inner infant free. The brand’s connection with babies dates back to 1935 France, when Evian was recommended as the ideal water for babies. BETC has been using babies from its first campaign – 1998’s ‘Water Babies’.

Campaign ‘Live for Now’, the first phase in a wide-ranging collaboration to re-engage fans around Beyonce’s ‘Mrs. Carter Show World Tour’ Agencies 180 Los Angeles US, OMD The Work As the ad title suggests, Pepsi’s brand ambassador for the past decade faces a looking glass for an all-out dance faceoff with her past self set to her upcoming track, Grown Woman.

She faces off with her leotardclad alter ego from Single Ladies to her hot pants-wearing self from Crazy in Love and her Bootylicious self, all of whom she defeats in a sequence that embodies the brands ‘Live for Now’ ethos.

‘Mirrors’ – Beyonce’s first spot since re-signing with the brand at the end of 2012 – launched online in early April and is due to go on air in 70 markets.

Campaign ‘Play Fanta’ banks on the central role of ‘play’ in teens’ development to sharpen engagement with this target segment.

Agencies Ogilvy & Mather, The Alchemists, Psyop The Work Anchored on a graphic novel, this groundbreaking campaign offers endless story-telling and gaming content as it immerses teens in a Fanta-branded world.

‘Play Fanta’ is playable across technology platforms, screens, geographies and languages.

The global rollout will cover 190 markets and centers on a nine-chapter graphic novel, Saving the Source. The novel tells the tale of a group of teens who are on a mission to save ‘play’ after it disappears from their town. Hollywood scriptwriters The Alchemists provided the central narrative and Psyop delivered the graphic novel look in a campaign led by Ogilvy.

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D I G I T A L

Real-time engagement

SingTel digital marketing director Miguel Bernas outlines a game plan for real-time social media marketing

SINGAPORE SingTel staged its most ambitious social media marketing campaign ‘When You Need Speed Now’ in taking its new 4G service to market. The campaign kicked off with print ads before shifting to the internet with a Twitter hashtag (#need4gspeed) and combined speed with humor. The latter provided by local funnyman Hossan Leong (above), giving the campaign its “unmistakably Singaporean feel”, said SingTel’s Miguel Bernas.

Execution A collaborative effort between SingTel’s digital marketing team, media agency MEC and digital agency OgilvyOne, the campaign was designed around the idea of igniting consumers’ imagination about what they could do with all that speed. “We wanted to bring to life the promise of high-speed connectivity that comes with 4G, and Twitter provided the ideal platform,” Bernas said. “Importantly, it also showed how seriously SingTel takes interacting with consumers using social media.”

The campaign kicked off at exactly 9:00am on March 14 with an invitation on Twitter to share situations when having a high-speed 4G connection would come in handy. Within minutes, suggestions flooded in on Twitter and Leong took the best ones, turning them into improvised comedy skits which were then published on YouTube minutes later. 23 videos were uploaded, accompanied by more tweets and images to keep the telco’s dialogue with consumers moving, all within an eight-hour window.

As an early proponent of real-time social media marketing, #Need4GSpeed not only enjoyed the early mover cachet but potentially risks yet-to-be-identified in using the platform.

One such challenge was finding the right personality to give the campaign legs. As

Singapore’s quintessential funnyman, Leong, as it turned out, was the perfect fit. “We needed to ensure that the artist we were working with brought to the table the perfect balance of Singaporean-ness, wit and irreverence that would make the movement spread like wildfire.”

Another challenge was the real-time element.

“We had to try to foresee every contingency [and] we spent a lot of time planning and assigning teams to monitoring and community engagement so that on the day of the campaign we could focus on producing the videos.”

Results The #Need4GSpeed hashtag continued to trend in Singapore a day after the campaign ended, driving more than 32,400 engagements (retweets, comments, video views, clicks) in one day. The campaign, which lasted for only nine hours, also increased traffic to the SingTel 4G website by 39%.

Real-time checklist Plan it like a military campaign Bernas laid out the essentials such as mapping the activities of the day down to the minute, producing whatever materials needed ahead of time (video end credits, still images for memes, etc.) and ensuring everyone understands their role on the day itself.

Have Plan B scenarios ready “Choosing to run your campaign in social media means accepting that you can’t control all the variables,” Bernas said. So before the big day, the team shot a number of stills of Leong to use as responses to tweets in between video uploads which effectively filled in the gaps, ensuring that people were engaged.

Take creative risks Running a campaign real time means the usual checks and balances present in conventional marketing campaigns are not available. “It means taking a small group of people in the organization and empowering them to make decisions on the spot,” he said. Leong checked the boxes, chosen not only for his popularity but also for “the edge and irreverence he brings to the table. The last thing you want to do is hold back that creativity in any way”, Bernas said.

May-June 2013

c O M M U N I T Y, TELCO-STYLE Telco CSL’s one2free Project ‘Playground’ Agency TBWA\Hong Kong The mass-market brand set out show Hong Kong’s fun side, a core part of its new brand strategy.

The initiative is anchored on a long-term mobile platform, ‘Playground’, an app gives users access to bite-sized games and hidden surprises throughout the city accessed by image and sound scanning, status badges, play credits to share and use, redeemable rewards, a million dollars worth of bonus giveaways at launch and is fully integrated with Facebook. The free app is open to all and available in both iOS and Android, but includes exclusive rewards and ‘unlockables’ exclusively for one2free customers. “Mobile is now the primary personal channel to connect with consumers and research showed that the two key behaviours of consumers were in social networking and mobile gaming. We have connected these elements, along with the long established ‘Jetso’ gift seeking local behavior to deliver the Playground,” said Mark Liversidge, CSL chief marketing officer .

Telco Globe Telecom Project ‘Globe Community’ As its name suggests, ‘Globe Community’ (community.globe.com.ph) is a social portal to encourage knowledge-sharing of the telco’s products and services with other users. With Lithium Social Web, the initiative seeks to meet the 24/7 demands of consumers who seek information and feedback from online and social media channels.

“Because of the power of social media, consumers are more empowered... It’s critical we provide support through any channel our customers wish to engage,”said Globe president and CEO Ernest Cu.

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DI G I T A L

From a crawl to a stroll Taking the temperature of the Philippines’ e-commerce industry Words Chris de Pio Sanchez

THE OUTLOOK for the nascent Philippine e-commerce sector – despite such sobering developments as the recent closure announcement of a high-profile actor – is looking up.

Between 45-50 billion pesos was spent online in the Philippines in 2012, a whopping 40% higher than in 2011.

The figures were revealed at a February 2013 summit of the Digital Commerce Association of the Philippines (DCOM), the body that aims to advance e-commerce in the country.

Studies have also tracked an uptick in local online shopping. Among other findings, Visa’s e-Commerce Consumer Monitor Research 2012 discovered that 71% of its Filipino

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respondents bought goods or services online in 2012, versus just 35% 12 months previously.

For its part, MasterCard’s Online Shopping Behavior Study 2012 determined that over the last three months, a greater number of Filipinos, 64% of respondents, shopped online in 2012, up from 61% during the same period in 2011 and just 38% during the same period in 2010.

The MasterCard survey further determined that Filipinos’ propensity to conduct online transactions increased in 2012. It also discovered that Filipinos’ online shopping satisfaction rating was 86.1% in 2012, up from 84.4% in 2011 and 82.6% in 2010.

Follow the region The Philippine e-commerce sector is far from alone in seeing brighter prospects in 2013.

A February 2013 report by eMarketer found that Asia Pacific was second only to the US in e-commerce market size in 2012 – 30.5% (US$332bn) to the US’ estimated 33.5% (US$365bn) of the global total. The two are projected to swap places this year: eMarketer expects the Asia-Pacific region to shoot past the US with a 33.4% share versus the latter’s estimated 31.5%.

While the Philippine e-commerce sector may be a relative blip against this dynamic

May-June 2013

backdrop, the increasing acceptance of e-commerce locally, coupled with the country’s newfound economic strength, is paving the way for it to join the major players in the future.

S TAT AT TA C K

71% RESPONDENTS

Visa’s 2012 research reveals that 71% of Filipino respondents bought goods or services online

86.1% S AT I S FA C T I O N

MasterCard’s 2012 survey found 86.1% of Filipinos satisfied with online shopping

Whys and wherefores The factors that have hindered Philippine growth are well documented. Levels of trust in e-commerce have historically been low, due to heavily publicized scams and other such problems experienced by some early purchasers.

Additionally, few payment methods were initially available aside from credit cards, the use of which was perceived to expose owners to security risks as well as the imposition of hidden charges.

Infrastructural

rigidities plaguing the Philippines have also boosted shipping costs and/or brought about shipping delays.

In recent years, the development of advanced solutions such as those for online payment, the establishment of local e-commerce outfits and new players in the market, and improved conduct of online purchasing have done much to buttress the reputation of e-commerce and make it more appealing to a wide range of Filipino consumers.

Strategies for a “brave new world” The perception of online security in the Philippines has significantly improved over the last couple of years. Almost 80% of those surveyed by the aforementioned Visa study claimed to feel more secure than two years previously, thanks to better protection for financial and personal data, as well as efforts undertaken by banks and financial institutions to keep the public better informed about such measures. (That said, over 33% of respondents to the MasterCard survey who did not purchase anything online over the last year cited these concerns as their primary reasons for hesitating.)

A major factor boosting trust in e-commerce

is local retailer presence, which helps allay the concerns of high shipping costs or settling disputes with a seller from far away. Quite a few e-commerce outfits have set up shop in the Philippines over the last few years, and sell an exceedingly wide range of products and services, from shoes to airplane tickets and everything in between.

Lazada, for instance, which is owned by top international e-commerce incubator Rocket Internet, has been firmly established in the Philippines since 2012.

The latest arrivals include sites such as Hallo Hallo Mall and Goods.ph.

Other top players in the Philippine e-commerce scene are homegrown companies, such as CashCashPinoy, which debuted in 2010, pioneered the introduction of flash sales to the Philippine market and currently leads the local flash-sale category.

A related development is the establishment of online stores by prominent local brick-andmortar brands, including clothing and lifestyle specialist Bench, toy retailer Toy Kingdom, adult and child clothing retailer Bayo, and casual clothing giant Penshoppe. Filipinos are expected to be more willing to buy from online stores run by established brands such as these.

The establishment of payment solutions other than credit cards has also been a considerable boon to would-be customers.

Depending on individual e-commerce sites, customers can transact via an appreciably broad

B2C e-commerce sales share by region Asia-Pacific is projected to usurp the ecommerce sales share throne of North America this year with a surge of online buying in the region.

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THE CONTENDERS Facebook mentions on election candidates Women’s Day March 5

Sulit: The Classifieds King Who Launched by entrepreneurs RJ and Arianne David on September 11, 2006, Sulit is a free and very popular online classified advertisement website. “Sulit” was the Davids’ name of choice for their site because it means “worth it” in English and can also serve as an acronym for “Super Low Internet Trading.”

Point of Interest Sulit is currently the 8th-highest ranked website in the Philippines, according to Alexa. In respect of the fact that in March 2013 the site enjoyed 58 million mobile views – over thrice the number in the same period in 2012 – the company is focusing on developing its mobile website in order to better service its burgeoning number of mobile users.

USP The simplicity of the Sulit model – registered users acquire an online space where they can sell items even to non-registered buyers, both of whom can arrange where and when to meet and how to transact.

Asia-Pacific North America Western Europe Eastern Europe Latin America MENA

25.7% 31.5%

3.5% 3.9%

D IG IT AL

33.4%

2.1% Source eMarketer Report

May-June 2013

CashCashPinoy: The Flash Sale Four-Striper Who Launched in 2010, Cash Cash Pinoy is the top web portal in the Philippines that specializes in flash sales for products, services and travel.

It leads a competitive segment participated in by local actors such as Metrodeal and international players like Groupon and LivingSocial.

Point of Interest CashCashPinoy currently offers 650 of its “Live Deals” daily, offering more than 300 top brands including Levi’s, Tory Burch, Samsung and Etude House. An internal survey held in January 2013 determined a 97% member satisfaction rate.

USP Cash Cash Pinoy organizes members-only brand sales events over 10 day periods for end-of-season or overstock inventory, for up to 90% off regular prices. The company focuses on customer satisfaction and boasts an exclusive anti-fraud process.

Illustrations Benjamin Abesamis

Illustrations Jemimah Basilio

FR O M A CR AW L T O A ST R O LL

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DI G I T A L

THE CONTENDERS

Lazada: New Now Knows How Who Owned by international online venture builder Rocket Internet and also present in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, Lazada bills itself as “the fastest-growing e-commerce website in the Philippines”. It burst upon the local scene in March 2012.

Point of Interest Lazada is one of the most popular local sites, ranking 36th of all such sites on Alexa and averaging 150,000 unique visits daily. It is a brand to reckon with on Facebook – it boasts 840,000 fans, is the most talked-about local brand, and was the 12th most-talked-about globally in March.

USP Lazada’s product range encompasses 20,000 items in 12 categories, including consumer electronics and fashion and accessories. Lazada offers cash on delivery among its payment methods, helping convince wary would-be customers to try online shopping.

Xend: The e-Commerce Enabler Who Founded in 2004, Xend is an e-commerce logistics specialist, leveraging its expertise in technology to serve the growing e-commerce market.

Point of Interest Xend boasts 50,000 merchants in its database and has successfully delivered more than three million packages since its inception. It’s the first company in the Philippines to offer real-time online pickup scheduling and easy online waybill printing, and it’s the first in the world to boast an embeddable trust badge widget and customizable auto-emails for package tracking.

USP Xend offers e-commerce-friendly shipping services that allow users to accomplish everything online, from account creation to package shipping. Standout features include “unli”-weight shipping rates, free pickup within Metro Manila and nearby provinces, insured shipping up to 2,000 pesos free-of-charge, and a money-back guarantee for late deliveries.

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range of methods, including Globe Telecom’s or Smart Communication’s virtual wallet services (known as GCash and Smart Money respectively), debit cards offered by various banks, and payment services such as Paypal and Dragonpay. Additionally, those for whom credit cards are the only way to purchase online can enhance security through services such as MasterCard Securecode or Verified by Visa.

Many firms are working to establish a presence on social media, taking advantage of its reach and scope to augment their marketing thrusts. These platforms lend themselves to many applications, from playing host to paid advertisements to serving as the venue for sustained customer-engagement initiatives designed to build communities, boost reputation and, by so doing, grow local awareness of and engender trust in brands.

Bullish tones – yet muted expectations It’s important to note that despite the more optimistic outlook for the e-commerce sector, the expectations of many continue to remain muted, not least because the success stories celebrated by the industry have taken place against the backdrop of a considerable number of failures.

Multiply is far and away the highest-profile victim of the vicissitudes of the market. The former social-networking site had made headlines approximately a year ago by attempting to transform itself wholesale into an e-commerce platform.

On April 26, Multiply CEO Stefan Magdalinski stunned the business world by announcing that his teams’ efforts at reinvention had been unsuccessful, and that, consequently, Multiply was to close on May 6 and cease all business operations as of May 31.

Magdalinski, however, hastened to add that Multiply shareholder MIH continues to remain optimistic about e-commerce in the Philippines and Indonesia. Consequently, it had boosted its investments in its online classified-ad services in these markets – Sulit.com and Tokobagus. com respectively – both of which sit atop their respective market segments.

Moving forward While e-commerce in the Philippines is yet to have its day, e-commerce firms continue to work diligently to help bring it about.

The various e-commerce players are pursuing ways to deepen the buying public’s trust in e-commerce. For instance, as explained

by Frederic Levy, chief executive officer of CashCashPinoy, the DCOM is working closely

May-June 2013

“Ideas are great. Ideas are the engine that fuels this industry.

Clients pay us for ideas.

The problem I have with ideas is that they’re easy to make but 99% of them don’t get made.”

with the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to craft a “Trust Seal”, intended for prominent display on e-commerce sites that meet or exceed established customerservice standards. This seal is expected to assure potential buyers of the quality of a site’s offerings and security of sales transactions.

But the most anticipated developments are those relating to the spread of mobile, widely regarded as the next frontier for commerce.

Arthur Policarpio, Mobext Asia Pacific head, says that the convenience offered by mobile solutions such as smartphones and tablets significantly decreases barriers to consumer purchases by, in effect, situating the store right in shoppers’ palms. Moreover, mobile commerce or “m-commerce” has tremendous potential in the Philippines given the deep penetration and widespread acceptance of mobile payments and cash transfers via cellphone.

Additionally, focusing on mobile apps provides firms with an unmatched opportunity to focus on the user experience and make it as streamlined and as simple as possible.

Adroitly designed apps allow brands to tailor experiences for their users that they will be happy to repeat over and over – helping instill brand loyalty.

Some companies are already planning to take advantage of the possibilities mobile offers. For example, Sulit.com recently announced plans to ramp up development of its mobile website after seeing that more users were accessing the site via mobile devices – 58 million in March 2013 compared to just 14 million in 2012.

Also, Globe Telecom recently introduced its GCASH American Express Virtual Pay – a virtual debit card providing GCASH subscribers with access to online sites that do not ship products directly to the Philippines, as well as app stores such as the iTunes Store.

cr acking co d ing

v ie w point

Cracking coding Learn basic coding and your future self will thank you for acquiring the skill Words Jamie Tolentino

As a marketing channel, it’s pretty much safe to say that digital has arrived and is here to stay for a long time until the next wave of technology replaces it.

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However, to get ahead of the curve, it is not sufficient to just live, breathe and consume digital. We must begin to reconnect with its roots and learn how digital is made. In short, we must start to learn how to code.

While it’s true that coding is not an essential aspect in coming up with creative digital ideas and brilliant digital strategies, having a basic understanding of code will do wonders for your day-to-day digital work. You will be able to pick up some technical nuances in your projects that you would never have noticed before.

For instance, you will probably be able to pick out the CSS file from your landing page and know what font size or font face was used and be comfortable with making an HMTL email without a WYSIWYG editor. I can attest to doing both of these after learning the basics of code.

You don’t need to be able to code websites from scratch, or learn every bit of HTML, CSS and Javascript there is to know. You only need to know the basics of each aspect, and how they work together. Rest assured, you will have a newfound appreciation for your in-house developers or your development agency after this exercise.

Learning about the basics of code will also enhance your relationships with your developers and your development agency. If they refer to a certain tag for SEO or Google Analytics code, you will probably be able to understand the technicalities a bit more, resulting in better project management, communication and supervision of work.

So where do you start? There are loads of online resources on the web including Codecademy, Coursera, Udacity, Code Avengers, Code.org and Codeschool. Just pick one, stick with it and soon you’ll be slightly more digitally enlightened. If that doesn’t work, you can always call your developers or development agency to deliver some form of training. Learn to code, and your future self will thank you.

May-June 2013

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Jamie Tolentino currently works as a digital marketer at a global asset management firm. She was previously an innovation strategist at Quirk London.

She writes for TNW (The Next Web) and blogs on the Huffington Post UK.

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DI G I T A L

digital sho wcase

Digital Showcase Century Tuna and KFC pitch irresistible offers to online audiences Nescafé ‘EDGAR’ MRM Manila Nescafé and its agency turned to EDGAR to target the brand’s ever-growing fan base of 20- to 30-year old young professionals, Short for Earth Defense Giant Automatic Robot, EDGAR is giant robot controlled by a five-man team from iconic Filipino band Parokya ni Edgar, and their archnemesis, an alien named Rebolto, played by funny man Ramon Bautista. Reminiscent of the programs like Voltes V and Ultraman, the online video and growing viral hit shows how a cup of Nescafé can win over the forces of evil. The online spot was supported by further activation and radio.

Century Canning Corporation ‘Ultimate Fansign’ Y&R Philippines A web-based campaign was created to promote Century Tuna’s Facebook fanpage and overall message of health and wellbeing. Fans were asked to tell the brand what made them the ultimate fan. The winner stood to win a chance to get their fan sign on the body of their favorite Century Tuna endorser complete with a video showing their idol sporting the ultimate fan sign. According to the agency, the campaign far exceeded targets despite having next to no budget for its execution.

KFC ‘Krushers Island’ OgilvyOne This digital promo offered the fastfood chain’s teen market something no other summer promo has ever offered: The chance to own an island. Users simply had to log onto www.krushersisland.com and use their wit to claim ownership of the island. A three-day stay on one of the Philippines’ 7,107 islands — complete with accommodation, nonstop beach activities and bottomless Krushers – awaited the winner and seven friends

Love Yourself ‘Project Indulge’ Campaigns & Grey The non-profit launched the online and social media campaign to counter the alarming rise of HIV infections in the country. A departure from the usual fear tactics associated with HIV testing, ‘Project Indulge’ placed HIV testing in the same category as pampering oneself with skin and hair care and clothing. It positioned HIV testing as part of a grooming routine, the ultimate pampering treatment.

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Save Our Sons & Duchenne Foundation ‘The Most Powerful Arm Ever Invented’ Havas Worldwide Sydney, Red Agency & Finch Production & Reactive Digital A powerful online petition created to petition the Australian government to fund clinical trials for a fatal musclewasting disease, Muscular Dystrophy.

Since the first muscles to suffer are the arms, the agencies turned to a robotic arm that had been created and tasked with translating a user’s Facebook name into a signature to petition the government to stop the disease in its tracks.

Cerebos ‘You Can’t Live Without the R’ Briq Singapore This integrated digital marketing campaign to promote Cerebos’ Brand’s liver supplement, Sesamin with Shisandra Extract, sought to drive home the importance of liver health with the tagline, ‘You Can’t Live Without the R’. Social media and other digital platforms were used to drive traffic to activation events and to www. brandshealthyliving.com/livertest where a speed animation video set out to educate site visitors about liver health. The site also featured ecommerce promotional offers.

KLM ‘Claim your place in space’ RAPP/Tribal DDB Amsterdam The online competition asked entrants to guess the height at which a high-altitude balloon released by KLM above the Nevada desert would pop and fall back to earth. To help them, the agency created a website with an interactive film tracking the balloon, which had been equipped with GPS and cameras to track its exact position. The prize: A once-in-a-lifetime trip on next year’s first commercial flight to space, which would normally cost US$95,000.

McDonald’s ‘Most Macho’ DDB China Group This online tribute to fathers supported an integrated marketing campaign jointly developed by TBWA\Shanghai and Leo Burnett to turn the Big Mac into an iconic product in China, as it is elsewhere.

A mini-site was created on one of the country’s social media platforms and featured a game that used QR code for visitors to choose from seven macho personalities that best reflected their dads. They simply had to shake their mobile phones to make their selection, thus creating a personalized burger, which could win them a Big Mac at half price or other McDonald’s coupons.

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CREAT IVE R EVI EW

S A N T O S H PA D H I

Creative Review Santosh Padhi has given the two thumbs rating to two pieces of work at the opposite ends of the emotional spectrum.

Since starting in advertising 18 years ago, Santosh Padhi has amassed an enviable body of work for some of the biggest brands in India. He was with Leo Burnett for a decade as executive creative director and national head of art. Upon leaving, he co-founded Taproot India, which won the Agency of the Year crown at this year’s AdFest. Padhi is Taproot’s chief creative officer.

Samsung ‘Why’ Cheil Worldwide TVC Not exciting as a proposition. Not that relevant to youth, ideas or execution-wise, even though the premise – told in a not very fresh way – could have saved a lot, at least in the way it was shot. These days, youth brands have to be shot in a way that reflects their personality/ liking.

Lexus ‘Chinese New Year’ Ace Saatchi & Saatchi Print This is one of the oldest visual points – to make something out of something. I don’t see much pain being taken to make sure lots of cars look like a snake. It’s relevant to the Chinese New Year. I thought it was a good attempt to connect the ride to the way a snake takes off.

But if this ad is about bringing these things, the execution was lacking.

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Sky Broadband 10Mbps ‘Oversleep’ BBDO Guerrero TVC Quite a mad idea for sure. Missing kid comes back from living in the wall after a few years. Bizzare, youthful. Fits the proposition very well. Wish these kinds of ideas get more time (at least a few more seconds) to glorify/demonstrate the power of the idea.

Creative Guild of the Phils.

‘Young Creative Competition, Cannes Young Lions’ Y&R Philippines Print Interesting, there is certain amount of joy. A cock fight is a very cultural fit for the market – which is what I assume, which makes it more relevant to the target. Wish it had been executed more boldly with a lot more local flavor. There was scope to be bolder/edgier as it’s targeted at the creativity community.

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Kassel Residences ‘Kangaroo’ Y&R Philippines Print Nice insightful visual for the proposition, looks clean but a bit outdated. It would have been wonderful to get the product association somehow, somewhere visually to have ownership of the visual. In its current form, the ad is generic.

McDonald’s ‘Hooray for Today’ Leo Burnett Manila TVC Nice, warm emotional. Loved the fact they didn’t show a kid or family.

Good to see them trying to broaden the target base.

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14th Cinemanila International Film Festival ‘Widows’ TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno TVC Beautiful piece of work, probably the best of the lot. Loved the whole rawness of it, right from casting to the location to the way it was shot, including the rawness in their voices. Must say very well shot and produced, great eye on the camera, very insightful and culturally tight.

I’m sure the locals will feel more than what I could. This suddenly feels very different, emotional and rooted compared to what the Latin/Italian film festival ads are, humorous.

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a d ob o ads of the month

Ads of the Month JANUARY TO APRIL McCann Worldgroup’s delightful ‘Sprite Fountain’ and ‘EDGAR’ races to the top, alongside work from Ace Saatchi & Saatchi and Leo Burnett.

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JANUARY 01

Hand, Feet

Year 2013 Client Safeguard Agency Ace Saatchi & Saatchi Medium Print 04

FEBRUARY 02

Nightlife

Year 2013 Client WWF Philippines Earth Hour Agency Leo Burnett Manila Medium TVC

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MARCH

ADOBO 2012 AD OF THE YEAR

Fountain

JWT pips contenders with Manila Hotel job

Year 2013 Client Sprite Agency McCann Worldgroup Medium Activation/Online video

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EDGAR

Year 2013 Client Nescafé Agency MRM Manila Medium TVC/Online video

Campaign tops adobo online survey Manila JWT Manila’s false cover to highlight a century of distinguished service by the Philippines’ first five-star hotel did not go unnoticed and scooped adobo’s 2012 Ad of the Year award.

The history-inspired content and media execution for the Manila Hotel’s centennial was adobo ’s Ad of the Month for October 2012. It beat 11 other contenders for the top prize.

“We started by partnering with a daily that’s been around about as long as our hotel – The Manila Bulletin,” the agency explained.

The July 4, 2012 edition of the Manila Bulletin cover featured a century’s worth of historic Philippine events, royal guests and high-profile celebrity visits.

JWT deemed the fellow centenarian – with a readership of nearly half a million – as the perfect partner for the media idea. “We then simulated the paper’s masthead from July 4, 1912, the inaugural day of the hotel, and ran a headline announcing the Manila Hotel’s grand opening.”

The rest of the front and the back pages were composed of clippings from different eras chronicling historic Philippine events, which took place in the hotel, neatly arranged to form the page layout.

Readers essentially got a composite newspaper that took them through a century’s worth of historical events that took place at the hotel.

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Australia shines as Asia Pacific Clio champ ‘Dumb Ways to Die’ adds to country’s Gold takings 01

Awards adobomagazine

03 01 Grand Clio winner, Cheil Worldwide’s ‘Bridge of Life’

02 ‘Dumb Ways to Die’ scoops three Golds

03 Draftfcb ‘Driving Dogs’ takes strikes Gold

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‘Rapid Rescue’, which swept Singapore’s late 2012 Creative Circle Awards to take the Best of Show and a host of other prizes, won in the Digital/Mobile and Direct categories.

South Korea bounced back from a metals famine last year to grab the Grand Clio for ‘Bridge of Life’. The Cheil Worldwide project for Samsung Life Insurance turned a popular suicide black spot into one that offered comfort to deter those thinking of ending their life.

For the second year running, Ogilvy & Mather was named Network of the Year for its large award-winning body of work across multiple disciplines, and Marcel Worldwide Paris was Agency of the Year.

Google scooped the Advertiser of the Year prize.

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NEW YORK Australia raced to a regional lead at the 2013 Clio Awards announced in early May, returning with three times the metal haul of nearest rival New Zealand.

The country collected 33 awards, which included nine golds, to New Zealand’s 11 in total.

McCann Melbourne’s highly viral PSA, ‘Dumb Ways to Die’, once again emerged as the SHOW’S AWARDS MAGNET alongside its record nomination success at D&AD and Webby wins in animation, viral and viral marketing. Its three Clio golds came from the Digital/Mobile, Film and Integrated categories.

Ogilvy & Mather Shanghai’s ‘CokeHands’, Draftfcb Auckland’s ‘Driving Dogs’ and JWT Singapore’s ‘Rapid Rescue’ app each took two golds across a range of categories.

‘CokeHands’ was awarded golds in Out-OfHome and Print along with two silvers for a collaborative effort that bought fresh imagery to the brand’s global ‘Open Happiness’ campaign, while the eminently viral ‘Driving Dogs’ to encourage pet adoption scooped gold in the Content and Contact and PR categories.

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Asia Pacific enjoys year of D&AD triumph

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‘Dumb Ways to Die’ leads with record 9 nominations

LONDON Asia Pacific agencies enjoyed a year of triumph at D&AD, helped in no small way by Australia’s spectacular haul and strong performances by Japan and Singapore.

Regional shops picked up 130 awards, 32 of which were nominations with a shot at a Pencil in what is arguably the toughest and purest creative competition in the world.

Australia led the leader board with 40 awards, including 18 nominations. McCann Erickson Melbourne sealed its global leadership at the pre-Pencil awarding stage of the process with 14 honors, which included a record nine nominations for awards show favorite ‘Dumb Ways to Die’.

With its combination of offbeat humor, a catchy tune and charming characters, the PSA charmed the judges in the TV & Cinema Advertising, Digital Advertising, Writing, Art Direction, Outdoor and Radio Advertising competitions.

Australia was the third most-awarded market at the global level, just behind the UK and the US. The market – alongside New Zealand shops – flew the flag for Asia Pacific in the TV and Cinema, Integrated and Earned Media and Digital competitions, where the rest of the region was noticeably under-represented.

Whybin TBWA\Tequila Sydney, George Patterson Y&R Melbourne, DDB Sydney and Us Sydney (now Joy) also contributed to Australia’s haul. Us Sydney is the only regional shop with a crack at a Pencil in the TV and Cinema competition with ‘Amanda on Demand’ for client SBS. New Zealand secured 15 awards, four of which were nominations. Colenso BBDO led

with six awards, two of which have a shot at a Pencil – ‘The Wine List’ for DB Breweries and ‘Donation Glasses’ for Mars New Zealand Pedigree-sponsored pet adoption drive.

Elsewhere in Asia, campaigns and projects took 64 awards; 10 of which were nominations.

Japan accounted for seven of the nominations, China had two and Singapore one. Japan was the second most-awarded market in the regional rankings and Singapore, 3rd with 16 awards.

Japan’s Nippon Design Center earned two nominations for – ‘Tatami’ for TTN Corporation and ‘Jelly Fish Book’ Recto-

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Verso Gallery for Poster/Graphic Design and Catalogues and Brochures respectively.

Dentsu Tokyo, Hakuhodo, Party Inc and Taku Satoh Design Office earned a nomination each for ‘Life is Electric’ (Panasonic Corporation), ‘Kikuchi Naruyoshi: Jazz’ (Bureau Kikuchi), ‘Kanji City’ (café Company, Cog) and ‘Pleats Please’ (Issey Miyake) respectively.

Singapore’s sole nomination was earned by the Work agency for client Louis Vuittons’s ‘Yayoi Kusama Fine Book’ for brand work also scored eight in-book honors, with awards mainly for Werk Magazine in categories such

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Most Awarded Global Markets 1. UK – 199 2. US – 113 3. Australia – 49

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4. Brazil – 29 5. Japan – 26

Most Awarded Asia Pacific Markets 1. Australia - 49

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including 18 nominations

2. Japan - 26

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including 7 nominations

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including 1 nomination

4. New Zealand - 15

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including 4 nominations

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including 2 nominations

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the Philippines - 2 each

9. Indonesia, Malaysia - 1 each

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as Entire Magazines, Posters, Typography for Design and Magazine and Newspaper Front Covers and Louis Vuitton.

DDB Singapore was the city’s next most awarded with three in-book honors for ‘Life Cycle’, a double Gold winner from Cannes 2012.

Ogilvy & Mather Shanghai’s Grand Prix-winning ‘CokeHands’ poster campaign earned the region’s final two nominations in Illustration for Advertising and Poster Advertising/Existing Sites) and one in-book (Posters/Graphic Design), bringing China’s overall tally to seven awards.

“Asian agencies can count the 2013 D&AD Awards a triumph, a year in which work from Japan, Singapore and China in particular made a huge impression on the juries,” said D&AD chief executive Tim Lindsay. “To have such a number of stand-out campaigns is a real achievement and a mark of the fact that, among emerging economies, some of the most exciting and consistently creative work is coming from across the region’s agencies.

“Also notable is the fact that there is such a range of creative agencies scooping the awards… there is a generation of excellence across the region.”

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Sting Energy PowerPacq Drink ‘Pacquiao Positive’ Client PepsiCo Agency DDB

Award wins The work produced the Philippines’ first gold prize at this year’s AME Awards in New York, beating entries from 27 markets in the new product launch category. It also won two golds in UPMG’s Tinta Awards, a bronze Spike and the Best Engagement Initiative prize at PepsiCo’s 2012 Asia Marketing Conference.

This buzz-building campaign had the country on edge for 48 hours as PepsiCo took the energy drink battle to Coca-Cola’s Cobra Energy Drink, the market’s undisputed champ.

This time, PepsiCo had an 8-division worldclass champ in its corner: Manny Pacquiao, who partnered with the beverage giant for the new gold variant, formulated with essence of Moringa, and with his name on the can.

PepsiCo wanted to raise top-of-mind awareness among its target demographic, ranging from construction workers to business processing agents, to switch to Sting and triple volume growth over the previous year.

The campaign centered on the distribution of fake stories and Tweets that informed the public that their sports hero was positive, seemingly giving credence to allegations

made by ring rivals, especially Floyd Mayweather Jr, that he had been juicing with performance-enhancing drugs.

In the teaser phase, the vague #PacquiaoPositive hashtag began appearing on Twitter and was accompanied by speculation to spark dialogue, which enraged the public.

Response on social media sites was swift and negative, turning the hashtag into the top trending topic in the Philippines on that day.

It even elicited a response from Mayweather.

The media took notice. Television news programs, news stories on print and online speculated about Pacquiao. The Pilipino Star Ngayon tabloid had the hashtag on its front page, adding to the furor.

In the midst of the chaos, Pacquiao was asked to respond to the issue. A TV commercial purportedly showing the boxing sensation at a press conference aired on various showbiz programs on different local networks. In the spot, Pacquiao revealed he

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What Is It?

was indeed “positive” – but for Moringa in the new Sting variant. The revelation sent the hashtag trending for a second time in days, but this time the responses were positive.

The reveal was on every broadsheet and tabloid in the metro and other regions in the country, with covers showing Paquiao being positive for Sting PowerPacq.

Results For the first time, PepsiCo moved 24 million cases within a month, tripling the previous year’s sales of the old gold variant. Top-of-mind and spontaneous awareness increased from 12% to 18% and 47% to 50% respectively.

Why it worked Having the ‘People’s Champ’ involved in the product right through to the engagement was bound to grab the nation’s attention. But it was the decision to hint at juicing allegations that took the engagement to a whole new level.

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Important phone numbers For my Datablitz, Fully Booked and Toys R’ Us needs

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Leo Burnett HumanKind scale So we don’t let our standards slip

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Minion She responds to the name “Lex”

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THE WORK

Laptop Darth Maul is always watching

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Santa Cruz skateboard Classic art by Jimbo Phillips

06 Goonies mug Data was my favorite

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Headphones Always playing: Queen, The Doors, and 80s Chilli Peppers

Beat-up iPad aka the Amazon and eBay machine

Pad paper made of old JOs Use both sides of the paper, people Superman comics My absolute favorite hero

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Alvin Tecson Creative Director Leo Burnett Manila

THE WORK

Creative Corner We crash the creative workspace of Leo Burnett creative director, Alvin Tecson

11 Giant LEGOs Swiped these from a TV shoot

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M&C Saatchi Kuala Lumpur leaves with largest haul TBWA\SMP emerges with second-biggest metals tally

Best of show

Design for Good

WWF ‘Nightlife’ Leo Burnett Manila

M&C Saatchi Kuala Lumpur garnered the largest metal haul at the 4th adobo Design Awards tallying up to a total of nine – 2 Golds, 4 Silvers and 3 Bronzes.

The regional entrant’s ‘Desperate Animals’ print ad for animal welfare organization SPCA Malaysia won 2 Golds for Best Design in Press & Poster and Best Design in Illustration.

Not far behind was TBWA\SMP with seven metals in the bag – 1 Gold, 2 Silvers and 4 Bronzes. The creative shop’s work for regular industry gathering ‘Lakihan Mo Logo Nights 2’ clinched the Gold metal in the Broadcast Animation Category, while the same spot was also shortlisted for Best in Show.

Leo Burnett Manila’s spot for WWF Philippines, ‘Nightlife’, bagged the coveted Best in Show award in the Design for Good category.

The film, for staunch environment protector WWF’s Philippine arm, uses vivid, colorful imagery, reminiscent of children’s bedtime stories to show how enchanting nature’s nightlife can be when it’s not competing with the noise of modern life. The same spot also won a Gold metal in the Animation category.

Head of adobo Design Awards jury DDB Singapore’s Thomas Yang said, “What’s unique about [‘Nightlife’] is that you can’t really tell that it’s talking about global issues.

The whole execution was well done and every part of the film that reveals each scene is well thought through. This film doesn’t just speak to adults; it is entertaining and speaks to the future generation (our kids) as well which is more important.”

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Best Design

Press & Poster Category

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SILVER 01 Catapult M&C Saatchi Kuala Lumpur

SILVER 02 VW Dragon Scales CNY Card M&C Saatchi Kuala Lumpur

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GOLD

Mga Mumunting Lihim 03 TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno

Desperate Animals M&C Saatchi Kuala Lumpur

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Media Coverage

Best Design

Press & Poster Category

adobo Design Awards Show

adobo Design Awards Jury Video

adobo Design Awards Judging Day 1

adobo Design Awards Judging Day 2

“Given the big names in the jury, winning felt awesome. And the fact that it was for a real client with a real purpose made it even more gratifying,” said Leo Burnett creative director Alvin Tecson of the Best in Show award.

In the Open/Theme category, ABSCBN Broadcast Corporation’s Francin Cruz clinched the Best in Poster award for ‘Kalsada ng Maynila’ while in the student division, University of the Philippines’ Adrian Panadero’s ‘Kami ang Maynila’ poster captured the judges attention.

In an effort to promote Filipino art and design, Valerie Villaflore from Dentsu Philippines won the vote of main sponsor My|Phone, a Filipino mobile brand which supports Filipino design, for her work ‘MNL Pop Culture Monument’.

The Open/Theme category, Manila Pop Culture is new to the adobo Design Awards.

Its inception was inspired by the Philippines’ unprecedented growth over the past year. “The world is now looking at the country through fresh lenses that now is a good time for us, Filipinos, to look at Manila with a fresh and positive outlook and promote the city through art,” said adobo magazine president and editorin-chief Angel Guerrero. adobo magazine vice president and chief operating officer Janelle Squires, along with Guerrero, was also on hand to award the trophies.

The fourth adobo Design Awards judging was held on April 16-17 at SumoSam Olympia, while the awards night was on April 26 at the Ayala Museum, presented by adobo magazine in cooperation with My|Phone and Havaianas, with sponsors Robert Mondavi Wines, Manila Beer, Tanduay Black, Chops & The Strip, Executive Decisions, OnMedia, Pinwheel, Central Digital Lab, Provago and Power Mac Center; venue partners were the Ayala Museum, Aubergine Restaurant and SumoSam Olympia, official tabulators Isla Lipana PWC and media partners, Business Mirror, Philippine Daily Inquirer and the Philippine Star.

BRONZE Chocolate Hills DM9JaymeSyfu

BRONZE Kill Boredom M&C Saatchi Kuala Lumpur

BRONZE Slingshot M&C Saatchi Kuala Lumpur

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Best Design

Press & Poster Category

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Best Design

Single Logo Category

SILVER Gifthunter: The Chase Is On Bluethumb Creative Agency

BRONZE Boat TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno

BRONZE

BRONZE

MSD for Mothers Logo Works of Heart

Hands TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno

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Gecko TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno

Purple Ribbon Campaign Branding Team Manila Graphic Design Studio

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Best Design

Applied Logo Category

Typography Category

BRONZE Pepsi Liter of Light Mural BBDO Guerrero

SILVER Heroin. You’ll Love It Lowe Inc.

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Publishing Category

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SYKES Planner 2013 Team Manila Graphic Design Studio

Bratpack Peg May 2012 Primer Group of Companies

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Best Design

Best Design

Game / Application Category

Website Category

SILVER Pepsi Liter of Light Website BBDO Guerrero

SILVER Rich Media Banner for Adidas Boost Mobile Rich Media iProspect + InMobi

Best Design

Environmental Design Category SILVER Fight eVaw DM9 JaymeSyfu

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London Olympics 2012 ABC Development Corp. TV5

SPCA Letter Box M&C Saatchi Kuala Lumpur

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Best Design

Production Design Category

SILVER Ang Nawawala Brainchildsix/Indie Pop FIlms/Roughcut Blender

bronze Enercal ‘Scare Crow’ Campaigns & Grey

Best Design

Outdoor / Ambient Category

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Not So Pedestrian Lanes IXM IdeasXMachina

Project Edsa TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno

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Best Design

Packaging Category

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Marty’s Smashables TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno

This Year (album cover) Moonstar 88 x Gigzilla

BRONZE Warhol Vs. Lichtenstein Secret Fresh Gallery Direct Mailer Publicis JimenezBasic

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Illustration Category

GOLD Desperate Animals M&C Saatchi Kuala Lumpur

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Catapult M&C Saatchi Kuala Lumpur

Slingshot M&C Saatchi Kuala Lumpur

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Best Design

Illustration Category

BRONZE Bratpack Peg November 2012 Primer Group of Companies

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Must Love Manila Bjorn Eding

Creative Guild of the Philippines ‘Kidlat Guy’ Campaigns & Grey

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Best Design

Broadcast Animation Category

GOLD

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Lakihan Mo Logo Nights TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno

WWF ‘Nightlife’ Leo Burnett Manila

BRONZE

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Bench Moodsetter Flux Design Labs

Max’s Restaurant Online Video Watusi Productions

Serenitea Dance/The Tea Dance Serenitea/Watusi Productions

Best Design

Open/Theme Category Awards

Best in Poster, Student Division Kami ang Maynila Adrian Panadero, University of the Philippines

Best in Poster, Professional Division Kalsada ng Manila Francin Cruz, ABS-CBN Broadcast Corporation

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01 Hundreds of entries ready for judging 02 Sumosam’s Marketing Director Miguel dela Rosa presents birthday celebrant Thomas Yang with a treat 03 The esteemed jury doing a “wacky” pose 04 Jury president Thomas Yang presides over deliberations 05 Judge Eneri Abillar of Vapor Studio with a smile of approval for an entry, with DM9’s Merlee Jayme & welovepost’s Pedring Lopez 06 Inksurge duo Jois Tai and Rex Advincula inspects a design entry 07 Hit Productions’ Dennis Cham, adobo EIC Angel Guerrero and designer/singer Kate Torralba 08 Finalists excitedly view an exhibit of their works on the iMac display courtesy of Power Mac Center 09 2012 Jury president Brian Tenorio, with Executive Chef Jason Stacy of Chops and The Strips awards Team Manila’s Mica Cabildo and Jowee Alviar for their Purple Ribbon campaign branding 10 Finalists and guests design their own Havaianas on the spot as a prelude to a special nationwide campaign by our event partner, Havaianas 11 Big winner M&C Saatchi Kuala Lumpur in their pre-recorded video message of appreciation 12 TV5 crew interviews adobo COO Janelle Squires as other TV networks provided extensive coverage of the event including Urban Myx, Studio 23 and Interaksyon.

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13 And the Best of Show award goes to Leo Burnett for WWF “Nightlife”! L-R Havaianas’ Jem Evangelista, Eneri Abillar, Angel Guerrero, Leo Burnett’s Alvin Tecson and Mela Advincula, Janelle Squires, BBDO’s Gary Amante and Plus63’s Dan Matutina. 14 Who better to host the Manila’s Pop Culture-themed event but irreverent Carlos Celdran (himself a pop culture!) and former lead singer of popular 90’s girl band Kulay, Angel Jones 15 An appreciative audience applauds the winners 16 Ayala Foundation’s senior director for Arts & Culture Mariles Gustilo pays tribute to Lucille Tenazas is a Filipina who just received an AIGA Medal, the highest award for graphic designers. 17 Event partner My|Phone gave away P60,000 cash to three winners of the Theme Category. Presenting the award is L-R Dean Joey Yupangco of CSB, winner Valerie Villaflor of Dentsu Philippines, adobo’s Head of Sales & Marketing Apple Manansala, and My|Phone Marketing Head John Luke Chica 18 Watusi Productions in full force celebrating their win 19 Over 45 trophies were awarded, showing the caliber of the entries 20 A silver win for “Ang Nawawala” Brainchildsix/Indie Pop Films/Blender Roughcut 21 Sumosam’s Kevin Jingco and Janelle Squires present an award to rock band Moonstar 88 X Gigzilla for their album cover design “This Year” 22 Art Director John Ed de Vera (center) receives one of many awards for TBWA 23 Angel Guerrero (2nd left) with BBDO Guerrero’s Ombet Traspe and Tony Harris with newly appointed Ogilvy Manila ECD Richmond Walker 24 OPM King Ogie Alcasid performing his new single aptly entitled “Ang Galing ng Pinoy”! 25 Ice cold Manila Beer flows freely thanks to our sponsors from Asia Brewery

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Eneri Abillar

He’s pounded the pavement, worked on notable US brands and is now looking to crack the Philippine market Interview Pippo Soriano Photos Vapor Studio

Design is where science and art break even — Robin Mathew It is entirely too easy to make the mistake of making no distinction between artists and designers. The casual consumer of design or art can fall victim to oversimplification – of the praising or castigating of work on limited grounds, inadvertently pushing aside the artistry of marrying beauty with function, identity and the actual telling of stories or even how a visually pleasing object can actually serve some form purpose. That is the perennial problem of industrial design – understanding that there in the world of the everyday consumer, there is a marriage between the beautiful and the functional.

Google will tell you that Eneri Abillar is an industrial designer, easily one of the toasts of the local design scene today. Holding a Masters

of Industrial Design from Pratt Institute on top of degrees in Studio Arts and Biology from Santa Clara University, Abillar is a well-respected ingénue as far as telling stories through physical media is concerned, with collaborative design work with notable brands and names such as UNIV, Crooks & Castles, Bruce Hannah, Charles Pollack, to name a few.

He is also currently the president and creative principle of Vapor Studio Asia, designing products and for clients both in the US as well as the region.

Abillar the industrial designer sees himself differently. “I’m a born artist,” he says. “(I) didn’t just decide to become one, I was made one. I just realized at a very young age that I would only be average at everything else but could be really good in art and a creative field.

I am a person who loves the process more than the final piece.”

On being an artist in the field of industrial design, Abillar shares a certain level of frustration. “Right now I’m a frustrated artist. I (am) very disappointed with the Philippines. I’d like to go home (to the USA) for a long period of time. Clients here want to be ‘Starbucks’ or ‘Nike’ but what that means to them is completely different than what it means to me.

Frustrating... but that’s another article.”

Ever the storyteller, his conversations on art, usually revolve around his time in Santa Clara and Pratt Institute, or when he was a young artist pounding the pavement throughout San Francisco after his undergraduate studies with slides and samples of art just to land a show. “It was way before CDs and websites and USB keys.

And art shows were in real galleries that paid real rent, not in the coffee shops or retail stores. I was a young, up-and-coming guy competing for space with 40- to 70-year-old established artists.”

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Top left Eneri Abillar Bottom Abillar’s collaboration resulting in a colorful line of earphones for Frends

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Abillar is quick to dismiss the idea of him favoring any of his creations. “I believe my body of work would be interesting to look at, at some point.” According to him, there are still a few pieces missing that would allow him to say that his early career is complete. “Every work has a story. A lot of interesting stories have nothing to do with the work themselves but more about the relationships with the people or what was rejected versus what was approved. Mistakes that were made that turned up in production.”

He adds, “I try to direct my designs, not so much control them. I find myself happier and more soulfully fulfilled when that happens.”

Abillar takes a hard-nosed approach to his work, one that he attributes to the men in his family, “My father was a coal miner in West Virginia for almost 10 years. He’s a blue collar man,” he shares. “I love to work, I love to feel so tired that I pass out once I get the moment to rest my head. My grandfather was a blue collar guy as well. Keep in mind both men had college

degrees – in my father’s case several degrees! But these men were physical dudes... not lazy at all.

When I was a kid growing up in West Virginia, my mother and father both worked, so my lolo and lola took care of me once I got out of school. My grandfather restored old colonial homes for a business and I helped him out. I was framing rooms, plastering walls, installing toilets, etc. I love to build things and my lolo knew that about me so he put me to work (laughs). I was a happy kid for being able to do that work.”

As for his work, Abillar has what he says is the funniest thing that happened to him: “At the ICFF in NYC in 2004, a group of Italian designers came to see my work because they heard there was a cool motorcycle at the show.

They came over to look at it and meet me.

They said, “This is beautiful... It looks Italian.”

(Laughs) They then invited me to a party that the Italian brands were throwing in NYC. The interesting part, is that same day, I was walking through the show and saw this beautiful girl working as a sales rep for Richard Holbrooke.

The moment I saw her I called my brother at least five times before he picked up the phone.

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Once he did, I told him: ‘I just saw my future wife!’ I was able to have a conversation with her because coincidentally, we both went to Santa Clara University. I got her contact info. So what does this have to do with the Italians? I ditched the Italian party hoping to meet up with this girl. It never happened. In fact only up until one-and-a-half years ago did I and this girl (now a woman) become boyfriend and girlfriend, and now we’re engaged to be married. Design has always brought me a life I would have never had, had if I’d become something else.”

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GR AHAM FINK building a creative dynasty Chief Cre ative Of f ic er, O g ilv y & Mather China

“SOMEONE SENT ME A LAMPPOST THROUGH THE POST ONCE,” says Ogilvy & Mather China’s

Interview Angel Guerrero & Mikhail Lecaros Words Mikhail Lecaros PHOTOGRAPHY Jonathan Tay of Amanacliq

chief creative officer Graham Fink, when asked about some of the stranger ways people have tried to get him to look at their portfolios over the years. “Something about illuminating talent. Oh they do outlandish things,” shares Fink, with more than a twinkle in his eye.

Of course, seeing as this is Graham Fink we’re talking about, getting a lamppost in the mail would seem to be par for the course.

When it comes to outlandish, the man is something of an expert, having famously landed one of his earliest advertising jobs (with Collett, Dickenson, Pearce) by dressing up as an old man after being turned away by the agency in favor of senior talent. As it turned out, the sheer audacity (and creativity) behind the geriatric antics would go on to serve Fink well in the years that followed, as he went on to embark on one of the most remarkable ongoing careers the industry has ever seen.

In 2005, Fink moved to M&C Saatchi London as executive creative director, where the team set up under his guidance and stewardship would, over the next six years, establish the agency as a consistently strong shower at festivals, regularly putting out work such as a campaign for Dixons, which became the most-awarded print ad in the world in 2010.

Self-effacing, laid back and more than a little bemused when answering questions about his career, Fink has lost none of the passion for his work that has seen him become one of the most lauded creatives on the planet. Put simply, the man’s won so many awards (including D&AD Pencils, Cannes Lions, etc.), it would probably be more expedient to list the ones he hasn’t won.

Fink’s creativity isn’t limited to advertising though, having dabbled in photography and directing work, with his photographs being featured in award-winning ad campaigns, such ‘Blood’ for the Sony Playstation and

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London’s 2012 Olympic Bid. On the directing side, Fink’s conceptual production house, the Finktank, and his work on short films, music videos and commercials have earned him even more metals – including a BAFTA – for what must be an already-overloaded trophy case.

The creative mind behind such iconic campaigns as British Airways’ ‘Face’ and Land Rover’s ‘Dam Rover’ TVC’s, adobo magazine jumped at the chance to pick the man’s brain on the last day of the recently-concluded AdFest, where he served as Jury President.

“I’m just me, doing my own thing. I very much go on intuition and listen to my heart, rather than my head.”

ADOBO Creatives are frequently labeled the rock stars of the industry. Are they really rock stars?

FINK Setting me up on the first one (laughs)!

Well they tell me that in India, if you’re a big creative guy, they ask for your autograph, and I know that Piyush Pandey is often stopped in the streets, he’s like a big celebrity there. But no, I don’t think we’re rock stars, we’re just creatives. I joined the business because I love creativity. In fact, I never even really thought of it as advertising when I first started, I just wanted to do great creative work. In my case, I was just always worried about being found out, just trying to keep my head down until I did some really good ads. I was lucky enough to work in some great agencies, I’ve been surrounded by great creative people, and I did a few crazy things, too, which some people would associate with rock star behaviour. In my early years, some of it was planned, some it wasn’t planned, but what I knew – ultimately –

‘Singular Masterpiece’, for Volkswagen, shot in the company’s glass-walled factory, highlights the skill and craft that goes into every VW Phaeton.

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is that I had to do the work. You can’t do crazy stuff and not back it up with work. You’ve gotta do the work. We’re not rock stars.

ADOBO What are some of the planned crazy acts you’ve been involved in?

FINK I remember, in my first or second year in advertising, I bought a long overcoat, like those worn by commanders in the navy. It was March when I bought this thing, when the weather in the UK’s pretty cold. I wore it all the time, and then people started to talk, so I decided I would carry on wearing it.

Then, when the weather got hotter in June, I wore it all through the summer, every day, even though it was really, really hot. I just wore this damn thing, determined to keep the story going – I thought it was funny! I think it was in late July, someone got so sick of it, they pulled it off my back and threw it out the window. We were 14 floors up. It landed in the street, and I remember a car drove over it, and that was it!

ADOBO Is it strange that, from being one of the upstarts, you’re now, essentially, one of the institutions?

FINK I don’t know about that. Institution? (laughs) I mean, it is very strange…I’m just me, doing my own thing. I very much go on intuition and listen to my heart, rather than my head, so I try, but often do the wrong thing.

ADOBO What are your impressions of this year’s AdFest?

FINK I must say, it’s been a very rewarding experience. But you know, I don’t like sitting on juries. I like being asked, and it’s flattering, but the actual process of sitting in a dark room for days on end, looking at lots and lots of work (shakes head). Let’s be honest, at least 50% of the work is not very good and also, unfortunately, these days, it seems the new creative currency is case studies. I find most of them so tedious to watch, and some go on and on….at the end, they are all the same. Millions of results on Twitter and Facebook, and I know everyone complains about that. The advertising world is now so fragmented, with so many different media channels, but it’s impossible to sit and watch everything – you don’t have time to visit the website or look at all the other channels. I guess case studies are one way of doing it.

Cannes cut them two minutes long, but some of them here are five, six minutes. I think there will be a backlash soon; everyone’s just fed up with them (case studies).

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the book of fink ‘Face’ British Airways Frequently counted as one of the 100 best commercials of all time, ‘Face’ is one of those works that has attained legendary status. Shot by Chariots of Fire director Hugh Hudson and boasting a cast of 6000, the TVC has been spoofed, referenced and homaged by everyone from Carlton Draught to all-business class airline Silverjet.

This logo for Graham Fink’s production house, thefinktank, was chosen as the winner from a contest that spanned several years and 6,000 entries. With the brief being that the logo should be in the form of a person, the winning design bagged creators Sadaat Malik and Monty Verdi a cool USD $10,000 for their effort.

ADOBO Yes, that’s been an issue for a while now, how case studies have fallen into this mind-numbing formula.

FINK How do you know the results are real?

You can almost claim anything and it’s very difficult to check up on them. You’d be there for another month, checking everything!

ADOBO Do you really need to know the results to judge a work’s creativity?

FINK Personally, I think good creative people have an intuitive understanding if something is good, if something works or not.

ADOBO I imagine that would be akin to awarding the Oscar to a brilliant film that may not have necessarily done well at the box office.

FINK Well, that’s a different thing, I think that’s all right. But in the case of case studies most results talk about people who have looked at something – but not necessarily bought anything!

I mean, look at Biba. In the 60s, it was the most famous shop in London, and it went bankrupt because everyone went in there to look. It was fantastic, it was always full, but no one bought anything!

Are you going to send me this stuff before printing? That would be good. I just need to be slightly careful.

ADOBO Sure. Have you been burned before?

FINK Many times. I mean, it’s more when you do these TV things; the people interviewing you are making a program about advertising, but most people outside the business don’t

particularly like advertising, so they always tend to try to put us all down and prefer to talk about how we all walk around in designer gear.

Sometimes, you’re just being very honest, and you let yourself out. Now that I’m in China, it’s just a little more gritty, and I’m thinking quite a lot about being misconstrued in China. It’s difficult.

ADOBO How is it difficult?

FINK For instance, I can say to a creative team, “I don’t think what you’re doing is working, and you can try it like this”, and you give them an idea as an example. But then they’ll do exactly what you say, they won’t necessarily think of other things. Now a Western mind gets that, but a Chinese mind, not so much. I don’t know about anywhere else in Asia, but a Chinese mind will do very much what the bosses say – it’s all about face, giving face and saving face.

So they’ll come back with exactly what I gave them, and I’ll say, “Don’t do what I said”, and then they get confused. So now I’m thinking, how am I going to explain this, get the thought across?

One thing that doesn’t work very well in China is analogies. A lot of commercials all over the world, especially in Europe use analogies. But in China, the market is not as sophisticated. Remember they’ve only been doing advertising for a short period of time compared to everyone else, they’re not as familiar with a lot of the semiotic codes. So most of the work tends to be quite straight: They want to know how much it costs, where they can get it, where they can buy it, what it

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‘Dam Rover’ Land Rover Set to the Dam Busters theme, the TVC features the awe-inspiring sight of a Land Rover pulling itself up out of the water to scale a sheer vertical surface, solely by the power of its front-mounted winch.

Silk Cut “Not entirely politically correct these days, being for cigarettes, but still memorable,” is how Fink describes the series of ads he did for Silk Cut, cementing the brand’s image as one of the iconic masculine products of its time.

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does, so that immediately cuts down a lot of areas for creativity.

ADOBO Be that as it may, the Volkswagen ‘Singular Masterpiece’ TVC seemed very well put-together.

FINK Ah, ‘The Masterpiece’! Well, that started as a one-off, really, because the Volkswagen Phaeton is a very expensive car, and that was a very expensive ad, and it’s for a very small section of the market. The transparent factory where they make it is all made of glass and we took our cameras down to film there. It’s absolutely beautiful, and it shows the tremendous German craftsmanship. The whole thing is about the craft of the city, the craft of the factory, the craft that goes into the car. I think it’s quite different, so I’m pleased it did well.

ADOBO I understand Volkswagen has become something of a “must-have” brand in China.

FINK Well, there are a lot of billionaires in China (laughs). But you know ‘showing your wealth’ is a big thing for some people, that’s why the luxury brands are there. Bob Dylan said it first…The times they are a-changin’.

ADOBO You were in the UK for a long time, doing amazing work. Why the move, and why now?

FINK Hmm...good question. The thing is, I’ve been in advertising for a long time, and I’ve been lucky enough to work in fantastic agencies with great people, and then I left to be a director, which I did for 10 years. I set up my own production company, thefinktank, which was pretty successful, and made a lot of music videos, which I loved doing – it was like a whole new area for me –I also did a short film which was shortlisted for a BAFTA. Then one day I got a call from M&C Saatchi offering me the job as ECD. I thought long and hard about it, then eventually decided to do it, and it was fantastic! I pretty much had carte blanche to do what I wanted to do and so I rebuilt the entire creative department over a six-year period. In the last couple of years we were one of the most awarded agencies in London and did very well at Cannes. So then I had offers from other agencies in London, and I thought I could not leave M&C Saatchi to go somewhere else, it would be like going against my family, and I was very happy there.

Out of the blue I got a call from a headhunter, and she said, “Shanghai”, and it sounded so interesting! I thought, “Wow, that’s different.” I’d been to Shanghai before,

a few years earlier, for the Creative Social*, and I loved it. And so I thought a lot about it, I looked at the work coming out of Shanghai and, compared to the UK, it was not that good. The culture is so huge and rich, and I knew nothing about it. The language? It’s one of the most difficult in the world to learn, and I couldn’t even learn French in school, so the chances of me learning that were nil, and I also knew absolutely no one there. All of these things said, “Don’t do it”, and I thought, “Perfect. That’s why I’m going to do it,” and that was it. It was a huge, huge challenge (to me).

ADOBO Did the fact that it was Ogilvy have anything to do with your decision?

FINK I’ve never worked at Ogilvy, and in London it’s never been seen as one of the sexiest agencies, although that’s changing

now with some great work coming out. But you know, the Ogilvy culture is very different from Saatchi culture, so I was kind of doing two bouts of culture shock, one from Ogilvy and one from China, and the bigger shock was Ogilvy (laughs).

Ogilvy has the best reputation in China, but there’s a difference between that reputation and the creative work. So it’s my job to raise the creative bar, not just in Shanghai, but all across China, I look after 17 offices. That’s something that interests me, because I really, really care passionately about my job. Sadly, I’ve seen a lot of expats come here and they just take, and I want to give. I’m doing a lot of training and trying to create an environment to do great work.

We have masterclasses every week in Beijing and Shanghai. We get the top creatives

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in the agency to talk and we have people from outside too. I think the Holy Grail is that in 10 years’ time, the expats will leave, and the Chinese creatives will be running the agencies. I guess my ultimate goal is to make myself redundant.

ADOBO Based on discussions with foreign agency heads, the consensus seems to be that the biggest challenge expats face is their lack of familiarity with local cultures and customs.

How does China compare?

FINK Well, you look at JWT (China), and you have Mayan (Lo Sheung Yan) and Yang (Yeo) and they’ve been there 17 and five years respectively, and they’ve had an enormous effect; responsible for creating one of the mostawarded pieces of work**.

Yet some would argue that neither that nor (Ogilvy’s) ‘CokeHands’, was culturally influential in China. Even though both are world-class ideas. So trying to do something that has an effect on society is top of my list going forwards. I have a lot of work to do in this area, as China is so big and diverse.

“I think there are millions of ideas out there, it’s just a matter of finding them.”

ADOBO Jonathan Park (director of Samsung’s ‘Insight’) said part of the challenge in judging awards shows is, with so much original work going around now, standing out and getting noticed comes down to presentation. What are your thoughts on this?

FINK Oh I think there are millions of ideas out there, it’s just a matter of finding them.

My real, honest belief is that no one can claim an idea to be their own – they’re all out there anyway.

Where do you get your best ideas? You get them in the shower, sitting on the toilet, feeding your ferret, or going to the cinema, whatever. You never get them when sitting at your desk. If you ask anyone in the world this question everyone agrees. The difference between the two is that in one case ‘you’ are trying to do it and in the other ‘you’ are not trying to do it. The thought just comes.

Which proves that the best ideas have nothing to do with you!

Egomaniacs always have a problem with this.

ADOBO You’ve always been a champion of new talent. Given the rate at which communication is evolving, has the manner in which you treat new blood changed?

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creative team. That’s kind of radical in China, because they don’t work like that! Before I joined, they worked in groups of five or six.

They all sat around the table with a creative director and cracked briefs together. Now, for me, the problem was I didn’t know who was really doing the work. I didn’t know who was good or wasn’t good, because people were hiding! But a lot of people advised me against changing it because this is the way things are done. It’s a face thing, and there’s safety in numbers.

Anyway after a great deal of discussion, we’ve done it. I guess time will tell if it has worked or not.

ADOBO Saving face and taking things to heart, those things aren’t entirely unique to China.

FINK Absolutely, and I have to be very careful.

I’ve had to change my style a bit since coming to China. I’m a very straight talker, and I always say exactly what I think, no matter how difficult it is. Ultimately, you have to be true to yourself. I’m a big believer in that.

So I might say, “I don’t think this is very good, you have to work harder on it” or, “The work you’ve been doing recently hasn’t been up to scratch, and you’ve got to start pulling your weight”, I would say that in the UK to some creative people, and they would go away, work hard and prove themselves.

Now, here, if you say that, some people resign.

Creative criticism isn’t always motivating. If you want to get better work out of them, it needs to be done in a more gentle way. And you certainly can’t do it in a group – because they’ll lose face, big time – so it’s got to be one on one.

ADOBO Is this desire to find a “gentle” way a sign of your mellowing with age?

FINK (smiles) You know, I remember someone telling me on a shoot when I was 25, “Yeah, you’ll mellow” (laughs). I probably am, I’m probably a bit wiser now. I can see things much clearer, read situations much faster, than I ever could.

ADOBO And how has the reception been so far, to the “mellow” Graham Fink’s leadership style?

FINK To be honest, some of it has not worked, and some of it has worked very well. I’ve made mistakes, especially when I’ve misread the culture. I persevere though because, after all, I was brought in to change things. But hopefully people can see that I’m very genuine about the whole thing, I have a lot of passion, a lot of ** ‘Heaven and Hell’ for Samsonite.

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This campaign for Soho Galaxy, featuring Abo the astronaut monkey set its sights on China’s copycat culture.

“I really want to make a difference, and I care about creative people.”

energy and I think they see that I’m there to help. I really want to make a difference, and I care about creative people. What I find difficult is, with agencies in China, turnover rate is very high. People often leave for a bit more money or a better title. So it’s difficult when people can’t see that they should stay in a certain place because it’s good for their career.

ADOBO How does the work in Asia compare to that being done in other places?

FINK Someone pointed out, rightly, that some of the most awarded print work in the world comes from Asia. I don’t know how it stacks up in terms of numbers, but as a whole China is behind but catching up fast. One thing that India and Thailand does brilliantly is ads that are rooted in their culture. Agencies in those countries don’t look to the rest of the world and try to copy it, which is what China currently does. That’s why doing culturally influential work is important.

I’m saying to people, look, there’s so much amazing stuff here, you haven’t got to copy what America’s doing or what the UK’s doing.

It’s right here under your nose. I think it’s just about having that confidence, that belief (to use what’s at hand).

ADOBO Let’s talk about ‘CokeHands’. Your ‘discovery’ of Jonathan Mak was, granted, a

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happy accident. Does that tie in to your drive to develop new talent?

FINK Very much so. There’s this word in Chinese, xun bao, which means, ‘treasure hunt’, and the treasure for me is talent.

Obviously it’s hard to find, but it’s something I want to concentrate more on this year, finding talent from places other than Shanghai or Beijing.

I’ve got these kind of romantic visions of going off to some of the lower-tier cities and just finding people. In London, it’s easy: You can be walking around London, and you’ll often see people carrying a portfolio. It’s a common enough sight and I’d often just go up to them – they’re probably advertising students looking for a job – and introduce myself and have a look at their book. I quite enjoy doing that, but, obviously, that’s quite a bit more difficult to do in China, because people don’t walk around with portfolios, even in first tier cities. But I want to travel around China a bit more, and see if I can find them.

ADOBO Your role as mentor seems to be agreeing with you.

FINK I’ve always liked nurturing talent, it’s really important and nothing gives me greater pleasure than seeing young people coming up and then going on to do really well. When I left M&C Saatchi, one of the saddest things was

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leaving behind a whole bunch of young talents I’d found and given chances to and now three or four years into their careers were doing great stuff.

That’s why when I saw Jonathan’s (Mak) design on the front page of the papers the day it was announced Steve Jobs had died, I knew I had to track him down. Problem was, all it said underneath his logo was “designed by a Hong Kong student”, it took about 200 calls to find him.

ADOBO Aside from the lamp post in the mail, what are some of the weirder things budding advertising creatives have done to get your attention?

FINK I remember one morning, it was quite funny, I turned up to M&C Saatchi, and we had this little park right in front of the building, and there were these two ghosts standing there. These two people with a white sheet over them and large black eyes painted on. They were both holding up big signs. I think one had my name on it, and they had their book, their portfolio, with them. I ignored them and went into the office and kept looking out the window. Then it started raining, and I thought, “If they’re still waiting in half an hour, I’ll see them.” Twenty minutes went by, and it was pouring by then, they were absolutely soaked. After half an hour, I called them in – their book was terrible. I said to them, “The idea of standing in the park is so much better than your book!” But you know, I gave them some advice and they left. Maybe they’ll come back to haunt me.

ADOBO Just wait for the Chinese hopefuls to start popping up!

FINK Well, someone sent me a dustpan and brush the first week I arrived here. I don’t know why (shrugs).

ADOBO Which of your recent Chinese works are you proudest of?

FINK Something we did for a real estate developer, Soho China. I think it’s one of the most original pieces of work I’ve ever been involved with. The concept came from a creative director in the Shanghai office, and a large team worked on it. Soho China commissions some of the world’s top architects to build these amazing buildings. One is Zaha Hadid, who designed the Soho Galaxy for them in Beijing, which is this amazing space age construction. It’s absolutely colossal.

They needed to sell all this space, residential and business, which was a huge task, but

as a creative company they are also very disturbed by the copycat culture here. In fact, another building Zaha designed for them has actually already been copied and is being built somewhere else in China. And amazingly that building is nearly finished, ahead of the original.

So we created this story that China was the first to put a monkey into space. We thought this would create huge buzz as people would say, “No, no, the Americans did it first!” and we’d say, “No, no. China was first, with a monkey called, ‘Abo’, and we’ve got the footage!” It’s an amazing story, and we shot all the footage with Abo as a little monkey training for his mission in black and white and scratched the film to make it look real.

We then put this story out and said that the reason no one knew about it is because the mission was seen to have failed due to the fact that contact with the spacecraft was lost after take-off. To save face, the Chinese just denied the whole mission. But what actually happened was the monkey was captured by aliens and has been living with them for 66 years. Abo now decides to return because he sees regression in China, and all this copying horrifies him.

We staged this big event when the Soho Galaxy officially opened, that the spacecraft had landed in the building and had news flashes seemingly coming in from all over the world.

ADOBO And no one caught on that this was a campaign?

FINK People were picking up little bits, but no one was really sure because we made everything look so real. It was in all the media, which was great. Then the next day Soho China did a world exclusive interview with the monkey (Abo) during which he describes the aliens, and bemoans the fact China has become a copycat nation, thus burying the creative spirit of a billion people.

This was a pretty brave thing to say especially as it was broadcast on TV as well as online.

Two days later Abo was invited as a guest on a live 30 minute debate along with the founders of Soho China and some of their critics. The entire production was easily the most difficult I’ve ever encountered. Not least because the script was in Mandarin and Peter Elliot, the worlds top monkey man, who played Abo is English. Peter by the way was the lead guy in Gorillas in the Mist. He socially integrated himself with apes for six months to learn that part. And he is consulted on for every major movie with a monkey in it. It must

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the book of fink ‘CokeHands’ Coke Illustrated by Jonathan Mak, whom Fink “discovered” after being impressed by his work on a Steve Jobs tribute piece, ‘CokeHands’ has gone on to become one of the mostawarded print campaigns of all time.

‘Blood’ Sony Playstation With the tagline, ‘It’s in the Blood’, this ad gained infamy when it was revealed to be a Photoshop-manipulated image of Fink’s own plasma, taken during a blood drive. Now that’s bleeding for one’s art.

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Graham Fink on stage at AdFest, regaling the audience with the fun, the odd and the outright insane campaigns that have caught his fancy.

be a fascinating life. Anyway he arrived for the Soho shoot with his monkey suit and his monkey head and his animatronic partner who sits there and controls him. If you want to get into the craft side ask yourself how does an Englishman speak ‘Monkey Mandarin’, and how does the animatronic guy follow along? Not easily. We found a great Chinese Ape voice, it sounded like the monkey had been drinking Jack Daniels for the 60 years he was away. The animatronics guy had to learn the Mandarin mouth movements and try to match the Chinese as we filmed. It was a fucking nightmare, but it was so different, so revolutionary. It took a very creative and brave client to do this. But they were rewarded as the Soho Galaxy completely sold out.

ADOBO Does the longevity of your work surprise you?

FINK Yeah! I mean, the best creative ideas stand the test of time. That Coke (Hands) poster is brilliant, and will still be talked about way, way in the future. The great thing about that kid, Jonathan, is he has an unusual mind, and you can tell right away from the way he talks. I think, really, the only talent I know I have, is that I can spot talent in others – I can tell about people, just by the way they walk in the door.

I don’t know if you’ve ever read a book called, Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell? It’s all about that, how all human beings have something intuitive where we pretty much know everything, and if only we could get in touch with it. It probably sounds a bit spiritual – but I’m not religious – I just know,

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intuitively. Some students could sit in front of me and, after a minute of conversation, I know whether they’ll be good or not – I don’t need to see their books, and I’m not often wrong on that point.

ADOBO What amuses or entertains you these days?

FINK Stuff that wouldn’t necessarily make a shortlist (laughs)! I’m not saying it’s great, only that it’s different, and it takes a very different kind of mind to come up with it, and that’s what interests me. Japan, for instance, is very different, they’re completely out there!

Looking at some of the commercials they do, I have no idea where to start – it’s just completely crazy! But this is what you have to remember, and this is really important: It probably works very well in their culture.

That’s something I told the juries here, that we’re going to be looking at a lot of stuff from different cultures, not just Japan, and there’s going to be big cultural stuff that we’re not going to get; concepts that are completely out there, and I kind of like that, and I often think, how the hell did anyone even think of that?! I’m completely incapable of coming up with anything like that!

ADOBO Good to know you can still be surprised.

FINK I’m surprised every day in China!

ADOBO Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

FINK Both! When you’re driving down the road, with three lanes of traffic going one way, and you see a motorcyclist coming at you from the other way, well, that surprises me (laughs).

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Paul Grubb Former CCO, Publicis Thailand Owner, Red Pill “Graham became as well known for his eccentric behavior as he did for his work.

But don’t misunderstand...eccentricity by itself is nothing, it has to be backed up with quality work and Gray did that.

He once turned up at the British Television Awards dressed as Robin Hood, but with an empty quiver. Reason: BTA awards were gold arrows! I think it was one of the few times he didn’t win, so on this particular occasion his prank backfired, so to speak.”

Mayan (Lo Sheung Yan) Chairman of Asia Pacific Creative Council / JWT Shanghai “He’s a humble and gentle guy. When he first started in Ogilvy in Shanghai, he called me up for a coffee, and he’s very interested to know more about the market, the people and the culture. He’s passionate to make a difference in China.”

A D V E R T O R I A L

4rooms. 4minds. 88storey.

Upon entering 88storey Films’ shiny new lobby, past the deliberately mismatched chairs and the vintage gas pump, one can’t help but notice the eclectic nature of the partners’ individual offices.

A far cry from the cramped space they used to share at their old location, the rooms are expressions of the four talented personalities that founded the company.

Case in point: When not directing, man-abouttown Sid Maderazo can be found in his industrialinspired space while fellow director and perennial wit Mark Querubin sticks to his professional roots in a photo studio-like office, complete with shelves held up by c-stands.

The next two doors belong to 88storey Films’ executive producers: Ever professional, the graceful Cielo Sanchez holds office in an austere space resembling a well-appointed dermatologist’s clinic, while the fun-loving Louie Araneta flexes his administrative muscles in an office perfectly suited to his pursuits.

Binding the four is a mutual respect, drive and passion for their craft that has taken 88storey Films from humble beginnings to its current status as a mainstay of the local production scene. Eight years on, this mismatched foursome is going strong, showing that, just because the pieces don’t quite match, there’s no reason they can’t fit together.

www.88storeyfilms.com

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S P E C I AL REPORT

ADOB O NIG HT S

In a tropical country with 7107 islands, a popular way for the adventurous to beat the heat and relax is to (wet)suit up and take the literal plunge for a round of scuba diving. adobo asked six of them to celebrate their love of what lies beneath the briny blue with us.

(We’re still not sure where the unicorn came from.)

Photographer: Jay Tablante Art Director: Ricardo Malit Stylist: KC Mempin and Camz Materiales of Miss Kayce CLOTHES: TOMATO Glorietta Scuba gear: Mares Philippines FINAL ART: Victor Garcia and Ricardo Malit adobomagazine

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Yin and Yang in balance Kidlat’s 2013 Lifetime Achievement awardee sees advertising exerting a positive impact on his staff’s lives Interview Sharon Desker Shaw Photography Ricky Villabona Image styling/Make-up Kristl Bansuelo

At first glance, Raul Castro’s office looks like a typical C- suite – corner, spacious and lined with big picture windows offering views of Fort Bonifacio’s rapidly changing cityscape. But along with a few well-chosen creative flourishes, this is an office designed for comfort – not just for its occupant but also staff and others regularly asked to meetings Castro presides over in his usual inimitable style.

Upholstered cube seats line one side, while another features an all-glass wall, where concepts can be scribbled Beautiful Mind-style.

A third side is made of “tackable” material, the perfect pin-up board for “tissue ideas”, the raw but promising concepts scrawled on PostIts that need to be reviewed, reworked and polished over and over before a gem of an idea is revealed.

In this oasis, Castro is known to flit from person to person, putting all at ease with seemingly random questions, sometimes singing, even rolling on the floor to make a point, for instance, about how a sandwich should be rolled.

For McCann Worldgroup Philippines’ irrepressible chairman and CEO since 2012, and the youngest-ever recipient of Kidlat’s Lifetime Achievement Award, it’s just another day at the office. There is of course a method to the “madness”. “Raul uses humor a lot to make his creative staff understand why some of their ideas just aren’t good enough. The theatrics help. He’s not afraid to make himself

look ridiculous just to drive the point home,” says Mariles Gustilo, a former colleague during his 19-year stint at Lowe Philippines, and now Ayala Foundation’s senior director of arts and culture.

“In the process of laughing at him, his people learn to laugh at themselves. And that’s a good place to start – especially when they have to go back to their desks and start all over again.”

For Castro, it’s all good when it’s in the service of client brands because it creates a virtuous cycle: Strong client brands allow agencies to grow their business and become stable employers.

“If through my works, I have changed even for a wee bit one person’s life positively then I think I have achieved something. Only then would I think I deserve this,” Castro said in his acceptance speech at Kidlat of a belief that has guided his actions and decisions.

“More than an idea creator, Raul mentors McCann’s young creative minds and keeps them focused on creating ads that bring out the truth about our brands in ways that will generate positive values in the lives of our consumers,” says client Sandra Puno, Nestlé Philippines’ communications director. “I see that he encourages them to experiment, to trail-blaze. You can always count on him and his team to surprise you with the ideas they present. The experience is in his ideas that aim to change the behavior of consumers to your brand. The kind of behavior that will make our consumers see our brands as having a positive

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Raul Castro

Chairman and CEO McCann Worldgroup Philippines

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impact on their lives. You can see it from the ads he has created (that) are considered classics today.”

For Castro, it’s important that the positive impact is felt in all corners of the office.

Accordingly, he immerses staff in the process of creating the agency’s product, especially those far removed from the activity.

Doing so, he believes, delivers crosspollination benefits on both sides of the creative divide. “I’ve gotten ideas from people with an engineering background, so I’m trying an experiment now – to change the way we brief people, to get people from accounting, finance, HR and all and say (to them), ‘I’m looking for a solution or an idea that will do this and affect this change in people”.

He has found that, without the inhibitions a job title can sometimes create, ideas pop up fresher and faster. For staff outside the creative department, the satisfaction of knowing that the agency leadership values their contribution, no matter how small, can only add to their pride in their work and the agency.

Which is where Castro’s wit, whimsy and comfortable office set-up come in, helping him create a safe and secure space where staff feel free to talk and participate in discussions even in front of the CEO. “People must understand (the business) – especially those who are not involved in the process, who are not art directors, in account management, the creative side,” he says before plunging headlong into recreating a conversation that probably

takes place at family get-togethers across the country, if not the world.

“Because when (a staff) goes to a family reunion, he’s asked, ‘Where do you work?’

McCann Worldgroup. ‘Oh it’s advertising’.

You know how excited people get. ‘What ads do you do?’ Oh we do Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Jollibee, Unilab… ‘Oh CASTRO’S like the one with John CAREER HIGHS Lloyd? And everybody gets excited. Of course the next question is, DY & R ‘What’s it like in a Got his first taste shoot?’ of advertising “But they have no here after EDSA idea. Isn’t that the saddest thing?”

These days, he L I N TAS makes it a point to ( LAT E R LO W E ) accommodate staff Joined in 1988 at 22 years and rose outside the creative rapidly to become departments in shoots a CD at 26, VP at wherever possible.

29 and ECD at 30 in a 19-year tenure Castro’s ideas were formed and validated by more than two MCCANN decades in advertising W O R L D G R OU P that began when this Joined in 2007 as Fine Arts graduate EVP and CCO. became executive with a TV-ready chairman in 2011 personality began and his current casting about for an role in 2012

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alternative career after broadcasting failed to live up to its billing. “All my classmates (after the EDSA revolution) were going into broadcasting. I tried (but) didn’t like my internship – they asked me to make coffee!”

With his exceptionally curious mind, constantly digging to figure out what makes people tick, advertising was the logical choice.

Lately, he’s been pondering why women buy pricey it bags – those large, leather-made carryalls, trimmed with heavy chains, locks and other accouterment – only to have their other half cart them around.

This penchant to observe, to immerse himself in the lives of consumers, watching how they cook or do their laundry for instance, has helped him craft some of his finest campaigns such as Unilever’s long-running, telenovela-style ‘Lumen’ series for Surf (01).

“I believe everyone in the business should never ever forget the value of truths, of being

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insightful and getting to the mind and heart of the consumer,” he says. “That will never change, however much the experiences changes, however much the format, tools and platforms (change) as long as you’re talking to consumers.”

For ‘Lumen’, Castro deemed price a non-starter – “Even if you’re poor nobody wants to be thought of as being cheap.” He ordered up a hero character instead, since consumer pride was focused on the outcome – the spotless washed items – rather than the detergent.

Mothers were, of course, a natural for the role but Castro set his sights elsewhere: The newly-married, budget-conscious wife who has to ensure her husband’s clothes are spotless.

“Every hero has to have a nemesis.

Who’s the nemesis?” The mother-in-law naturally, the foil in a story that is as universal as it is timeworn.

Castro’s unerring grasp of human motivations was again apparent in the campaign he crafted for the Benigno S Aquino Foundation (02) to mark the 25th anniversary of the Senator’s death and Coca-Cola’s ‘OFW Project’ (03), which delivered eyeballs in the millions and awards, to boot.

For the first, he redefined heroism to encourage the targeted younger segment to embrace Aquino’s legacy; for the second, he spun a Christmas tale that was not only meaningful for Filipinos but, again, was universal in nature, focusing on families reuniting for the holidays.

Yet for all his playfulness and theatricality, the multi-awarded creative with trophies from Spikes, AME, Digital Media Awards and Kidlat among others is as hard-nosed as they come in business. “I had never worked with him and I thought ‘wouldn’t it be fun to work with this guy?” Puno recounts of first seeing Castro regale a hall of Ad Congress delegates.

“Years after, I finally had the chance when he moved to McCann. I was proven wrong. It was not a fun experience.

“It was more than that. The guy is results-oriented and able to juggle this with what I would call a delightful and positive experience.”

In Castro, the ying and yang, the creative and the non-sense business leader is perfectly in sync, making it easy to see why Kidlat chose to honor this young-at-heart CEO, an award that took him by surprise. In typical Castro fashion, he laughed: “I was wondering if I was old enough to receive the award.”

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“Raul uses humor a lot to make his creative staff understand why some of their ideas just aren’t good enough.

The theatrics help.”

MARILES GUSTILO

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Marketing MVP

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adobo chats with Noel Lorenzana, MediaQuest’s newly-minted President and CEO on his life, career, and things that could have been Interview Mikhail Lecaros

Sitting by the pool at the Manila Polo Club, Noel Lorenzana is the picture of a man at ease with his surroundings and his place in the world. And why shouldn’t he be? Fit, accomplished and more than equipped to take on any professional challenge head on, it’s not hard to see how he got to where he is today.

But things could have gone quite differently, career-wise, had Lorenzana stuck to his original path, namely, that of a fully-qualified chemical engineer – hardly the line of work one would associate with someone appointed to run the nation’s third largest network.

Lorenzana laughs at the memory. “The reason I took up chemical engineering in college is that I hated chemistry in high school!

I wanted to prove a point. It was a difficult time, but very satisfying.”

Whether as a product of his willingness to tackle difficult tasks or a competitivestreak honed from a lifetime of being an avid sportsman, the drive to succeed has guided Lorenzana throughout his career, seeing him scale the corporate ladder to occupy key positions at Unilever, NutriAsia, Smart and now, TV5.

“I’ve always looked for challenges and opportunities to learn,” says Lorenzana of his new post. “In this case, it’s about how to take the media business forward while taking into account the future consumption of media.

There a lot of media practitioners who could do it, but maybe the need now is a converged look, with ‘converged’ meaning how to use the different properties of the group.”

Tech-savvy and an avid follower of popular culture (sitcoms Two-and-a-Half-Men and

Anger Management are current favorites), Lorenzana says that he plans to draw on his experience as, in his own words, a “client” of the particular services MediaQuest offers. But he stresses that there is no “silver bullet” to improving TV5, and that his task will involve equal amounts of working with what he is given and, of course, serendipity.

So just how does a chemical engineering graduate come to run a media company?

“I spent the first 20 years of my career in Unilever, straight out of university. When I was applying for my first job, the HR director told me I was perfect for marketing. I asked him what the trade offs would be, and he said that, while a CAREER technical career would timeli n e be more ‘durable’, with marketing, I could do a very quick rise (but UNILEVER burn out quickly). So I 1997-2008 took the more exciting route, working in various departments, nutriasia and I guess I’ve been 2008-2011 successful, thus far.”

Notwithstanding, Lorenzana’s run at SMART Unilever was nothing, COMMUNICATIONS if not impressive, with 2012-2013 the young trainee quickly picking up mediaquest the skills that would 2013-present become his stock in trade, though not without a small, if

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You have to be willing to learn. You have to always be curious.

You have to always ask, ‘what’s the next big thing?’ understandable, measure of self-doubt. This all changed when he and his team (“We were like the Knights of the Round Table!”) worked to relaunch Creamsilk, which, at the time, was a small brand.

“During that time, conditioners were on the decline. We had to make it relevant, let people know it had benefits that three-in-one shampoos can’t deliver. And the rest is history; from a small brand, it’s now one of the biggest in Unilever.”

It would be during his time as marketing director in Shanghai that Lorenzana would learn a very different, very Chinese, way of doing business from that which he’d become accustomed to.

“It allowed me to see the world in a wider perspective. The romance – and I don’t mean love – the Chinese market provided was just enormous. The cultural difference is amazing.

I wouldn’t call it difficult; it really was amazing, especially the divide between the old who came from the Cultural Revolution who probably felt that they missed out on a lot and are trying to catch up, and the young, who have the world at their feet. So I had to manage the Cultural Revolution guys and give the young ones the proper orientation. That was the real challenge.

My advantage was, I was Unilever-trained, with a Western perspective, and I’m Asian,

which makes for the best of both worlds. In trying to understand both sides, it came down to trying to understand the human beings across the table. A lot of the time, they just wanted to be heard and, once they felt they had that (from me), they became my biggest cheerleaders. It’s about building relationships.”

Regardless of the different styles, mindsets and industries he’s been involved with, Lorenzana describes his work philosophy as being representative of his athletic background and good business practices: “As long as you’re clear about your vision, your objectives, and as long as you know the parameters in which you operate in, then it’s fair play. You have to get the team with you; you have to use them as an ally, or they will drop you.”

Obviously, the camaraderie-based approach worked, with Lorenzana going on to represent Unilever in the Philippines, China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore – the latter two as chairman and managing director – before moving on to NutriAsia, where he served as president for three years. The winning streak would continue with his joining the PLDT Group last year as executive vice president/ head of Consumer Wireless Division at Smart Communications.

As he prepares to take the reins at MediaQuest, Lorenzana says that, in leaving Smart, it is not

without having accomplished everything he set out to do during his time with the telco.

“I’m very satisfied. We managed to apply the right strategies to get people into our network, and our postpaid was the fastest growing postpaid last year. It was about making Smart relevant in that sector and maximizing the brand and ensuring they had the right segmentation. And of course, we worked on putting together Talk ‘N Text and Smart.”

Aside from his tendency to tackle challenging assignments with vigor, Lorenzana credits his science background with giving him the analytical acumen to judge situations with logic and reason, before finding creative solutions to best suit the task at hand.

“You have to be willing to learn. You have to be always curious. You always have to ask, ‘what’s the next big thing?’ You always have to ask if you’ll grow and you can only do that by experiencing new things.”

All things considered, one can’t help but wonder what might have been, had things turned out differently.

“You know, I think I would have been a good engineer, and probably would have found myself in general management,” Lorenzana says.

Given the level of accomplishment and conviction behind the seemingly-offhand remark, we don’t doubt it.

Left: Under Lorenzana, events like Pyropalooza (the successor of lovapalooza) show how a brand, in this case, Close-up, can “own” a holiday.

Right: Jessica Sanchez and apl.de.ap in Smart’s ‘Jump In’ video, an example of how Lorenzana shifted focus from price to the human side of the brand.

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MOVERS

On The Move Anjo Mendoza

What, in your opinion, helped you win the promotion? Largely, it was just being at the right place and time. Being a co-founder of the company, I had worked closely with the shareholders (The Inquirer Group) and the management team then led

by Manny Fernando (now with MRM). I had enough time to earn their trust and confidence.

What additional responsibilities do you have in the new role? Apart from general oversight for dayto-day operations, more of my time will be taken up by more “forward-looking” initiatives. These include developing “future-proofing” strategies that will ensure The Inquirer Group’s continuing relevance to its stakeholders.

NEW ROLE President of Inquirer Megamobile PREVIOUS ROLE Chief Operations Officer of Inquirer Megamobile

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Solano joins !Gung Ho Films MANILA !Gung Ho Films has tapped Jo Solano to spearhead sales as group manager of sales and production for SANO Holdings Corporation.

A seasoned professional, Solano started out as a senior broadcast producer at McCann Erickson Philippines. From there, she has led and managed various production houses.

Prior to !Gung Ho, she was on top of marketing and production for Fat Lion Productions as managing director.

Is there anything in the new role that will keep you up at night? Megamobile is a “survivor”. It has managed to thrive in an industry that defines itself as it goes. How? By constantly reinventing and iterating its services and business models. What keeps us awake is defining the next iteration that allows us to be more relevant to our clients.

What excites you about the new role?

The feeling is akin to waiting in line to ride the roller coaster or enter the Haunted Mansion.

You’re excited because you know you’re going to be scared. In this case, I get to face my fears every day (missing revenue targets being one of them).

When did you know you wanted to work in advertising? Back in 2003, I was with FingerApps and we were working on Friendster Mobile, the first-ever social network integrated mobile service.

I remember thinking how social media and mobile could become such great platforms for advertising.

That germ of an idea fueled my interest in developing digital platforms that bridge the gap between brands and their consumers.

What have you recently learned in advertising that you wished you had learned years ago?

It would have been nice to have had a good mentor in advertising. But, digital advertising is being defined as we speak.

Ogilvy’s Tan defects to BBDO

Swift Foods taps Segovia as CEO

KUALA LUMPUR BBDO and Ogilvy & Mather have traded creative talent. The former hired Tan Chee Keong from Ogilvy Malaysia as its ECD, replacing Richmond Walker, who recently defected to Ogilvy Manila as group ECD. Tan, who was deputy ECD at Ogilvy, has worked at top agencies across Asia, including Leo Burnett Malaysia and Ogilvy Hong Kong for some of the world’s best brands such as Malaysia Airlines, Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts, Unilever, Pizza Hut, Nestle, BMW, Motorola, Guinness and Nike.

MANILA Francisco Segovia is set to take over as chief executive officer at Swift Foods, starting June 1. The post has been held since 1996 by Luis Bernardo Concepcion, who cited “personal reasons” for his departure.

Segovia has held C-level positions in different industries – from logistics, finance and real estate.

He has been working with Swift’s parent company RFM Corporation since 1986.

The management shuffle came six months after RFM, a food and beverage conglomerate, sold Swift to a unit of Century Pacific Group to focus on stronger business segments, which includes Selecta, its ice cream joint venture with Unilever, Fiesta pasta, White King-flour-based mixes, Selecta Milk and Sunkist beverages.

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Martin leads digital at Bates ASIA PACIFIC Bates CHI&Partners has appointed Todd Martin to the new role of regional head of digital and social, which will see him moving from Sydney to the agency’s regional Singapore headquarters.

Martin joins the agency with more than 20 years of experience in building up digital and social businesses across global markets including the US, the UK, and Asia Pacific. He was notably one of the owners of Amnesia Group, a digital agency that grew in 10 years to become the largest of its kind in Australia.

Cheil fills brand experience role SEOUL Cheil Worldwide has beefed up its talent line-up with Leigh Dennis taking over as global VP of brand experience and managing director of MD Lab. Dennis’ career has been spent spearheading topnotch brands such as Starbucks while establishing design agency Callison LLC.

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Isobar taps Kelly for APAC role

TBWA hires China strategy chief SHANGHAI TBWA\China has appointed Milo Chao as its new chief strategy officer to implement strategic changes for TBWA and its other affiliated networks.

Chao was appointed to provide strategic leadership for TBWA, Digital Arts Network, The Integer Group®, Auditoire and BEING. He joins TBWA following stints at DDB, Rapp Collins and Grey in a long and highly regarded career spanning New York, Dallas, Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing, Tokyo and Shanghai on clients as diverse as Dell, Sony, Toyota, Mars, Philips, Unilever and PepsiCo.

HONG KONG OgilvyOne India’s former regional creative director Graham Kelly has jumped to Isobar Asia Pacific in the newly created role of regional ECD for the digital group.

Kelly will be based in Singapore to drive Isobar’s creative product across its 21 markets in Asia Pacific. A multiple award winner, Kelly has worked in creative leadership roles at Ogilvy, BBH, Leo Burnett and Saatchi & Saatchi across Asia Pacific.

In other moves, the network has firmed up its China leadership, promoting its CRM practice leader for Asia Pacific and COO of its wwwins Greater China office, Jane Lin-Baden, to CEO of Isobar China and Alvin Huang to managing-partner integrated for China in addition to being Beijing MD.

Comscore builds APAC team

DDB bolsters bench strength

ASIA PACIFIC comScore is responding to strong growth in its Asia Pacific business with the addition of several senior executives to its regional team. Kerry J Brown (below) has joined as vice president, sales for Southeast Asia; Cai Fang as vice president, sales for China and Kate Palmer as account director for Australia.

These three seasoned managers bring more than two decades of digital media experience to their new roles.

Along with the additions, two experienced comScore executives, Victor Cheng and Yosuke Maekawa, have been promoted to head Greater China and Japan, respectively.

SHANGHAI Digital power duo Jit Ng and Tim Cheng have been promoted to positions of leadership. The former to vice president of DDB North China and managing director of DDB Group Shanghai while the latter to chief creative officer of the Shanghai office.

Their mandate is to raise the bar in delivering creative business solutions for clients. In their new roles, the pair will focus on bringing the best multidisciplinary talents to execute best-in-class creative ideas across channels and disciplines for clients. Ng and Cheng were notable for setting up Tribal DDB Beijing. Within a year, the office succeeded in earning industry’s recognition as Campaign Asia Pacific’s Greater China Digital Agency of the Year 2012.

Burnett hires ECD from Sydney SINGAPORE Leo Burnett Singapore turned to its network sibling in Sydney in its hunt for an ECD, hiring Tim Green who was until recently a creative director. Green spent the past four years working across the Sydney office’s key accounts, including Diageo, Canon, Colonial First State, GIO Insurance, McDonald’s and Procter & Gamble. He played a key role in its award-winning ‘Watermark’ for Diageo, which won a Titanium Lion in 2011 and is ranked the 17th most awarded campaign globally in the Gunn Report’s ‘All Guns Blazing’ category.

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LOWE CMO Vikas Mehta has relinquished his regional growth officer role with Lowe based in Singapore and will be moving to India as chief marketing officer for Lowe Lintas + Partners Asia.

Mehta has spent seven years working with Lowe in local and pan-regional roles in India, Vietnam and Singapore, rising to become one of the agency’s youngest managing directors.

ASIA-BOUND Mark Halliday has relocated from Manning Gottlieb OMD in the UK to Singapore to lead Omnicom Media Group’s mobile marketing brand, Airwave, in Asia Pacific. Halliday has been tasked to drive mobile planning and strategy for the group’s Asia Pacific client roster.

JWT HIRES Bill Chan (below) has returned to JWT Shanghai as chief creative officer in the wake of departures by Elvis Chau who is leaving alongside managing director Eric Lee in June. Chan led the creative team for six years after joining the agency in 2010.

MAXUS PROMOTES Leon Chen has been promoted from Maxus Shanghai managing director to the network’s China vice president. He joined the Shanghai office in 2011 from Starcom Taiwan, bringing two decades of advertising, marketing and client experience to his position.

REDWORKS HIRE Micheal Tam, a global communications advisor to the Beijing government since 2010, has joined RedWorks China, overseeing the design and production unit nationwide. Pressing tasks in his new role include the development of national and regional hubs to standardize production quality and the execution of complex integrated campaigns. Tam previously worked with Euro RSCF 4D/ Field Force and Saatchi & Saatchi.

IN T E L

Intelligence

Thi rd m o st opt i m i st i c

S P E N D I N G D I L E M M A Nielsen tipped restrained consumer spending in the Philippines after its 58-market global first quarter report found a slight dip in the country’s confidence index had triggered a greater willingess to save among Filipinos.

Top 5 Countries by Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions (%) Photo frenleafinstitute.com

Q2 2012

Q3 2012

Q4 2012

Indonesia

Q1 2013 120

China

119

117

121

122

120

105

Q3 2012

Q4 2012

119

119

Thailand

104

106

112

108

115

108

116

The Philippines in Focus Q2 2012

India

Statistics Q1 2013

06%

slide in Filipinos who think now is a good time to purchase what they need over the next 12 months.

05%

rise from 2012’s last quarter of Filipino respondents shaving spending on household expenses.

03%

rise from 2012’s last quarter of Filipino respondents who consider saving spare cash a priority.

116 118 119 118

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MANILA Philippine consumer confidence slipped marginally in the first quarter of this year after rising all of last year, Nielsen’s latest data showed.

Despite the 1% dip, Filipinos remained near the top of the global pile in the optimism index. The country was the 3rd most optimistic market, after placing 2nd over the last two quarters of 2012.

The 1% dip comes despite forecasts that May’s mid-term elections would result in an additional 5 billion pesos in consumer spending. Kantar Worldpanel had earlier forecast the additional spending, a common feature of election years. The researcher noted that much of the expenditure would go towards fast moving consumer goods.

“Aside from the slight decrease in the consumer index, we are seeing a more conservative attitude towards spending and an increase in the willingness to save,” Nielsen Philippines managing director Stuart Jamieson noted.

When asked if it was a good or bad time to buy things that they want and need over the next 12 months, 6% of Filipino online respondents agreed that it was an excellent time compared to 8% in the final quarter of 2012.

39% responded it was a good time, while 47% of respondents said it was not a good time to buy. 6% believed it was a bad time to spend compared with 5% in 2012’s final quarter.

Filipino respondents also reported making adjustments to save on household expenses – 83% said that compared to last year they had changed their spending, an increase of 5% over the previous quarter.

They reported spending less on clothes, saving on utilities, delaying on upgrading technology, switching to cheaper grocery brands and cutting down on out-of-home entertainment.

Saving spare cash continued to be a priority among 68%, up 3% over the previous quarter, while spending intentions on new technology products dipped 2 points to 33%.

Despite the slight dip in confidence, Filipino consumers still felt positive about the state of their personal finances. 16% viewed their personal finances as excellent, while 65% described their finances in good condition.

* Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions

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S P E C I AL REPORT

adobo centerfold

ADOB O NIG HT S

mart miranda, grupo lumina

Words Emarrah Sarreal

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Photography Shampoo Padilla

March-April 2013

Make-up Nadj Zaragoza Venue Bulb Studio

AD O BO NI GHT S

SP E C IAL R E PO R T

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While card tricks aren’t in his repertoire, Mart Miranda is the quintessential magician, regularly making things, once thought impossible, happen. The owner and president of Video Sonic Manila and co-founder of Grupo Lumina, Miranda has made a business of captivating, mesmerizing and entertaining, using the very latest in light and projection technology.

The seeds for what would become Grupo Lumina were sown during Miranda’s travels to places like Las Vegas and New York’s Broadway, where showmanship is king. Miranda realized that, given a chance, the Philippines could do something equally spectacular. “We have the talent but we don’t have the right formula or tools,” Miranda told adobo magazine.

Using top-of-the-line equipment, Miranda and his team have created nothing short of magic with 3-D projection mapping for events such as Coca-Cola’s 100th anniversary, Kobe Bryant’s Take Every Advantage Tour 2011, UAAP season 54, Lexus, Ad Congress 2011 and the launch of Solaire Resorts and Hotels.

And the magician is not stopping anytime soon.

With inquiries here and abroad, Grupo Lumina is constantly investing in new technologies that will put the team four steps ahead of everyone else.

“Anything you can think about visually, we have the technology,” Miranda said. “Things that you can’t imagine happening, we can do that for you.”

March-April 2013

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T H E F I RM

MOVE NT

WELOVEPOST

The story of two guys & a bar From upstarts to trendsetters, welovepost has carved a comfortable position for itself on the local post-production scene.

Founders Pedring Lopez and Cody Miller, along with operations director David Hukom, met with adobo in the nerve center of their company – a fully stocked (and toy and pop culture memorabilialaden) bar – to find out what makes them tick.

Words Mikhail Lecaros Photo welovepost

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This Page 01 Pride of place goes to welovepost’s bar 02 ‘Allure’ TVC for Tanduay 03 ‘Bartender’ TVC for Tanduay Opposite Page The team smiles for the birdy

Four years ago, dissatisfied with their experiences in other post-production houses, Pedring Lopez and Cody Miller decided that perhaps it was time to open their own company. Freelancing for a year after leaving their previous house, the pair bided their time with freelance work until they were able to put together enough capital to make their dream a reality.

“Those were scary times,” says co-founder and marketing director Cody Miller. “That was right when the market crashed, and everyone, including our friends and family were saying it was a bad idea – time to shell up and save. But I think this industry thrives when there’s trouble, so, for me, it was the best time to set up.”

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“And that was a time when a lot of the other houses were decreasing their size or merging,” says co-founder and managing director Lopez, referring to the economic slump that relegated the dollar to peso exchange to the abysmal upper fifties.

While other startups were either hedging their bets or simply erring on the side of caution, the welovepost boys threw everything they had into their venture, investing heavily on personnel and equipment to establish their status as a house to be taken seriously.

“We didn’t have big funding, but we had to go all in!” laughs Lopez. “In post, there’s no mid-range. It’s either you’re really small, and cater only to small projects, or you’re really big and can cater to everyone in the region.”

Setting up shop on the 6th floor of a nondescript Makati high rise, the pair went for broke in their desire to open a shop that could distinguish itself locally and, in the same measure, compete globally. Raising additional eyebrows in the industry was welovepost’s decision to hire outside talent to augment their staff.

“We really wanted to go regional, which is why we also hired expats, which a lot of the companies (here) don’t do. They told us we were stupid to do it, but now we have three (expats),” shares Lopez. “Having a mix of cultures in one house is good because you can draw from different creative backgrounds” “Having an international team and the equipment to back them up also helps us market ourselves around the region,” adds Hukom.

Of course, all of this investment in talent and high-tech toys would be for naught if it went to the wrong areas, a fact reflected by

welovepost’s relatively low (compared to other local houses’) headcount.

Up to date, equipped and efficient, welovepost’s foundation of keeping regional standards in mind has definitely paid off; it wasn’t long before a reputation based on expertise and quick turnarounds was established, resulting in a steady stream of local and international projects.

“How we read it is,” says Hukom, “this is the direction the local industry is headed.

More and more clients will be realizing that bringing their projects here is like working in the States. Even from a communication standpoint, there’s no language barrier.”

It wasn’t always this way, says Lopez: “15, 20 years ago, Manila was where Thailand is now in terms of post. We (the Philippines) were the first to have Smoke, we were the first to have Flame*. But it just died down. Then Thailand started buying equipment, and we were so ‘clan-ish’, focusing our attention on local work that we got left behind.”

The “clan-ish” mentality isn’t exclusive to picking and choosing of projects, though; Despite many in the industry decrying welovepost’s decision to include foreign talent on their roster, Miller explains that this was a choice that also had a basis in practicality.

Miller expands on the sentiment: “Basically, a lot of people who do work in the region, they’re used to these kinds of artists, this kind of expertise. When you go to (post prod houses in) Thailand or whatnot, it’s like a melting pot of different people and different artists. Since a lot of projects go out from the Philippines to these other countries, we want to be able

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04 This Page 01 ‘Let’s Go’ TVC for Shakey’s 02 Music video for Kamikazee 03 Post-production for ‘El Presidente’ 04 ‘Cash to Bank Receiver’ for MoneyGram

“In post, there’s no mid-range.

It’s either you’re really small, and cater only to small projects, or you’re really big and can cater to everyone in the region.”

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to give the same kind of quality (here). And to be honest, for a lot of the stuff we have – the Smoke and Flame – there’s a lack of training for a lot of the local guys, so the foreign guys are gonna help strengthen our guys – it’s like hitting two birds with one stone.”

Another area welovepost made waves in was its early adoption of social media to promote the company and their projects, which Lopez says is remarkable for the fact that, “If you look around, we’re the only house that really uses social media, posting and posting on Facebook. Maybe because we’re young, but it really helped us market ourselves, and it’s helped us get clients from abroad who have only heard of us from going online.”

Heading into its fifth year, welovepost’s reputation as an industry trendsetter is wellcemented, and expansion is in the works. The company already made industry headlines earlier this year when it entered into a co-branding agreement with Holy Cow Animation, Inc, adding to an already-extensive list of available

May-June 2013

services. In addition, bolstered by a steady stream of client demand, welovepost recently acquired the floor above their current facility, and is in the process of constructing new office space, a lounge area and editing suites. The centerpiece of the renovation will be a cinemastyle screening room where clients can view their projects being worked on in real time.

“When we started, all the pieces kind of fell together,” says, Miller, justifiably proud of the evolution of the company. “The same thing happened when we brought in Dave. We were all in line and, I wouldn’t say that’s rare, but it’s a good feeling that we all want to go in the same direction.”

So what’s the secret to surviving in the cutthroat world of post production?

The answer is as instantaneous as it is unanimous: “Beer!”

* Smoke and Flame are industry-standard editing and visual effects systems, respectively.

MO V ENT

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Leo Burnett’s ace

XX Lorem Ipsum Dolor XX

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LEO BURNETT

A legacy of tradition Words Mikhail Lecaros Visuals Leo Burnett

Leo Burnett’s is the first face you see when you get off the elevator at the lobby of the Manila office.

A cutout of the man who built a top-10 American advertising agency from an office with a staff of eight and one client stands, one hand raised in welcome. It is a precursor to the warm atmosphere one finds inside the stylishly-furnished Manila office that houses his agency’s Philippine branch.

Standing here, halfway across the world from where the agency first opened its doors in 1935, one can’t help but wonder what Burnett himself – known for designing campaigns with an eye towards the common man, and whose agency created icons such as the Jolly Green Giant and Marlboro Man – would have thought of it all. Would he have been pleased? Would he have been baffled? adobo decided there was only one way to find out.

Managing director Raymond Arrastia and chief creative officer Raoul Panes were on hand to meet with adobo to share their thoughts on the Burnett philosophy of HumanKind, long-time clients and the secret to a good life-work balance.

“The company is doing very well,” opens Arrastia. “In the region, we are expected to deliver the highest growth rate among all the Burnett companies in Asia Pacific, so we’re very excited about it. So we’re doing well, but side by side with that lies the pressure to maintain that success – expectations are higher. Panes and his team have been churning out work like maniacs. (laughs) Our clients have been quite happy with the output!”

And they’re not the only ones to be impressed with the work coming out of the Manila office. After all, contributing to a network that took Network of the Year at AdFest 2013, the Manila office has netted more than its share of major show wins. The latest accolade is the Best in Show prize at the adobo Design Awards for WWF’s ‘Nightlife’, sitting on the reception counter.

Of course, it’s not all work and no play, as explained

by Panes: “We’re firm believers in work-life balance, and I always tell the guys that if we can finish the work during regular work hours, get out of here and have a life, that’s

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the best formula to be more creative and more effective. I guess it’s all about nailing down strategy, what needs to be said, what needs to be done. We try to be very direct in terms of asking the right questions, so there’s no pussyfooting, no beating around the bush with the jobs that are being asked of us. But it doesn’t’ mean that we all just run out of here at 6pm, there are really going to be times that are hectic. But we always encourage people to get out of here as soon as they can.”

“That’s very important to us,” Arrastia adds, pointing to Burnett philosophy of ‘HumanKind’, anchored on the concept of acts not ads to break through the clutter of the market. “Everything we do is based on people and behavior – the most important part of any client’s business.

In order to actually know about people and behavior, you have to go out beyond the confines of the office. You can’t just be stuck in here, not knowing what’s happening in the real world. You need to be exposed to the trends outside. So we encourage people to have a life outside the office.

If everything’s purely about work, things will become stale, and you’ll only be familiar with things of yesterday, rather than today, and you’ll have to play catch up.”

A classic example of HumanKind in action is the ‘Lolo’ TVC for McDonald’s from a few years back. In it, a young lady is disheartened when her grandfather (the titular, ‘Lolo’) is unable to remember her name, before she realizes that, while he may not recognize her now, he remembers and loves her enough to save her some of his McDonald’s food. Despite winning hearts and accolades almost from the moment it first aired, Arrastia says that it was a spot that the Burnett Manila team had to fight for, as it was, admittedly, somewhat different from the kid- and family-filled TVCs McDonald’s is known for.

When it comes to keeping a finger on the pulse of what’s current, Burnett Manila doesn’t seem to be having any problems, churning out

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consistently memorable work for long-term clients, such as a recent resurrection of McDonald’s 70’s tagline, ‘Keep Your Eyes on Your Fries’ in the form of a tongue-in cheek TVC starring rising boxing star Nonito Donaire. This is in line with Burnett worldwide policy, to provide the best possible service for its existing clients, rather than expending time chasing down new ones.

So how do they keep current?

“We have a lot of young people here, that helps a lot,” says Panes, on how the Burnett team is able to keep abreast of trends. “They keep us on our toes with regard to technology and knowing what’s out there. Based on my experience, it’s always refreshing when you speak with students, and they ask you questions about things you take for granted. On our own, we do our own thing. A few years ago, when Facebook wasn’t big yet, we had a regional conference where everyone was talking about how big Facebook could be, and we all went into it (the seminar) just for the sake of experiencing it, and here we are now; it runs the lives of so many people!”

When it comes to digital, the agency’s Arc subsidiary is on hand to tackle the ever-evolving communications landscape. Panes elaborates, “Digital is now a part of the everyday conversation, compared to a few years ago, when it was just an afterthought. Now, it’s about what will work best to serve the client and relay the message. It’s no longer about automatically falling back on TV, radio, print. In that sense, it also brings us better opportunities for business.

This does not, however, mean that Burnett has strayed from the humanist mindset established by the agency’s founder. Every campaign and client is rigorously evaluated to determine just how appropriate the integration (or nonintegration, as the case may be) of technology is with regard to the message they are being asked to convey.

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May-June 2013

“The approach that we take with any brief is to look at it and sort of see what the best approach is to actually deliver on the objectives of the client, whether via digital, television, print or radio,” says Arrastia. “The important thing to remember, is to look at everything through a human lens and considering how your work can make a difference.”

A perfect of this desire to “make a difference” can be seen in the aforementioned award-winning spot for WWF’s annual Earth Hour, ‘Nightlife’, which showed, with a flourish of animated whimsy, the degree to which our so-called conveniences have distracted us from the natural wonders present all around us.

So just what sort of mindset should one possess to be a functional part of the Burnett family?

“As creatives,” says Panes, “we’re always in a state of dissatisfaction, and I feel it should be that way. We never feel we’ve done our best yet. Every opportunity is something we take on, every year is a chance to do better.”

With a drive towards delivering long-term, consistent excellence and a commitment to nurturing their people’s wellbeing, it would appear that Leo Brunett’s brainchild is in the best of hands on our shores.

As for the answer to the original query (of what Leo Burnett would think of how his name is being used these days, it seems a pretty safe bet to say that he would be pleased.

Very pleased, indeed.

This Page 01 Leo Burnett’s Big Three : (L-R) Chief creative officer Raoul Panes, managing director Raymond Arrastia, and chief operating officer Boyet Alvero 02 A tongue-in cheek TVC reintroduces classic McDonald’s tagline, ‘Keep Your Eyes on Your Fries’, with the help of rising boxing star Nonito Donaire

col u m n

logic & mag ic

BONG OSORIO

Logic & Magic

The power of shameless promotion Self-promotion is good for your professional health and wealth. It is a must for young marketing communication practitioners considering the highly competitive environment.

Self-help expert Debbie Allen, in her book Confessions of Shameless Self-Promoters urges you to practice it on a daily basis if you want to thrive in your career.

The first step in marketing success is to have an unassailable conviction in who you are and the ideas you can stir up. Some people may find your ideas out of this world and brush you off immediately. And there will be “crabs”, you will have to contend with along the way. Never succumbed to their dangerous clips or you’ll never make it. As soon as you begin to climb up, they will quickly reach up and pull you down.

If you project to do better than the rest, appear more intelligent, become richer and more famous, and garner more rewards and recognition, you are fodder for jealousy and hate. Pardon the cynicism, but with crabs hovering around, you are resolutely encouraged to know who you are competing against and design your moves based on who your enemies are and what you know about them.

Again, you have to have a strong belief system, a primary requisite in shameless self-promotion.

Studies in Allen’s book revealed that selfpromotion is directly related to victory.

All victorious individuals are self-promoters, from pop icon Madonna, to basketball “bad boy” Dennis Rodman, to controversial radio jock Howard Stern, to former USA presidents Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton. Local movie stars, politicians, service consultants and start-up entrepreneurs do it too. Some carry it out with more shrewdness or integrity than others, and based on the outcome of what they execute, to self-promote is indeed to guarantee triumph.

Here are some tips derived from Allen’s and Dais’ literatures:

that will make a difference in my plans?” Is he a prospective client, a colleague with a wide network of contacts, or an industry association leader?

When you are able to spot him, bring yourself inside his circle.

Acquire a particular style. In marketing, it is labeled as “differentiation.” Marketing guru Ted Levitt described it as one of the most important strategic and tactical activities in which you must constantly engage. Everything (and everyone) can be differentiated. You are warned not to linger in a generic mold lest you find yourself extinct, sooner that you can imagine.

Put the theory of repetition in action. Natural selfpromoters don’t say it once; they say it repeatedly.

I bet you would not remember a TV commercial if you only saw it once. Advertisers are familiar with this principle---multiple ‘impressions’ must be designed for their target market, to achieve brand awareness, preference, or loyalty.

Keep an optimistic air. Get inspired by the beginnings of the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. It was reported that over 130 different publishers rejected the first manuscript. If you are weak of heart and easily frustrated, you might have

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BONG OSORIO is an active marketing and communications practitioner, educator, and writer. He currently heads ABS-CBN’s corporate communications department, and is a professor at the University of Santo Tomas, as well as a columnist at the Philippine Star.

simply given up and train your sight somewhere else exposed in such exasperating circumstance.

But as you know by now, the editors stuck with his idea until someone finally said, “Yes!” Seek out opportunities and act on them. Always carry business cards, because a new prospect will show up in the least likely place.

Build strong affiliations. The online world is there to tap into appropriate social networking groups and gain from their activities.

Maintain top of mind awareness. Out of sight is out of mind. Be always visible or you will be forgotten. Try applying for and win awards, or better still make up your own awards and publicize them.

Get your work published. Make your piece of communication that gets opened, read, listened to or viewed while the others get trashed.

Make time to coalesce, link-up, affiliate. Because if you don’t, nobody else will.

Toot toot! Now I can hear your horn tooting louder.

Toot toot! Blow your own horn

Get an advantageous position. Put yourself strategically and frequently with people who can bring positive influences in your aspirations.

Develop the habit of automatically waking up each morning asking yourself, “Who can I meet today

May-June 2013

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M ARK E T I N G

s e l l ing summer

Illustration Meneer Marcelo

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MARKETING

Selling Summer Capitalizing on the season of the sun Words Patricia Lim

SUMMER: And along with it, an endless stream of images and status posts that scream beach, (mmm) bikinis, diets, and vacation getaways.

As temperatures reach scorching levels and Filipinos find themselves thirsting for a cool drink or dialing up the air conditioning, the question of how to beat the heat and look good at the same time is at the top of everyone’s mind. For brands, this provides the perfect opportunity to attract consumers with eyecatching campaigns that demonstrate the best way to enjoy a sizzling summer.

The pressure to look good reaches its peak during the summer months. Summer means beach, and beach means bikinis and board shorts. In the months leading up to March, April, and May, people start to diet and hit the gym to get that elusive “Bora Bod.” So it comes as no surprise that cosmetics brands

Look hot “Make this your hottest summer ever!’ is the tagline of an advertisement by Belo Medical Group. An ad on Stem Cell Lipo, it features curvy actress and TV host Ruffa Gutierrez in a one-piece with a plunging neckline against a striking orange background.

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May-June 2013

like Belo Medical Group have come out with advertisements that entice customers with the promise of slimmer arms, tighter legs and flatter abs.

Flawless Face and Body Clinic is employing similar tactics and looks for its print and billboard advertisements. Targeting women who wish to get rid of unsightly hair so they can show more skin, the ads reveal a radiant and carefree Jasmine Curtis-Smith, who is “flawless from head to toe.”

Just as important as looking slim and flawless, it seems, is looking fair – especially “down there”, as Lactacyd White Intimate Feminine Wash so delicately puts it. Released in time for summer, when women want to don short shorts and bikinis with confidence, the ads feature model and style icon Georgina Wilson, who thanks Lactacyd on behalf of all the ladies for its whitening capabilities.

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Images www.facebook.com/havaianasphilippines

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Beat the heat While beauty and cosmetic brands are focusing on slim, fair, and flawless, a handful of other brands are breathing new life into their products by hyping up the fun and spontaneous side of summer.

The flip-flops brand Havaianas (1) is no stranger to the scene. Aside from the brand’s ubiquity at beaches and resorts, it holds an annual event called ‘Make Your Own Havaianas’. Already in its 8th year, MYOH 2013 was launched with the theme ‘Imagination’, emphasizing the thought and creativity that go into designing a pair. A steady stream of visitors came to the Rockwell Tent during the event, with people lining up as early as 5:30AM for a chance to customize own flip-flops.

Sprite (2), on the other hand, gave people a different reason to get excited about the heat.

The brand took to the digital scene with a video entitled ‘Sprite Fountain’. It showed a refreshing way to cool down in Manila where temperatures can go as high as 43C. A fountain located in front of Binondo church was filled with 10,000 bottles of Sprite. Passers-by who picked up a bottle got soaked by cold jets of water, much to the enjoyment of onlookers.

The video reached more than one million

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views on YouTube, giving netizens a glimpse at the awesome possibilities when you ‘Obey Your Thirst’.

Telecommunications companies are also taking it up a notch with advertisements that highlight the freedom and excitement of summer. Taking its tagline “Go lang ng Go” to new heights, Globe Telecommunications released a GoSAKTO campaign that enables prepaid users to create their own promo, giving them the freedom to adjust calls, texts and mobile surfing. In addition, users can make the most of summer vacation and stay connected anywhere in the country.

Smart Bro (3) also made waves on the web with its ‘Tayo’y mga Pinoy’ music video. Demonstrating the reliability and wide reach of its mobile broadband, Smart Telecommunications featured OPM artists Rico Blanco, Ely Buendia, Raimund Marasigan, and Barbie Almabis as they sang from different parts of the country.

Released just before the start of summer, the musical collaboration provided a peek at some of the Philippines’ best locations, which made viewers long for the road trips and getaways that were in store for the season. The video reached more than two million views.

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Other brands jumped onto the musical bandwagon as well, using songs and music videos to celebrate summer and spark enthusiasm over their products. Unilever brand Sunsilk released a music video online with Pop Princess Sarah Geronimo singing an original song called ‘Own Today’. In line with this, Sunsilk launched the 25-hour challenge, which called on ladies to submit their own videos for a chance to win a trip to Palawan to star in a music video with the pop icon.

CloseUp (4) took things to a whole new level with its 12-hour music festival, the CloseUp Summer Solstice, which featured the beats of AfroJack, Alex Gaudino, Apster, Cedric Gervais, Cobra Starship (DJ Set), Dev, Jumpsmokers, Sandwich, Spongecola, and Urbandub. Held April 27, 2013, music enthusiasts flocked to the SM Mall of Asia concert grounds and partied from 4PM to 4AM. The event was a huge success. CloseUp captured the lively and vibrant emotions young people want to feel during summer vacation, while staying true to its brand promise of bringing people closer.

Summer is a different experience for different people – the variety of images, jingles, and videos shows exactly that. Summer could mean a perfectly chiseled body, or a colorful pair of flip-flops. It could be a surprising splash of water or it could be a rocking music festival.

It could even be all of those things at the same time. One thing’s for certain, with brands growing bolder in their executions and in the messages they want to send out, selling summer has never been more refreshing.

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adobo Sidedish 02

In The Bag 03

Chiqui Tan Head of Corporate Marketing Samsung Electronics Philippines Corporation

Jim Trota Fuentebella Director/VP Marketing Max’s Group of Companies/ Krispy Kreme/Jamba Juice

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What is the one thing that will surprise people about you? My wallet is almost always empty.

05

What’s your guilty pleasure? Staying in great hotels: The understated elegance of The Peninsula in Tokyo. Super location, excellent staff, nice rooms, and of course, Japanese ingenuity in the bathrooms.

Bag My bag is like a walking circus, like those caravans that have people coming out of them and never seem to stop.

able to power up whenever, wherever.

06

Samsung Galaxy S3 My work phone, where I have all my productivity apps. Any.Do is the best to-do list maker ever!

07

Samsung Galaxy Note My personal phone for surfing, FB’ing and Instagramming. My schedule, notes and all my personal apps are here. It’s also my idea-taker – I photograph whatever catches my eye then scribble my notes on it so I don’t forget that eureka moment.

My addiction. I tend to wave my hands a lot while talking, so ugly nails are a no-no.

Michael Kors wallet I’m not a superstitious person except with my wallet. It’s lucky when it’s from my hubby, so I don’t change it until he gives me a new one.

Make-up Bobbi Brown Corrector My best friend in a compact. I dab just a little under my eyes before I put on my make-up.

Bobbi Brown lipstick in sandwash pink A must to create my “no make-up” work look.

Sephora bronzer Because I have this insane need to look sun-kissed all the time.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Most of my notes are here, handwritten. My work requires me to travel a lot, so I’ve also downloaded all my movies and books here.

08

Portable battery pack This ensures that I am

09

Eyeglasses A friend once told me that if I change my bag everyday, I should do the same with my eye wear since it’s on my face and it’s the first thing people see.

10

Alcohol pump I cannot leave home without this!

11

Dental stuff Dental floss, Colgate Wisp toothbrush, mouthwash To relax, some people walk, some smoke, some listen to music. I brush.

12

Designer Print Band Aid Now I look forward to getting paper cuts.

13

First aid kit I have a mini-drugstore in this little pouch with Vicks and Visine too!

14

Jo Malone Perfume, Mini Atomizers Perfumes are my guilty pleasure.

15

Starbucks key chain I gravitate towards the color orange for some reason.

16

Animal print card case Always fully stocked sinceI meet so many people on a daily basis.

Burt’s Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream

16

Do you have a secret or hidden talent? I can

06

13

juggle...for about 5 seconds. Does that count?

05

What entertains you? Watching senseless

15

01

daytime TV. I’ll never admit I watched Wowowee but hey, I’ve got to do market research on the latest ads!

02

03

11 09

What are your favorite brands aside from your company’s? Vitra and Visvim. They

10

never compromise the process of design.

As a result, they always innovate, produce excellent products, and stay true to the core.

14

08 04 11

What makes you laugh? Japanese practical

jokes. There are clips on YouTube for Japanese practical jokes like the one where they propel the insides of a portalet upwards with someone using it. It’s so wrong but so funny.

12

07

Complete the sentence: If I wasn’t in marketing, I would be… a landscape architect.

Photo Lorenzo Tan

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M AR KE T IN G

samsung’s launch co up

t hr i l l a i n m a ni l a Ci8 tracks Philippine social media chatter as local consumers are gripped by Galaxy fever

Twin peaks in S4 buzz build-up Mar 14 Product Announcement April 26 Product Launch 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0

Feb Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Apr Apr Apr Apr Apr Apr 28 05 10 15 20 25 30 04 09 14 19 24 29

Globe’s Samsung S4 launch event... collection time for the pre-ordered smartphones

MARKETING

Samsung’s launch coup Ci8 sees social media buzz build-up ahead of S4’s arrival in the market MIRRORING its global reception, Samsung’s Philippine launch of the highly anticipated Galaxy S4 smartphone dominated social media chatter and delivered record pre-orders for a brand that has dethroned Apple.

Local market buzz peaked on March 14, the day Samsung announced its flagship model; rising again for the April 26 launch, according to social media research consultancy Ci8.

Samsung made pre-ordering easy: It had a virtual queue for pre-orders at iwantags4.com, which went on to become part of the conversation cloud around S4 in the Philippines. Pre-ordering was also available at the two carriers, Smart and Globe.

The latter reportedly sold out its stock of the S4, which raced up the list of must-have smartphone in a number of markets within five days of its 60-market global debut.

Unexpectedly high pre-orders had in fact delayed sales schedules in the US, where Samsung and Apple have been duking it out in courts and the marketplace.

Samsung pushed the envelope for their five-inch screen Android device, offering two cameras for enhanced photography, translations in up to nine languages, technology that recognizes users’ hand gestures and facial motions (to pause video play) plus other innovations within a smartphone that is thinner and lighter than its predecessor, the S3.

The Korean giant released an infographic detailing TA K IN G A the many ways the S4 can enrich consumers’ BITE O U T lifestyles.

O F A P P LE There was plenty of marketing firepower behind the S4’s release across the MILLION world, including the Samsung’s Philippines, where one shipment of units distributor was selling in Q1 2013, before S4’s the smartphone at launch 30,990 pesos.

Samsung expects to move more units of the S4 than the S3, and backed the S4’s roll-out with a massive MILLION Apple’ shipment promotional schedule, of units for the covering advertising same quarter, and glitzy launch up 6.6% YOY events around the Source Gartner world.

64.7

38.3

Brand Attributes Social media discussion centers on handset’s design and innovation not so much on its price tag.

Design

55%

Innovation

52%

Camera

48%

Processor Price

44% 3%

Customer Journey S4 scores high on product awareness pre-launch 91%

Product Awareness

8%

Consideration

1%

Purchase Intent

Sentiment 77%

Positive

9%

Neutral

14%

Negative

Audience Type Male 77.55%

Female 22.45%

www.ci-8.com

May-June 2013

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M ARK E T I N G

nie l s e n med ia spend hi ghlig ht s

Nielsen Media Spend Highlights

2013 Values

Top 10 Spending Categories Q1 2012 Vs. 2013 01

02

05%

2012 Values

03

04

7,587

5,932

3,877

3,575

7,217

3,669

2,078

2,713

Hair Shampoos, Rinses, Treatments, & Hairdressing Products

05

62%

Detergents & Laundry Preparations

06

87%

32%

Powdered Milk

Other Food Products/ Other Than Biscuits & Bakeshops

07

3,012

2,983

2,750

35,713

809

2,711

2,629

30,009 19%

272%

Government Agencies & Public Utilities

08

10%

Communications/ Telecommunications

09

05%

Dentrifices, Mouthwashes & Toothbrushes

Balance Categories

10

2,518

2,462

2,378

72,787

2,154

3,081

2,066

59,135 23%

17%

-20%

Skin Care

15%

Entertainment

Proprietary Drugs/ Other Than Vitamins & Tonics

Grand Total

Top 10 Advertisers By Spend Q1 2012 Vs. 2013 01

Unilever Philippines, Inc.

05

United Laboratories Inc.

9,900 29% 02

-10% 06

03

96% 07

04

18% 08

3,172

51%

634

**regular thematic and promotion spots only

May-June 2013

561

The Coca-Cola Export Company 871 -05%

921

Balance Categories 36,052 23%

29,369

Grand Total

959

*values expressed in million pesos based on published rate card costs

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859

Universal Robina Corporation

3,663 15%

10

1,017

3,408

Colgate-Palmolive Phils., Inc.

576

Monde Nissin Corporation

6,428 89%

71%

1,129

7,704

NestlĂŠ Philippines, Inc.

958

4,006

Mead Johnson Philippines, Inc.

8,191 06%

Selecta Wall’s Inc.

3,620

7,648

Procter & Gamble Phils., Inc.

09

72,787 23%

59,135

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M E DI A

cros s over appeal

MEDIA

Crossover appeal Men’s lifestyle read Rogue has had a facelift for its growing female fan base Interview Danielle Austria

Felipe Cruz III (below), former Elle Décor associate publisher, joined Rogue late last year as the “active publisher for the Zobels”, the glossy’s major shareholder.

Within months of his arrival, Cruz and founding editor Paolo Reyes began work on a new look for the March edition. A sultry Rhian Ramos – in nothing more than a Hermes scarf – graced the cover of what was envisaged as “the Philippine version of Vanity Fair,” filling a gap when Rogue launched in 2007. 65 issues later, Rogue continues to play hard in the luxury space, drawing from the likes of Harry Winston, Louis Vuitton and Nautica, among other high-end brands for the revamped March issue. As part of the new look, it also lifted its newsstand price from 195 pesos to 220 pesos.

Cruz and Reyes discuss the title’s facelift as its sixth birthday nears and its unexpected crossover appeal.

Did Rogue need a relaunch?

Cruz “Rogue started off as a men’s lifestyle magazine. But because of the intelligent editorial, investigative stories and highbrow opinion pages, 40% of our readers are now women.”

Reyes “The dual malefemale audience was something we couldn’t ignore any longer and had to address.

We refurbished the house, so to speak, from sleek bachelor’s pad to a sophisticated, still masculine, design-savvy penthouse co-inhabited by a well travelled couple with discerning tastes.”

Has the content changed?

Reyes “Aside from investing in a terrific new family of fonts and typefaces… most of the key changes are in the front of the book. The magazine now opens with ‘Agenda’, which is a well-curated guidebook of gastronomy, film, art, travel, books and culture. Rogue’s new high-end design pages ‘Space’, is a visual compendium of the best in architecture, home interiors, furniture, luxury transportation and the latest technology, follows. ‘The Eye’, our revamped style section covers premium fashion, grooming, watches and accessories for men and women.

We’ve also renamed our op-ed section to ‘The Slant’, where regular Rogue columnists express their opinions on burning issues.

THE ROGUE “But the crux of our magazine will always READER be our features. This has not changed.

Beyond the beautiful women and the world-class photograGENDER SPLIT phy, it’s really about 60% of Rogue telling the stories of our readers are men, time. Our DNA has 40% women always been intrinsically linked to these investigative articles, high-profile interviews and thought-provoking AV E . A G E cover stories that Rogue readers range from 35-45 routinely become part years. old, with of the national an average age discussion.” of 38 years

60-40

38 yrs

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2013 HIGHLIGHTS JANUARY/FEBRUARY The Music Issue JULY Anniversary/The Luxury & Influence Issue OCTOBER The Design Issue DECEMBER The Future Trends Issue

What does it mean for advertisers?

Reyes “The architecture of Rogue’s redesign is more than just an artistic statement. It’s a platform to clearly communicate our reinforced brand direction that Rogue has, and always will be, a magazine that reaches an affluent, discerning and important audience. Our content, our pages, our ads clearly reflect this.”

What about the competition?

Cruz “Of course we are going head-to-head with all other luxury magazines that cater to a slightly younger audience. Together with the new brand direction, we’ve introduced several changes in the magazine. The new tagline is ‘Everything that matters to those who matter’. The headline for the new omnibus ads that will be coming out is, ‘The only magazine the power set reads from cover to cover’.

CIRCUL ATION

METRO MANIL A

80%

KEY CITIES*

20%

*Bacolod, Baguio, Cagayan De Oro, Cebu, Davao and Iloilo

CIRCULATION 35,000 Copies PASS ON READERSHIP: 4X TOTAL MONTHLY READERSHIP: 140,000 COVER PRICE: P220 FREQUENCY: 11 X a year with Jan/Feb double issue PAPER SIZE: 9” x 12” (Folded)

phi lstar g oes ar

PhilStar goes AR The Philippine Star takes a major step forward with its foray into augmented reality Words Chris De Pio Sanchez

THE Philippine Star has unveiled LiveIt!, a pioneering augmented reality app that gives readers of the broadsheet the opportunity to significantly enrich their reading experience.

This helps increase one-on-one interaction and provides heightened opportunities for engagement – a boon for readers, the industry newspaper and advertisers alike.

The launch of LiveIt! is part of the Star’s new campaign known as ‘Read It! Live It!’, which aims to help shape the impressions held by readers concerning newspapers and their place in a world that is increasingly focused on digital platforms.

LiveIt! is a tool that can help bridge the print-and-digital divide by offering readers the opportunity to access key information on demand, in order to enhance the information they get from printed articles. LiveIt! permits

those who have the printed edition on hand to quickly and easily supplement what they derive from it through using their smartphones’ cameras to scan pre-set printed images and text.

Additionally, this app also gives advertisers more opportunities to reach out to readers. For instance, those AT A browsing print ads, product GLANCE reviews and announcements in DEVELOPER print and whose SVENINGENUITY interest in said Incorporated products is P L AT F O R M S piqued, can gain Available on the access to online App Store and product pages Google Play containing video iOS VERSION and other such Optimized for content through iPhone 5 but compatible with all iOS using LiveIt!, and devices running can, in the near iOS 5.1 or later future, be able to ANDROID purchase such VERSION products through Optimized for e-commerce mobile phones with screens up platforms should to five inches they be interested in doing so.

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The Star’s partnership with Starcom Media Group during the launch also helped jumpstart awareness about LiveIt!. Starcom, invited their clients to incorporate selected print ads with the new app.

The Philippine Star and rival Philippine Daily Inquirer were the first Philippine newspapers to make use of augmented reality, joining international broadsheets such as The Independent and the Tokyo Shimbun in incorporating such features into print. Other local publications, including adobo, Rogue and GQ, have also been making use of augmented reality features.

LiveIt! is now free to download on the iTunes Store and Android Play.

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M E DI A

m ed ia showcase

F E S T I V al of media glo b al

Winners Showcase Carat’s ASOS wins Campaign of the Year, Naked’s Banksy art heist steals jurors’ votes Best Entertainment Platform Advertiser ASOS Work ‘ASOS #bestnightever’ Agency Carat Global Management Content and commerce were paired to help the online fashion retailer deliver impressive growth during Christmas.

Three urban music videos showcasing ASOS Christmas range was developed for viewing on every digital platform where its young female audience congregated.

Using an overlay technology, viewers could, with one click, ‘add to basket’ every piece of clothing and accessory featured in the video, in real time.

Result: Produced 34% YOY sales growth in the UK and 57% in the US.

Best Digitally Integrated Campaign Advertiser Coca-Cola Work ‘Coke Polar Bowl’ Agency Starcom MediaVest Group US ‘Polar Bowl’ was created as a second screen experience for the US’ most-watched TV programming, the SuperBowl. This real-time experience cast the bears as fans of opposing teams – puppeters animated the bears in real time to express fans’ reactions, which were streamed to CokePolarBowl.com. Users could share video clips of their favorite polar bear reactions and send the bears tweets or photos. The bears also responded directly to fans’ messages. SMG also broke new ground, airing spots reflecting the current state of play. Results: 9 million watched the livestream and Coke became the most-talked about advertiser on Twitter.

Best Engagement Advertiser British Airways Work ‘Don’t Fly. Support Team GB’ Agency ZenithOptimedia The campaign set out to rebuild a lost emotional connection between BA and a nation gripped by 2012 Olympic fever. The solution: Involve the UK in an epic event, by telling them to forgo their annual summer holiday. A simple, scalable interaction mechanic was deployed to deliver real engagement: Consumers were given the opportunity to see a BA plane taxi past their own house in a partnership with Google Streetview. Users entered their postcode into BA’s Facebook app to recreate the iconic campaign next to their own homes. The personalized experience with built-in sharing generated huge buzz. Result: 5 million engagements with the app.

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Best Communications Strategy Advertiser Kissan Work ‘Kissanpur: Where What You Grow is What You Eat’ Agency MindShare India To differentiate Kissan tomato ketchup in a commoditized market, the campaign brought the farm experience to urban homes. 2.5 million households received tomato seeds with their morning paper.

MindShare created a microsite to support kids during the growing period, later launching a contest through digital and print to reward the top participants with their own ketchup bottles made using their tomatoes. The journey culminated in 45,000 mothers and kids replanting their plants at a farm. Result: The brand achieved 23% volume growth after the campaign.

Best Event/Experiential Campaign Advertiser Art Series Hotels, Melbourne Work ‘Steal Banksy’ Agency Naked Communications To drive bookings during the slow Christmas season, guests were encouraged to do the unthinkable: Stay the Night, Steal the Art. Banky’s signed ‘No Ball Games’ – the same artwork stolen off a wall in London – was offered up. It was moved around the three hotels with clues to its whereabouts distributed via social media. A GPS tracker installed on the back of the painting alerted the agency to any movements if/when the art was stolen. The agency converted the Art Series’ ongoing direct response advertising in press, SEM and online display re-marketing to focus on the campaign message. Results: 300% ROI and 50% above target bookings.

Best Use of Mobile Advertiser Wheel Work ‘One Missed Call’ Agency ZenithOptimedia To reach the so-called ‘media dark’ markets of rural India, PHD turned to mobile, linking the act of giving a missed call and being clever with saving money with the brand, which provided more wash at a lower cost.

So every time consumers gave a missed call, they would get a call back from their favourite movie star who would share a laugh with them, all brought to them by Wheel. Leveraging their frugal behaviour coupled with Bollywood stardom and humorous call back massages, Wheel engaged with a lot of consumers. Results: Reached 1.5 million rural residents, delivered 300% sales hike.

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114 WINNERS SHOWCASE 126 PHILIPPINE WINNERS 128 ROUNDUP 132 JURY’S VERDICT

On site coverage and photography by Angel Guerrero and Mikhail Lecaros with additional reporting by John Ed De Vera, Morihiko Hasebe, David Guerrero, Bobby Vito, Nikki Golez and Chino Jayme

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a df e s t 2 0 1 3 s peci a l

connect ing t he dot s

Connecting the dots “THIS is not a fashion show. We are not looking for the sexiest or the prettiest idea,” declared AdFest 2013 Grand Jury President Graham Fink at the AdFest 2013 Jury press conference. Indeed, the buzzwords for AdFest 2013 seemed to be effectiveness and cultural awareness, attributes which were reflected in spades by this year’s winners.

The sunny beaches of Pattaya, Thailand played host once again for this year’s AdFest.

Taking up two levels of the Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall (PEACH), the beach resort town welcomed nearly 2000 delegates, including agency heads, practitioners and students from around the Asia Pacific region and beyond, coming as far as the United Kingdom and the United States.

The first session of the day got the festival off to a good start, with the Gunn Report’s Donald Gunn and Emma Wilkie presenting the cream of the crop from their latest annual edition. “Adding up ad show results is not a frivolous endeavor,” said Gunn, who noted a clear correlation between awarded work and effectiveness.

Special mention was made of Hakuhodo and BBDO for their consistently good showings in international awards shows over the years. “Obviously,” said Gunn, with a twinkle in his eye, ‘The work, the work, the work,’ beats, ‘the meetings, the meetings,’ or, ‘the politics, the politics, the politics.’”

Following Gunn was the irrepressible Tony Hertz, the man who, having won a Black Pencil for his work in radio, continues to champion the cause of the venerable medium.

Marihiko Hasebe of Hakuhodo Inc.’s talk later in the day cited the need to foster a culture of creativity in the workplace, a sentiment echoed in more whimsical fashion later on

by Lowe Philippines’’ Leigh Reyes, who took

obvious delight in sharing some of the more eclectic items that can be bought on the internet.

D&AD CEO Tim Lindsay spoke on the mindsets and rationale that led to the creation of D&AD’s ‘White Pencil’, a concerted effort to reward work that went far beyond the boundaries of “mere” CSR. Lindsay then proceeded to screen two case studies from the Philippines that he believed fit the bill perfectly, namely, ‘Project EDSA’ for Boysen KNOxOUT

by TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno and

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‘Tiger Energy Playground’ by Ace Saatchi & Saatchi for Tiger Energy Biscuits.

“First Boysen, now Tiger Energy Playground, also from the Philippines.

There’s obviously something going on in that country,” said Lindsay.

Patrick Rona and Jeff Cheong of Tribal DDB Asia Pacific shared the importance of constant reinvention – especially for established brands – to stay relevant in the age of social media.

The meat of the second and third days were the accompanying awards nights,

connect ing t he dot s

and a Jury Shootout moderated by BBDO Guerrero’s David Guerrero, wherein Jury Presidents Dave King (Direct), Santosh Padhi (Design) Naoki Ito (Outdoor), Valerie Cheng (Interactive) and Ronald Ng (Film) took to the stage to share their thoughts on the festival’s finalists, and their thought processes and rationale in selecting winners.

As for awards nights themselves, more than their share of surprises and upsets were seen, not the least of which were Ogilvy China’s much-awarded “CokeHands” failing to score

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a Gold Lotus, much less a Grande, despite its Grand Prix win at Cannes last year.

On the interactive front, DDB DM9JamesSyfu scored a Gold for its ‘Bury the Past’ campaign to combat the proliferation of sexually explicit “scandal” videos, as did the wildly popular ‘Dumb Ways to Die’ by McCann Melbourne for Metro Train took home a Grande Film Lotus for its ability to deliver an important message through unabashed cuteness and a catchy tune.

Clemenger BBDO Melbourne and BBDO Guerrero both took home Gold Lotuses for Film, for ‘Beer Chase’ (for client Carlton Draught) and ‘Stamp/Pound/Wash’ TVC series (for Saridon), respectively. Cheil Worldwide’s ever-popular ‘iNsight’ TVC for Samsung Camera and Taproot India for ‘I Am Mumbai’ for Mumbai Mirror likewise won Gold Lotuses for Film, with the latter also bagging the Grande Lotus Roots award for its cultural relevance.

The big winner of the festival was Leo Burnett, which was named Network of the Year,

bolstered in no small measure by its Melbourne office winning Direct & Promo Agency of the Year, while Leo Burnett Sydney took home the Print Grand Prix for the beautifully crafted Bundaberg Red ‘Catfish, Pig, Butterfly’ campaign and their work on Diageo having the brand proclaimed Advertiser of the Year.

Of the wins, Jarek Ziebinski, President, Leo Burnett Asia Pacific said, “Being recognized

by AdFest as the most creative network in Asia Pacific is a wonderful recognition that is made possible by the collective hard work of each and every Burnetter across the region, I couldn’t be more proud. As one of the fastest growing networks in Asia Pacific, we believe that creativity has a direct correlation with business success. Winning Network of the Year at AdFest this year and being crowned Creative Network of the Year in Asia Pacific by The Gunn Report last year are testaments to this belief.”

AdFest 2013 finished off with an afterparty held at the Royal Cliff Hotel’s infinity pool, as delegates ate, drank and made merry into the wee hours or, at the very least, as long as the open bar lived up to its name.

According to festival president Jimmy Lam, speaking on the difference between AdFest and other festivals, “What makes AdFest so different is that we are the most open.”

Having seen firsthand the jovial mood that permeated 2013’s show, here’s looking forward to AdFest 2014!

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A DF E S T 2 0 1 3 S PECI A L

WINNE RS SHO WCASE

ADFEST 2013

Winners Showcase

Film Gold Best of Alcoholic Beverages Clemenger BBDO Melbourne ‘Beer Chase’ Carlton Draught

Film Gold Best of Electronics Film Craft Gold Directing, Editing and Cinematography Cheil Worldwide Seoul ‘INsight ’ Samsung Camera

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Film Grande Internet Film Interactive Gold Best Use of Viral Integrated Lotus Integrated Integrated Lotus Earned Media McCann Melbourne ‘Dumb Ways to Die’ Metro Trains

Film Gold Best of Health and Personal Care

BBDO Guerrero ‘Pound’,‘Stamp’,‘Wash’ Saridon

Film Gold Best of Corporate Lotus Roots Grande

Taproot India ‘I Am Mumbai’ Mumbai Mirror

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A DF E S T 2 0 1 3 S PECI A L

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WINNE RS SHO WCASE

Press Gold Best of Alcoholic Beverages

Leo Burnett Sydney ‘Pig’,‘Catfish’,‘Butterfly’ Bundaberg Red

Press Gold Best of Commercial Public Services and Private Services

PT Hakuhodo Indonesia ‘Arabmerican’, ‘Afrochina’, ‘Indijap’ Berlitz Language Center

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Press Gold Best of Entertainment, Recreation and Leisure

DDB Group Singapore ‘Cityscape’,‘Road Map’,‘Terrain’ Life Cycle

Press Gold Best of Public Services Outdoor Gold Best of Public Services

The Leo Burnett Group Thailand ‘A Girl’,‘A Boy’,‘A Girl 2’ CPCR Brand Corporate

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A DF E S T 2 0 1 3 S PECI A L

WINNE RS SHO WCASE

Outdoor Grande Ambient

Dentsu Inc., Tokyo ‘Eclipse Live From Fujiyama’ Panasonic Solar Energy Solutions

Outdoor Gold Transit Medium Innocean Worldwide ‘Love Parking Campaign’ Public service

Outdoor Gold Guerilla Marketing Cheil Worldwide Seoul ‘Sunny Sale’ Emart

Outdoor Gold External/Street Signs and Street Furniture Cheil Worldwide Seoul ‘Bridge of Life’ Samsung Life Insurance

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Interactive Gold Best Use of Social Media Promo Gold Best Use of Social Media

Interactive Grande Best Use of Technology Innova Lotus

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DDB DM9JaymeSyfu ‘Bury the Past’ Fight Against Electronic Violence Against Women

Clemenger BBDO ‘Mimeisthai’ TEDx Sydney

Interactive Gold Best Use of Online Video PARTY Tokyo ‘Feel So Moon’ Unicorn X Space Brothers

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A DF E S T 2 0 1 3 S PECI A L

WINNE RS SHO WCASE

Direct Gold Mobile Marketing JWT Singapore ‘Rapid Rescue’ Singapore Red Cross

Direct Gold Direct Campaign for Retention/ Loyalty: Business to Consumer Integrated Lotus Havas Worldwide Australia ‘Fair Go Bro’ Virgin Mobile

Interactive Gold Best Use of Social Media Promo Gold Best Use of Social Media DDB DM9JaymeSyfu ‘Bury the Past’ Fight Against Electronic Violence Against Women

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Promo Grande Event & Field Marketing Integrated Lotus Grande Whybin\TBWA\Group ‘NRMA Car Creation’ NRMA Insurance

Promo Gold Promotional Campaign: Best Use of Other Digital Media

George Patterson Y&R Melbourne ‘Mobile Medic’ Defence University Sponsorship

Promo Gold Promotional Campaign: Best Use of Internet/ Online Advertising

DDB Group Singapore ‘Demolition Site’ Courts Online Store

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WINNE RS SHO WCASE

Design Gold Product Design

Ogilvy & Mather Advertising Taiwan ‘Dance to Draw’ AF1 Nike

Design Grande Poster

Design Gold Books & Publications

Design Gold Packaging Design Cheil Worldwide Seoul ‘Donating 2-Barcode Water’ Minewater

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Dentsu Inc. ‘Catch the Moon, Catch the Blossom’ Haiku and Art Exhibition

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Design Gold Broadcast/Motion/ Digital Design

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Hakuhodo Inc. Tokyo ‘Maps 8-bit’ Google Maps

Design Gold Retouching/Image Manipulation, Best Use of Retouching/Image Manipulation

Illusion Co., Ltd Bangkok ‘Beef/Pork’ WMF Boning Knife

Design Gold Best Use of Illustration

Leo Burnett Group Singapore ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ National Library Board

Design Gold Computer Generated Imagery (CGI)

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Illusion Co., Ltd Bangkok ‘Maximum Impact - Rhino vs. Elephant’ Harvery Nichols

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WINNE RS SHO WCASE

Effective Lotus The Leo Burnett Group Thailand ‘Beijing Duck’ Sunsnack

Effective Lotus McCann Worldgroup Hong Kong ‘Chok! Chok! Chok!’

Coca-Cola

Effective Lotus Belgiovanne Williams Mackay ‘Using the power of impotence’ Selleys 3-in-1

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Effective Lotus BBDO Mumbai ‘You Shave, I Shave’ Gillette

Lotus Roots Taproot India ‘Abused Goddess’ Save Our Sisters

Lotus Roots McCann Worldgroup India ‘Bindi/Arta’ Yatra.com

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ADFEST 2013

Philippine Winners

Film Gold Best of Health and Personal Care

Press Bronze Best of Health and Personal Care Ace Saatchi & Saatchi ‘Suck Toe/Pick Nose/Tear Wipe’ Safeguard

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BBDO Guerrero ‘Pound’,‘Stamp’,‘Wash’ Saridon

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Outdoor Bronze Ambient TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno ‘Project Edsa’ Boysen KnoXout

Outdoor Bronze Best of Health and Personal Care

BBDO Guerrero ‘Hex/Repair/Stamp’ Saridon

Interactive Gold Best Use of Social Media Promo Gold Best Use of Social Media DDB DM9JaymeSyfu ‘Bury the Past’ Fight Against Electronic Violence Against Women

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Roundup

Think and tinker Words John Ed De Vera, Art Director, TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno

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s a child, I spent a lot of time tinkering. Be it on the interchangeable parts of an Auldey RC or installing LED lights and wires on a small car that I would also repaint. My passion for creating stuff often brought me to Cubao and Quiapo where I would source out every little thing my imagination needed to flourish.

My ultimate goal then was to build a robot.

Seriously. Like most of the stuff we obsess with as a child, I outgrew this.

Now as a design guy for an ad agency, all

BUILDing A CREATIVE NEST

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the tinkering has been replaced by thinking – conceptualizing if you want a more important sounding term. I sit, I imagine and do my magic on a laptop. I marvel at my design and then pass it on to someone who would execute it for me.

Ah yes the plight of the so-called hotshot creative.

The ones who get paid for what goes on in their acrobatic minds. “Let the others get their hands dirty. I’ll just sit here and be brilliant.”

But how many times have you said “Hmm this isn’t really what I had in mind?”

So lately, I’ve been thinking of going back to my tinkering ways. I just needed that extra push.

Then it happened, the Leigh Reyes talk. “Don’t just think there, create something.” She reminded everyone who trooped into the ballroom at AdFest that if we do the research now, we’ll find that every possible tool we need to actually create what we think of is right in front of us.

She inspired us to learn new tools and make new things. She pointed out that “To a man with a hammer, everything is a nail.”

hat you most need to know about information is that it’s everywhere.

In a nanosecond, someone is telling us to super-size something, that their product is fast-acting, clinically-tested, freeze-dried, double-wrapped, or scientifically formulated.

This is the information machine and your message is but a single, minuscule spec of dust crying for attention before the face of humanity.

Of course, not all messages are created equally, and some live and some don’t. Every message has a lifespan, long or short. With all these messages vying for our attention, it’s amazing anything gets through. This makes our job as advertisers more difficult than ever before.

I log into Facebook and see what my sister had for dinner. I read my bosses’ tweets, and at any given moment I can see where my friends are.

Social media is the who’s who of what people are doing, and everyone has the power to broadcast both the brilliant and the banal.

So how do we give our messages the chutzpah to live longer than all the other messages in this

great sea of information? We foster and nurture them just as we would a helpless child who can potentially spread our genes and change the world.

Your ads, your slogans, your content, posts, and tweets are living beings. They can carry on or die flopping about on the deck of the boat.

At AdFest 2013, I had the opportunity to speak about our Creative Nest. The Creative Nest offers a method to message madness, a way to increase the lifespan of your voice.

Creative Nest is an information platform where users piggyback their values on your message, thus spreading it and generating new converts who will in turn, share your message with the world. At AdFest I introduced various types of nests: Culture Nest. As fish gather around a coral reef, in a culture nest, core users mingle freely with one another to deepen the culture of the message. They share, they grow, and they spread your idea.

Voice Nest. Users’ voices are heard around the world. They call people to action. They call people to join. Most of all, they call out your message loud and clear, and when people hear, they join, and your idea lives.

Play Nest. If you build it they will come and play. Play Nest is a playground that supports the information. The more fun we connect to the message, the stronger the connection we make to our audience. Your voice lives as long as people are playing.

Award Nest. Build a community around an award and create authority. This works well

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Words Morihiko Hasebe Executive Creative Director, Hakuhodo Inc.

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She told us about Adafruit, Instructables and Makeymakey.

She made me realize how limitless creativity is today – not just for the imaginative mind but for the skillful hand. Imagine and invent, conceive and create.

That push I needed shoved me back to my childhood.

when your message has little or no equity in the audience’s minds. It sparks a sense of anticipation and curiosity to boost the lifespan of your idea.

Creator Nest. The most passionate people come together to create, compete and share. The more they engage with each other the more they share, produce, reproduce, and spread your message.

Creative Nest is the act of calling on a crowd to do our jobs, get the message out, and keep it alive.

And while it sounds like crowds are doing all our work for us, our new position is to orchestrate it, and orchestration is a tough business.

This is the world we live in. And in this new world of fast-paced, high-frequency information, we have to find new ways to play the game. So next time you think about leaving the nest, don’t.

Because the nest is where the people are, and where the people are is where the magic happens.

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LEARN. UNLEARN. RELEARN. Words Bobby Vito Creative Director, DDB Philippines

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hey say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Hopefully, I’m not that old a dog yet. Because AdFest was an intense learning experience.

Leigh Reyes’ talk, “Don’t Just Think, Make Something”, allowed me to learn about Makey Makeys and Arduinos and how easily I could turn my food into musical instruments. I also relearned the sheer joy of producing your own work.

I unlearned how to write radio ads thanks to Tony Hertz’ workshop, “Radio 4 Art Directors”.

Storyboarding your radio script? Whoa! Talk about visual detail! I guess that also means I have to start misspelling my work like an art director too.

There were a lot of other great talks. But I have to say I learned the most from the work.

It seems like only 3 kinds of work win: Ads so well-crafted, they’re practically works of art The Maxam, Life Cycle and Westone ads

TAKING ON THAILAND Words Nikki Golez, Copywriter and Dennis Nierra, Art Director, BBDO Guerrero

were so ruthlessly detailed, one couldn’t help but wonder how long it took to get them done.

Some of the people behind them said at least 6 months. When you produce ads almost overnight on a regular basis, 6 months sounds mind-boggling.

Ads so simple, but with balls The Gabriela ‘Bury the Past’ campaign helped supporters erase the stigma of scandal

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videos just by putting the word ‘scandal’ on their Facebook pages. The NAB “Break Up” campaign from Australia saw a bank breaking up with other banks. With entries like these, no wonder the awards are shaped like balls!

Ads that are innovations all on their own ‘The Bridge of Life’ campaign turned a bridge into an interventionist tourist attraction when it started preventing suicides, while the Red Cross ‘Rapid Rescue’ app from Singapore helped people find the nearest Red Cross volunteer in case of emergency. These weren’t ads – they were innovations!

The last category made me realize what it really means to say that we’re in the business of creating solutions. And that makes me even more excited about the future of the advertising industry.

Alvin Toffler said it best: “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. ” If there’s one thing AdFest taught me, it’s that this old dog’s still got a lot to learn.

Top left DDB’s team in Pattaya Bottom There really are more creative ways to write copy. Check out the handwritten scribble from Pattaya’s famous Walking Street. The woman who made it didn’t use her hands!

n the days before leaving for the Young Lotus competition, we heard people refer to it as Patayan sa Pattaya (Murder in Pattaya).

But over the week that we were there for AdFest 2013, we found an incredible culture of sharing.

Other teams were generous with constructive criticism, gave us their business cards and added us on Facebook, and even helped us separate ladies from ladyboys. We had drinks with some of the greatest creative minds in Asia, and found out that they’re great people to talk to.

But before any of that, we were all business and attended the one-and-a-half-day Young Lotus workshop by sponsor agency McCann. Senior management, planning and creatives shared their points of view with us in the lead-up to the competition brief – which was to recruit for McCann. We felt really good about our idea of creating an online fighting game that used creative ideas as weapons. There was a great audience reaction when we were presenting it, and we even got a special mention from McCann’s Asia Pacific President, Charles Cadell.

A lot of good work was presented. We especially liked Team Hong Kong’s idea of melting down some of the agency’s awards and turning them into award pens meant to inspire new creatives.

Unfortunately, we weren’t part of McCann’s top three, but we are still winners to our mothers.

Our friends Li Peng Cheok and Hyrul Anuar from Malaysia won both the jury and popular vote for their campaign that encouraged the public to constantly daydream. The runner-up teams of Japan and Auckland took the routes of using hostesses to recruit smooth talkers, and writing personal letters to award-show judges.

Of course, all those great Young Lotus ideas were just appetizers to the work that we saw at AdFest 2013. The work that we were able to see was amazing. It was quite a week. We learned a lot, made male and female (and shemale) friends, and bullied people into booking Philippine vacations using the stickers and brochures that the Department of Tourism (our client) gave us.

It is more fun in the Philippines. But it was a lot of fun in Thailand too.

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Roundup

Hertz’s 7 Secrets in a Nutshell Words Chino Jayme Associate Creative Director, TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno

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etting a chance to listen to radio legend, international award winner, international agency creative director, proprietor of Tony Hertz Radio and Brand Sound, mango lover and recent Philippine resident Tony Hertz was a definite highlight of this year’s AdFest in Pattaya, Thailand especially for a copybased creative like myself.

Radio hasn’t been on the list of most popular media of late, with most industry folk pondering about its mediocrity and lack of creative output.

For Hertz, the real question was why radio hadn’t kept up with other media such as TV, print, outdoor and digital.

Advertising had become 100% visual, but that

Change Minds...

‘It’s advertising’ Words David Guerrero Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, BBDO Guerrero/Proximity Philippines

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observation only spelled out radio’s significance as he revealed that it was the only medium that had the power to evoke personal visual images.

The presentation was short and sweet, but sweet enough to inspire any copywriter and even art director in the hall. Those 7 secrets might actually be little bits you may have heard from a creative director before, but listening to him made radio seem like the most interesting and challenging medium to work with. Here are his 7 secrets and my take on each: 1. Find the Feeling Radio would be a bunch of words, information and details if it did not evoke any emotions. Be it joy, sadness, anger or any other emotion, there exists a feeling in every brand.

2. Begin with a Picture Instead of closing your eyes and imagining thousands of words swirl about, why not think of a picture? (Enter cliché phrase here) 3. Think About the Person Sometimes creatives make ads that they want to hear. They forget that these ads were supposed to be for other people to enjoy. Think about the person listening to the ad and think about the person speaking in the ad. No doubt a connection should be made between them.

4. One Ad, One Message In relation to the previous secret, the less points you make in an ad, the clearer the spot will be for people. One point is enough.

5. Stand in a Different Place If you are writing for a car ad, try getting out of the car world and see if you can get a connection about cars there. The result might be more interesting.

6. Characters Not Voices The great thing about a voiceover is the great voice. The great thing about a voice actor is the character that is brought to life. The big difference? You can see a character.

7. Produce with Passion This is actually self-explanatory. Passion is what drives us to write great ads. It’s what pushes us all to make our next ad better than the last.

Radio ads are no different.

I walked out of that hall with renewed energy for this seemingly old medium. It was all true.

Most of us don’t know what to do when it comes to radio. Hertz proved that radio had potential that other mediums could never have. He proved its significance and importance. What we need to prove now is that we can bring it back to its glory.

first saw Graham Fink speak at an industry-sponsored seminar in London. So long ago that it was probably all in black and white. Not that he was much older than me or anything. Just that I was a late starter. Anyway, I still remember a kind of zen skit he did on stage with his writing partner Jeremy Clark. They sat across each other on the floor cross-legged and Jeremy held a cup while Graham poured tea into it. It was of course full. So the tea spilled all over the floor. Lesson being, grasshopper, that if you want to put something new in your brain you need to make room for it.

His ‘Connecting Cultures’ seminar at AdFest was perhaps slightly less theatrical. But highly entertaining nonetheless. With the fresh eyes of someone new to the region, he picked out a lot of wild and wonderful pieces from the judging.

“Maybe things that didn’t make the shortlist,” he cautioned. But he did take us through a number of spots that, while we may never see them again, were “out there and crazy”.

From Graham’s perspective what makes AdFest so special was that it was a combination of all the different cultures in Asia and beyond.

Which brought home the realization that what

works in one country may not work in the country next door.

He also tells the story of how he and his partner got their first jobs. Dying their hair grey and painting on wrinkles after being told by the agency they were applying to that they were only looking for an ‘older’ team. Naturally the stunt paid off.

The conclusion being that you can change minds and cultures if you want to. “It’s what we do in advertising.” His work in London certainly did that. With iconic spots like BA ‘Face’, which featured hundreds of people coming together as a giant face – shot with Hugh Hudson in the Utah desert. And lately with cheeky campaigns like one for Dixons.com, an online retailer, which advises people to check stock in luxury retail establishments – then go online to buy them.

Early signs of his work in Shanghai are good – with a Cannes Grand Prix for outdoor for Coke under his belt – and, incidentally, a world-class piece of talent-hunting to track down the student designer who made it. It’s an interesting circle to see completed. Showing that whatever role he is playing, he knows what it takes to make things happen.

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Commentary

Jury’s Verdict

Naoki Ito

Ronald Ng

Outdoor Lotus Jury Head

Press Jury President

“The work I knew five years ago in this category were billboards. Big billboards. We found the great big billboards also this year… [but] we found many kinds of totally new outdoor works. I think that’s because there’s a power. It’s like a vessel. (The definition of) outdoor is changing quickly. So I think that this category is one of the most interesting categories.

As you know, physical computing is very trendy. So physical computing is changing the medium, the billboard is changing, the station is changing, all the spaces are changing.”

- on the changing role of outdoor advertising

“When we judged a lot of the work, we told ourselves, as Graham had said, ‘this is not a fashion show’. We are not just looking to awarding the prettiest or sexiest idea. We wanted to judge work that was strong in human insights. Grand Lotus winner Bundaberg Rum Australia ticks all the boxes of great advertising. We felt that it’s an encapsulation of an idea that could have won Grand Prix at AdFest 10 years ago, winning it today, and could win 10 years from now.

It’s just great classic advertising.”

- on the Grand Lotus Winner

John Park

Dave King

Film Craft Jury President

Direct Jury President

“The trend is, a lot of the films now are based on truth. If you see commercials 10 years ago, it was all overacting to sell the spot. Now, we have to ask if actors were involved at all. We weren’t judging the idea, but how the craft served the idea.”

- on the quality of of these year’s Film Craft entries

“Geez, we are one tough jury. There’s some stuff that got gold at Cannes that didn’t get past us. We were looking for real work that gets real results.”

- on his judging philosophy

Graham Fink

Santoshi Padhi

Grand Jury President/ Film and Radio Jury Head

Design Lotus and Print Craft Lotus Jury Head

“It was a very strong category overall. I think we all did…I think we awarded 5 Golds in the end.

Some great work. The gold Grande we gave to Melbourne’s ‘Metro Trains’ campaign. I think all of us thought that was just great.

Very funny: They invented all of these characters sort of killing themselves. Hair on fire, or eating you know…toxic waste or whatever. So it’s kind of like …funny, but it’s dark.

And I think it’s just very memorable.

I just thought it was very, very fresh.

If I’d gotten the brief, I’d have gone for strong imagery of kids falling on the tracks and parents crying.”

- on Judging Film

“This region is very rich when it comes to Craft. We have been inspiring the world in the last decade or so by just creating great, stunning pieces when it comes to Print Craft. We are privileged this year to choose a set of Craft awards to inspire the world that can be inspiration for next year as well.”

- on Print Craft

“Radio was kind of the opposite. It was kind of very weak. I think that there was only one prize awarded in Radio. Radio is actually very difficult to write. It’s a shame ’cause it’s a dying art. If you are a great writer you will win radio awards.”

- on Judging Radio

“Times are changing in terms of what you can do in design. The one that we picked as the Grand Prix is (from) one of the traditional mediums. It says that if you do something with your heart, with passion, love and craft, the traditional medium is not dead yet. There’s still some scope. There’s lot of things to prove. And it’s a piece that blended very well, but they knew where to stop in terms of the design.

That’s one of the challenges that we face. People keep on doing, they don’t know where to stop. So I think these guys managed to stop at the right moment and they went for the big one.”

- on Design

Valerie Cheng

Farib Chehab

Digital Jury President

Effective Jury President

“It’s not just another ad. It completely rewrites what digital means.”

- On the Gold Lotus Digital Winner

“Asia is becoming the future of the world. This is the new communication Silk Road.”

- on the future of advertising in Asia

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01 Leigh Reyes shares her digital wisdom in Adfest 02 Adfest opening with JWT Singapore, Jury and Chief Creative Officer, Valerie Cheng and DDB Singapore Group Executive Creative Singapore, Joji Jacob 03 Kentaro Kimura of Hakuhodo Kettle with President of Adfest, Jimmy Lam 04 Representatives from DDB Philippines arrive in Adfest 05 London International Barbara Levy with Kentaro Kimura of Hakuhodo Kettle and Tony Hertz 06 (R) John Merrifield, ECD of Google Asia Pacific emerges at Adfest with Khun Suthisak Sucharittanonta, Chairman of BBDO Thailand 07 Graham Fink and Adobo’s Editor-in-Chief striking up a conversation at the festivities 08 Naoki Ito (outdoor) creative director at PARTY Tokyo 09 Ronald Ng, jury president in the Press Lotus category 10 Members of the press asking questions 11 Dave King, Direct & Promo Jury President, M&C Saatchi New Zealand ECD 12 Saatchi Asia’s Chris Foster and Saatchi Singapore Paul Roebuck

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13 Campaign Brief sunset cocktails headed by Kim Shaw (R) 14 Asia top creative at Campaign Brief cocktails 15 D&AD President Tim Lindsay and Paul Grubb, Owner of Red Pill 16 The Philippines’ Young Lotus representatives Cloyd Denison Nierra and Patricia Nicole Golez of BBDO Guerrero at AdFest 2013 17 AKQA Shanghai’s ECD Johan Vakidis with GM David Hunt 18 Jury shootout moderator David Guerrero; Direct & Promo Lotus Jury President Dave King, Outdoor Lotus Jury President Naoki Ito, Design & Print Craft Jury President Santosh Padhi; Interactive & Mobile Lotus Jury President Valerie Cheng and Press Lotus Jury President Ronald Ng 19 Nicole Golez with The Gunn Report’s Donald Gunn 20 A view of the sushi bar at the AdFest after party 21 AdFest closing party with adobo Magazine’s editor-in-chief, Angel Guerrero with Santosh Padhi, Tony Yi and Ronald Ng 22 Outdoor juror Jake Tesoro from TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno, looks cool after jury duty at AdFest. 23 A spectacular poolside view to enjoy at AdFest 24 Andy Lee, Head of Global Digital Campaign Team at Cheil Worldwide expressing his views on how to influence consumers

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Breaking into advertising Words Joey Herrera Research Eri Durr

Dennis Nierra BBDO Guerrero

Gian Mawo Publicis JimenezBasic

Pyotr Raphael Mutuc Campaigns & Grey

Nico Leviste Draftfcb

Photographer Shampoo Padilla Styling and make-up Regie Escolin Venue Bulb Studios Art Direction & Final Art Victor Garcia & Ricardo Malit

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Advertising is probably one of the few industries that prizes youthfulness above maturity when it comes to our creative talents.

Agency heads have blogs, we’re all on Twitter, and some shops cultivate being cool like it’s the most important thing. Nerf guns, dart boards, and skateboards are common, and sometimes they’re even supplied by management.

Maybe we cultivate this perception of youth because we have to be on top of trends. We have to be a part of the current and counter-culture for our messages to be relevant and fresh. No one wants to be thought of as old or stodgy, relics of the past who can’t keep up. We should look like we know what’s going on right now, so our clients can trust us to tell them how to connect with their current market.

With youthfulness considered an appealing trait, do we also value youth as much? Just how easy is it for fresh graduates to get into advertising agencies for internships and employment?

The policy differs of course from agency to agency. It seems that the bigger and more forward thinking agencies are more likely to have programs to provoke the interest of the young. Some have scholarship programs that aim to cultivate skill straight out of high school.

Others have academies and workshops to teach students, which also seek out fresh talent. While others have partnerships with professors and schools to ensure a fresh batch of interns and fresh graduates every year.

The official rule seems to be that as long as your course is related to advertising, there is an ad agency who will take you in, at least as an intern. But there are some horror stories from both sides of the fence. Occasionally, you hear from an intern that she first applied to one of the big multinational ones, but was rejected because she didn’t come from one of the big 4 schools (UP, Ateneo, DLSU, UST). Then you hear about an intern taking the job lightly and being asked to leave. In one recent case, an intern was asked to make mocks for a client presentation. It wasn’t until the agency presented to the client that they realized there were cuss words left

TJ Pascua Bates CHI & Partners

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in. The intern, who actually came from one of the top 4 schools, was asked to leave and never return.

It’s understandable why agencies are choosy about the interns they take in. While there’s no industry standard for internship programs, most agencies try to give the best to each intern, and this means spending time to actually train them. Some agencies ask interns to shadow employees, and others let interns work on dummy briefs. Then there are those who give interns the full experience: They work on the agency’s day-to-day laundry list, for some, this may even involve overtime and weekend work.

This is typically where interns and agency hopefuls can gauge if they’re cut out for advertising. Even if they don’t experience the harrowing work load and rejection themselves, they’re sure to hear about it from the employees.

With 200 hours being the average required by schools — which comes up to about 25 working days they’ll see how the system works and if they can fit inside it. And there are those interns who luck into jobs fresh out of college, just because they thrived during the internship.

This isn’t that uncommon as most CDs and HR departments keep tabs on those interns they see real potential in. However, this doesn’t happen as often as we think it does. According to agencies we interviewed, as little as 20% of interns get job offers when the program ends.

For those who have a hankering for making ads, but come from an unrelated course (which isn’t all that uncommon given how Filipinos tend to bow to parents’ wishes even during

college), there are a handful of agencies that allow unpaid internships beyond school programs. This may be a way for graduates from other courses to dip their toes into the industry.

This arrangement doesn’t happen that often, even within the agencies that are open to it, because most people aren’t aware of it. But it has been done, sometimes even with younger undergrads who want to take a peek.

Fresh graduates looking for a more permanent position either get job offers from the work they submit in workshops and competitions, or they apply to a company.

For most, this is where they make the worst mistakes. They either send in a résumé that’s too plain to notice, or try too hard to create creative résumés. There are those who send in plagiarized layouts for creative résumés, which is unfortunate because advertising creatives read layout blogs too. And there are those who are too brazen, sending out mass emails to all the big names they know in the industry.

Aside from the basic skill sets of writing proficiency in copywriters, and program knowledge in art directors, all the agencies we spoke to appear to be looking for the same things in fresh graduates. When someone has no work experience and a thin portfolio, agencies look for curiosity and resilience.

Creatives often have to draw on real life to make good ads, and a natural curiosity means they can look beyond an agency’s glass walls.

As for resilience, advertising’s pressures are not for everyone. As one of our sources put it, “You know when they have the threshold for pain and

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the threshold for frustration.” For some of the larger agencies, they also look at the ability to communicate, for both copy and art, because good ideas are only half the battle, you also need the ability to sell it.

Agencies also give talent tests, which is the closest we can come to measuring creativity in terms of advertising. But it can be inadequate when testing fresh graduates. What most people say is that they go by gut when interviewing fresh graduates.

The truth of the matter is that hiring fresh graduates means taking a gamble on someone you speak to for a few hours at best. Wit and social skills help, but only if they fit in with the dynamic of the team they’re joining. Since there’s still no real way to measure creativity, it’s still going to be a hit and miss process.

Especially since most job applicants tend to lie about their ability to think on their feet at 5am.

Another thing someone pointed out is that not all fresh ideas come from fresh graduates. And that despite our industry’s love of youthfulness, more premium is still placed on the veterans who can keep up. Which is probably why most admen and adwomen make it a point to stay current with pop culture. And more trust is still placed on the living legends of advertising, the CDs who know all the latest viral videos and the senior people who can name memes beyond ‘I Can Has Cheeseburger’.

One part of the industry is more open to the young, and that’s digital. Because the current batch of graduates have lived with the internet all their life, the assumption is that they know more about it than the older ones do. It’s not anything new to them, and that’s a skillset digital can use as long as it’s partnered with creativity.

The problem with youth is, it’s untested.

While we like using it as a measure of how relevant we can stay, none of us wants to go back to it because talent at that stage lacks discipline.

Adding fresh blood and youth to agencies is good, but they need to be formed by their elders. It’s good to have that bold and young energy so long as it’s tempered by experience.

Some of these kids may even be the next batch of legends, so long as they learn to keep that youthfulness alive.

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Starting points Let’s face it. Epiphanies and overly-romanticized television shows notwithstanding, every career has to start somewhere, and Heaven knows the road to a career in advertising is one with more than its share of routes, short cuts and detours. Good thing there’s adobo to do the homework and assemble the profiles of 17 local and international schools to help you on your way. The rest, of course, is all up to you.

ATENEO DE MANILA UNIVERSITY Relevant Colleges/Courses

UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES Relevant Colleges/Courses College of Fine Arts (BA Visual Communication), College of Mass Communication (BA Film and Audio Visual Communication, BA Journalism) Location Diliman, Quezon City Contact Details info@up-cfa.com, filminstitute.upd.edu.ph, masscomm.upd. edu.ph As problem-solvers, the UP College of Fine Arts encourages students to develop independent creative thinking.

Visual communication majors must be able to communicate visually as well as verbally, by becoming fluent - not only in the language of visual design, which consists of typography, illustration and layout - but also in utilizing the various visual design formats in effectively reaching a target audience.

BA FilM’S curriculum is designed to encompass all aspects of film – history, applications, technology, discourses, production, creative processes, and special topics, with each course carefully plotted, each syllabus backed up by comprehensive research, and all materials and supplements thoroughly selected.

The UP-CMC Journalism program, the oldest in the college, gives students a strong grounding in the arts and sciences and equips them with the skills currently required by the profession. Over time, the Journalism curriculum has undergone many changes, with some courses being abolished and others being introduced or integrated with the aim of keeping up with the technology and the needs of the industry. However, the basic philosophy behind the program has remained intact. Students are trained to be socially responsible and critical professionals -- aware of the power and responsibilities of the press, committed to defend press freedom, and living up to the highest professional and ethical standards.

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School of Humanities (Fine Arts Program) Location Katipunan, Quezon City, Contact Details admu.edu.ph The Fine Arts program seeks to strengthen and reassert Ateneo’s voice in Philippine fine arts initially in creative writing, theater arts, art management, and information design and in the future, in music, dance, and film. It does so by offering a set of curricular programs and projects that trains students for leadership in these areas, provides opportunities for faculty members to engage in professional artistic production, and exercise influence both within and outside the campus. Its aesthetic style seeks to fuse global and local traditions, and its link with professional art or art-related worlds offers paths for future employment.

DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY Relevant Colleges/Courses College of Liberal Arts (AB Communication Arts), College of Business (BS Advertising Management) Location Taft, Manila Contact Details dlsu.edu.ph THE BACHELOR OF SCIENCE in Advertising Management is a course that is designed for students who intend to pursue a professional career in the advertising-related industry in the Philippines or in the Asia Pacific region.

The course enhances the managerial, strategic planning, creative and media abilities of student so that he/she can work in any of the major departments of an advertising agency or in a marketing communications set-up. Finally, the course is in answer to the clamor of advertising practitioners to provide them that much needed manpower to further professionalize the industry.

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UNIVERSITY OT STO. TOMAS Relevant Colleges/Courses College of Fine Arts and Design (BFA Advertising Arts) Location España, Manila Contact Details ust.edu.ph Advertising is a dynamic industry of ideas that informs, inspires and entertains. Students will have a foundation of both the design and business side of advertising. The program is an overview and application of advertising principles, introducing concepts of advertising, research, artistic, creative, and psychological aspects to advertising and sales promotional activities. It introduces the basic and advance principles of design and drawing, with emphasis on the communicative aspects of the arts. The concentration is on the creative utilization of the various media available in the pursuit of truth and responsible advertising.

UNIVERSITY OF ASIA AND THE PACIFIC Relevant Colleges/Courses BA Integrated Marketing Communications Location Ortigas, Pasig City Contact Details uap.asia THE COMMUNICATIONs PROGRAM of the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) is the pioneer Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) graduate program in the Philippines, as well as a leader in IMC education in Asia.

IMC redefines the ways of building and managing business organizations from a multidisciplinary perspective, drawing from the areas of business management, marketing, market research, and marketing communications (e.g. advertising, customer relationship management, new media technologies, and corporate communications). The distinct advantage of a multidisciplinary perspective instills in students a holistic, customer-centric, strategic, and creative mindset they need to compete and succeed in the 21st century business and communications environment.

LYCEUM OF THE PHILIPPINES Relevant Colleges/Courses College of Arts and Sciences (AB Mass Communication specializing in Advertising, AB Multimedia Arts) Location Manila, Makati, Batangas, Laguna, Cavite Contact Details manila.lpu.edu.ph THE LPU College of Arts and Sciences envisions itself as a Center of Academic Excellence in the field of Arts and Sciences, where faculty and students thrive in an environment conducive to learning, development, and progress grounded on service to God and country; produce outstanding researches and creative works reflecting honor and integrity; gain national and international recognition, and make the college as one of the country’s premier learning institutions.

POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES Relevant Colleges/Courses College of Communication (Bachelor in Advertising and Public Relations) Location Sta. Mesa, Manila Contact Details pup.edu.ph THE PUP COLLEGE of Communication (COC) upholds quality and excellence in molding responsible communications students and producing competitive communications professionals. Its graduates are among the top of the thousands of graduating students the University produces each year. The majority of its alumni have successfully landed jobs immediately after graduation. The roster of faculty members teaching in the College is also wellequipped with professional experience in the media industry and the academe.

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Europe/Asia/US HYPER ISLAND

COLLEGE OF ST. BENILDE Relevant Colleges/Courses School of Design and Arts (AB Multimedia Arts) Location Taft, Manila Contact Details sda@dls-csb.edu.ph THE MULTIMEDIA ARTS program combines evolving areas such as digital media and the Internet with core skills such as communications, programming, and graphic design. You harness the power of the latest digital media technology. It is the first program of its kind in the country.

MAPUA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Relevant Colleges/Courses Department of Multimedia Arts & ciences Location Intramuros, Manila Contact Details mapua.edu.ph THE BS MULTIMEDIA Arts and Sciences is designed to train the students to become contemporary visual artists and interactive media designers. Expressing creativity through Arts and Technology, the program aims to equip the students with competencies in freehand drawing, computer graphics, 2D/3D animation, photography, communication and programming for various multimedia applications such as desktop publication, digital imaging, web design, film and video production, and computer games design.

USA ACADEMY OF ART UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ADVERTISING A SCHOOL that boasts being “for artists, by artists” is an institution founded in 1929, and has since then built quite a name for itself in the field of not just advertising, but also from fine art to game and graphic design. Offering cutting-edge advertising courses that make use of the so-called “new media” while balancing out creative skill with technical marketing knowledge, the school seeks to breed advertising executives who are well-versed not only in creative execution, but also in marketing strategy. The school also offers a post-graduate program in advertising and pre-college programs to prime young advertising executives for a bright future in the industry. More info visit: www.berlin-school.com

IF A SCHOOL boldly says that it started with an idea over a few beers, you know they’re bound to teach you how to craft a few good stories. Hyper Island is a school known for “designing learning experiences” for students rather than having students conform to structured learning.

“Industry-based learning” is the key to the school’s growth, and for the past 15 years, has been preparing its students for the lightning fast pace demanded of them in the work place.

Making themselves accessible by opening campuses in Stockholm, Karlskrona, New York, Manchester, and Singapore, students who like living in the fast lane have a seat in this constantly evolving academic institution. For more info visit: www.hyperisland.com

MIAMI AD SCHOOL ALSO KNOWN as the school of Pop Culture Engineering, the Miami Ad School holds the title to being the most awarded advertising school in the world. The school offers full-time undergraduate courses (Copywriting, Art Direction, Digital Design), a graduate program (Masters in Advertising), and 12-week Boot Camps in Account Planning and Social Media Consumer Engagement. Scholarships and programs are available in 13 different countries to make the school more accessible to aspiring students. For more info visit: www.miamiadschool.com

Australia Australian Writers and Art Directors Association (AWARD) School

Germany Berlin School of Creative Leadership THE SCHOOL, founded in 2006 by the Art Director’s Club Germany, is meant to breed CEOs with creative minds. The program is open to mid-career creative professionals and consists of five twoweek modules held in Berlin, New York, Los Angeles, Shanghai, and Tokyo.

If the globetrotting is not enough to convince you (or your mother), the school boasts of a 1 in every 10 ratio for graduates winning at the prestigious Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. Throwing that in with a salary of $4.5 million a year, should have your mother begging you to go back to school. For more info visit: www.berlinschool.com

THE PROGRAM, designed by the best creatives in Australia, is a 16-week part time course tailor-fit to the needs of copywriters and art directors. Each year, around 800 aspirants of all ages send in folios of work based on a brief made by the coordinators of the program, and only one-in-four make the cut. The programs costs around $2,200 and runs yearly from March to July in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, and Hobart.

For more info visit: www.awardschool.com.au

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Young bloods on youngblood Five up-and-comers speak up on what it takes to make it in today’s industry.

Words Pauline Raymundo Photography Shampoo Padilla Styling and make-up Regie Escolin

What does it mean or feel to be young in this industry?

01 Nico Leviste Art director, Draftfcb It’s intimidating…in a good way though. It keeps me focused and driven to do good work and stay competitive.

02 Dennis Nierra Art director, BBDO Guerrero I think being young in advertising allows you to act young and crazy, but it doesn’t last forever. As we get older were expected to act mature and do bigger responsibilities while still being ourselves. But I think no one really gets ‘old’ in this industry.

03 Pyotr Raphael Mutuc Art director, Campaigns & Grey I don’t feel young. There are so many people out there who are younger than me but make me go “I wish I could’ve thought of that”.

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04 Gian Mawo Art director, Publicis JimenezBasic It’s a very exciting feeling!

Working with the so-called great minds of the industry and while also being in the process of working with stand-up comedians, musicians, conspiracy theorists, digital geniuses and other colorful characters. Nakakatrabaho mo din yung mga creatives na gumawa ng paborito mong commercial noong college ka. It’s also crazy how your work can turn out to be pop culture.

05 TJ Pascua Art director, Bates CHI & Partners It’s both challenging and fun.

Challenging because you’re not the only young one and everyone is talented. Maraming pressure. You have to find your edge early in the game, if not, mapagiiwanan ka.

Fun because being young in the industry means growth, opportunity, and a bunch of crazy stuff.

This is where everything starts.

This is the time where you’re excited to reminisce about the past

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because of all the good things that happened, the things you’ve learned and the awesome and cute people you met along the way.

visual should be understood by the audience right away, but in a fresh and creative way which is really hard.

What is your definition of art and how do you apply it with regard to client’s requirements?

Mutuc If it makes you go “uy” or “huh” art yun. If your work makes them go “uy” or “huh” then we’ve done our job, kahit mabaril man yun.

Leviste To me, art is really a reflection of who the artist is. That cliché of “art is a form of self expression” is actually quite accurate. It’s what you say it is, first pass, no comments or revisions. With regards to applying it to my client’s requirements, I just try to put as much of “me” as I can in there, what I believe to be right, and just try to get away with as much as I can.

Nierra I think art and art in advertising are different disciplines. In art, it’s more about the artist. The message is left for the audience to interpret and appreciate. In advertising, the

Mawo For me, art is any medium that has emotion. Dapat matawa ka, magalit, maiyak o matakot sa kanya. For me it’s only art if it can strike a chord. Dapat may maramdaman ka pag nakita mo siya. Which is also important when it comes to satisfying our clients’ needs. As an art director, as much as possible, I try to inject these different emotions to make our material more memorable and appealing to clients. Minsan masaya na ako pag napatawa ko yung kliyente kahit ‘di approve yung idea. Emotional art is something very ‘human’ and when it's very human it is very relatable and compelling.

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Pascua Art is an outlet. It is a means of creation, expression and imagination that you relate to others. I know art is in any of my works when I feel I get to affect people. Kapag alam mong kahit paano feel mong meron silang connect. May influence.

Any tips on how to survive in this industry?

Leviste Yeah, just keep up with the times. Everything is constantly changing like technology, trends etc. Try to be knowledgeable in everything. And of course, love what you do and take pride in it. It won’t feel like work then.

Nierra a) Dreams before money, b) Observe and absorb, c) Watch films, even the ones you don’t like, d) Stay hungry, stay foolish (thanks Mr. Jobs) Mutuc We have to be resilient and street smart. We get shot down so many times that often, when we become so drawn into a piece of work, a piece of us dies and it is just so hard to come back from that.

Mawo You have to be ‘ballsy’ if you want to survive in this industry. That is what I learned from my mentors when I was starting out in advertising. Bato lang ng bato ng idea. Wala naman tama o mali. And don’t get easily frustrated pag nabaril idea mo.

Have also an outlet. It can be music, having your own graphic clothing line etc.

Pascua Don’t rush. Keep learning. Have fun. Drink... vitamins, kasi puyat.

What do you know now about the industry that you wished you learned in school?

Leviste That it’s extremely competitive. There’s a lot of talent and creativity out there. If I knew that, I would have taken school a little more seriously.

Nierra That we’re as good as our last work and sleep is the best thing in the world. And OT/pitch food makes you fat.

Mutuc Learning my worth.

Mawo I think more on client building relationships and the importance of presentation.

Pascua I wish I already knew what advertising was exactly during my school days. Back when there are still a lot of people firing up statements like “Anong trabaho mo sa Fine Arts? Magpipinta?” I’d like to be proud of the extent of what artists can do.

How or where do you see yourself 5-10 years from now?

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Mutuc As a creative director, going to Turkey in Legaspi Village with my wife, Claudia, still drawing. We’ll be growing old beautifully and I would have learned to cook paella.

Mawo Still playing Call of Duty with officemates...and mentoring young creatives.

Pascua I would still be in advertising. My artworks would be everywhere. By then, I would’ve consumed a lot of sketchpads, canvases, and airtime. Pinag-aagawan ng mga ahensya at mayaman na. Cover na ng adobo.

Leviste Same industry probably, just 5-10 times better and more successful.

Nierra a) Mentoring and helping future young creatives in every way that I can b) National Olympic Boxing Team as a “saling pusa” c) In a salon where I make people’s hair silky smooth

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A festival of firsts Winners of the country’s toughest print show showcase medium’s resilience Words Emarrah Sarreal

Kidlat Strikes Manila It is all too easy to stick to what you know. But it’s not what creativity is about and this is why this year’s Kidlat Festival shook things in order to “bring back the hunger”.

For years, the annual Philippine festival of creativity was held on the sunny isle of Boracay. For this year’s festival, Kidlat returned to the city, allowing creatives who normally wouldn’t be able to leave the metro (and the office) to participate.

From April 9-12, the Sofitel Plaza, Manila, served as the gathering place for the industry’s best and brightest. Judges sifted through a total of 563 entries, while eight luminaries from different fields gave inspirational talks on what keeps them hungry and passionate about what they do. Secretary of Tourism Ramon “Mon” Jimenez Jr. talked about how to sell the country as a brand while radio guru and founder of Hertz: Radio, Tony Hertz, spoke passionately about creativity in radio. (Read more on the festival’s speakers on pg 140) At the awards ceremony, hosted by adobo COO Janelle Squires and TV personality Derek Ramsey, the big news was an announcement by 4As chair Matec Villanueva that next year would see the introduction of a new event, the Ad Summit Pilipinas, which would serve as the new home of Kidlat.

Award wins It was a clean sweep for 2013 big winner BBDO Guerrero, with its globally successful ‘It’s More Fun in the Philippines’ campaign for the Department of Tourism (DOT)

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bagging three Golds, including Kidlat Best of Show. DOT was also named Kidlat Client of the Year, while Bayer Philippines ranked third. The creative shop also won the only Gold for film for Saridon ‘Wash’, bringing the total to four Gold metals, while the agency’s Cristina Buenaventura, Iking Uy and Al Salvador were named Kidlat Creative Planner of the Year, Kidlat Creative Account Executive of the Year and Kidlat Top Creative Producer respectively.

The coveted Kidlat Most Creative Agency of the Year also went to BBDO Guerrero, besting 19 other agencies.

Commenting on the success of the DOT campaign, BBDO Guerrero chairman and CCO David Guerrero acknowledged that the campaign was “a huge collective effort. Not just across the whole client and agency team but also with the participation of millions of Filipinos to whom the campaign now belong.”

“It is a real honor to have our work recognized by our peers and, while it is always satisfying to gain international and regional recognition, ultimately, every day we are striving to be relevant in our local market to our local audiences.

We are thrilled that we are seen to be succeeding,” added BBDO Guerrero CEO Tony Harris.

Following the Olympic ranking system, Kidlat 2013 runners up were DM9 JaymeSyfu, TBWA\SMP, JWT Manila and DDB Philippines.

Meanwhile, Tower of Doom claimed Kidlat Top Production

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Partner of the Year, followed

by Filmpabrika and Post Manila.

The Kidlat Lifetime Achievement Award was conferred on McCann Worldgroup Philippines chairman and CEO Raul Castro. The creator of many successful ads, Castro define successful advertising as “works that can positively impact lives.” “That has become my guiding principle in almost everything I do, in the business I’ve decided to stay in. If, through my works, I have changed, even for a wee bit, one person’s life positively, then I think I have achieved something. Only then would I think, I deserve this [award]”.

In the Young Kidlat competition, independent creative and events shop Creative Juice representatives, composed of copywriter Jethro Adriano and art director Bench Empedrado, won the challenge, besting 14 other teams. Runner up was the young team from BBDO Guerrero, Rachel Teotico and Donna Dimayuga. Adriano and Empedrado will represent the

country in September’s Young Spikes competition at Spikes Asia in Singapore.

The first-ever Student Kidlat Competition saw a landslide victory for UA&P students. Ysay Camus won the top spot with her ninja-inspired strategy poster, which intrigued the judges to view her resume. Camus, along with Nick Nakpil and Randy Mutul, who took home the silver and bronze metals respectively, will be hired by interested advertising agencies right after graduation.

All in all, this year’s Kidlat saw huge, landslide victories and the emergence of independent agencies.

Truly, a festival of firsts.

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The Gold Winners

Film: TV, Cinema Single Bayer Philippines, ‘Wash 15s’ BBDO Guerrero/Proximity Philippines

Integrated Campaign; Digital & Mobile: Social Network & Online Community; Viral Marketing DoT, ‘It’s More Fun in The Philippines’ BBDO Guerrero/Proximity Philippines

Diwa Print Single Greenpeace, ‘Tick’ JWT Manila

Media-Outdoor /Ambient Large-Scale Boysen, ‘Project EDSA’ TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno

Diwa Digital and Mobile; Media-Digital or Mobile Platform Gabriela, ‘Bury The Past Project’ DDB DM9JaymeSyfu

Public Relations Sting, ‘Pacquiao Positive’ DDB Philippines

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The speakers They came, they illuminated, entertained and reminded the audience to “bring back the hunger”

Tony Hertz Founder and owner Hertz:Radio

Erik Matti Film director

Maria Ressa Founder, CEO and Executive Editor Rappler For her session, Ressa admitted to Kidlat attendees that she has a lovehate relationship with social media, citing the internet’s ability to collect data from people, data that could be deadly if misused. Secondly, continued Ressa, social media is a chaotic landscape against which she fights for consistency, engagement and community-building to create a system of trust among journalists and the public. As for big data, Ressa prefers not to make comparisons to George Orwell’s 1984, stating that, “Big data is about correlations, not causalities.”

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“Does radio have a creative problem? Looks that way!” said Hertz, bemoaning the fact that, despite technological advancements, creativity in the medium is is lean. Hertz went on to show Kidlat attendees examples of radio creativity from a decades past, with his favorite being a 1966 radio campaign for the Fuller Paint Company which “painted” colors using music.

Hertz said, “Enlarge your comfort zone. Start by leaving it and doing something different.”

While creativity is often described as colorful and busy, Hertz also told his audience to, “Be comfortable with silence. The few seconds of silence in between lines can make all the difference. Leave your comfort zone, be a radio art director and build a support system. After all, comfortable does not equal hunger. Are you a creative to be comfortable?”

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Filmmakers and film enthusiasts in the audience rejoiced when Matti took to the stage and revealed the process he goes through before taking the plunge and committing to a movie. He said he always asked himself four questions: 1) What is it about? 2) Does it matter to me? 3) Is it relevant to everyone else? 4) Is it worth exploring?

Collaboration is also an important element for Matti, something he that struck him only a few years ago. However, the award-winning director admitted that finding the best people to work with was tricky. “The ‘best’ is when that person is passionate about the work we’re doing.” This, Matti claimed, is important because it’s not enough to make movies out of a guaranteed box office formula.

“With the few movies you make in a lifetime, you’d rather make movies you want to make.”

Ramon Jimenez Jr. Secretary Department of Tourism “Once upon a time, fun was a small word, a flippant word…today it’s the fount of our pride,” said Secretary Jimenez Jr. who graced Kidlat as the keynote speaker.

After all, who better to kick off the annual creativity festival than the man who famously pronounced ‘It’s More Fun in the Philippines’?

The veteran adman underscored Kidlat’s theme of ‘Bring Back the Hunger’, with anecdotes and pearls of wisdom, reminding the audience that “The creative process does not begin with knowing what you want but knowing what you don’t want.”

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Noel Lorenzana Raimund Marasigan Musician and record producer Sandwich, Cambio, Pedicab, Gaijin

Alaric ‘Anygma’ Yuson FlipTop FlipTop is to the PBA as battle rap is to basketball—declared Yuson. Better as ‘Anygma’, founder of FlipTop, the first Filipino battle rap league.

Yuson addressed the issue of FlipTop being wrongly defined as “a modern-style of Balagtasan” – which it isn’t at all. FlipTop is a brand. Battle rap is the art.

In the Philippines, this art is only beginning to realize its true potential. Yuson says battle rap has the potential to rise alongside the Philippines’ 3 Big B’s (Basketball, Billiards, and Boxing), considering how it has developed into one of the biggest trends in the country.

The FlipTop Battle League plays to an audience of millions, basing on its colossal body of supporters on social media sites like YouTube and Facebook.

Marasigan, former drummer, vocalist and lyricist of iconic group Eraserheads, and current musician (with Sandwich, Cambio, Pedicab and Gaijin), record producer and all-around rock legend, spoke the experiences that shaped him professionally and personally.

He shared that the Eraserheads’ disbanding may very well have been the best thing that happened in his life. “I had to find a job, a real job,” said Marasigan, citing a need to support his family, which, at the time, included his then-newborn daughter. So he signed up for a day job at Liquid Post, a short stint arranging music for advertising.

But that experience and (something our community can relate to) “clients that broke me so bad” pushed him to quit.

With an excess of frustration and creative energy, Marasigan decided to concentrate his talent and free time his new bands, which involved relying on all kinds of resources (expected and unexpected) to create better music.

Marasigan says it’s not enough to be smart or creative. “You have to put in the work” — pretty much the recipe for success for the “Philippines’ busiest musician”.

Eric Cruz Executive creative director Leo Burnett Malaysia Cruz spoke on how his numerous influences and interests guided him in his position as Leo Burnett Malaysia’s current.

Cruz’s drive to constantly evolve is an attitude he has nurtured from childhood, bringing it with him when his family decided to relocate to the United States and, later on, to Spain. In his travels, the young creative tried his hand at everything from break dancing to new wave music. Inspired by Bloomingdales’ John Jay, he had the courage to fly in the face of his parents’ advice against going to art school, even going on to collect a Master’s degree. As soon as he finished school, Cruz went on a backpacking trip around Asia –fascinated by China’s win of the 2008 Olympic bid and an experience with Wieden + Kennedy Tokyo where he was able to work under Jay. There, he saw an opportunity to experiment. Summing up his talk, Cruz told the Kidlat crowd evolution meant setting out of one’s comfort zone. “It’s the only way to get yourself in that position to learn. You have to put yourself in deep shit, and learn how to take yourself out of deep shit.”

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President and CEO MediaQuest Lorenzana jumpstarted day two of the Kidlat festival with nine points on brilliant advertising: Be big, but stay in context. Great advertising should be preceded by great insight...and guided by its basic purpose which is to sell. Create new thinking. Even before customers buy the product, you should already be changing perception.

And when they shift it, barrage them with messages that turn into philosophy, into relationship, into love. A brand should stand for something. Have a point of view.

Create a buzz beyond the box.

Reach consumers at all touch points. Go 360. Make the product central to the ad. Product features could actually make good advertising. Own the season. For years, toothpaste brand Closeup owned Valentine’s Day as it gathered record-breaking numbers of kissers for its ‘Lovapalooza’. Be timely.

Blur the lines between advertising and reality. A great advertiser has to be in tune with what’s happening. Turn insight into cash.

Create insight that is relevant to the brand and the category, and maximize the opportunity.

Be insightful, be human. When Lorenzana joined Smart, his first concern was that everything was about price in telco advertising.

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01 McCann Worldgroup’s Raul Castro receives his Lifetime Achievement Award from the 4As’ Matec Villanueva (L) and Cecile Velez 02 adobo’s Janelle Squires and TV5 star Derek Ramsay 03 Joey Ong, chair of Creative Guild 04 Accepting on behalf of the DoT 05 Hit Productions’ Salito Malca joins the TBWA\SMP team on stage to accept an award 06 TBWA art director John Ed de Vera accepts an award 07 Ace Saatchi & Saatchi’s team behind the Ariel shirt flag campaign for the Olympics 08 JWT’s Dave Ferrer (L) in winning form with BBDO’s David Guerrero (C) and TBWA’s Brian Siy 09 Leo Burnett Malaysia’s Eric Cruz (far right) presents an award to the DDB’s ‘Pacquiao Positive’ team 10 McCann’s Budjette Tan and Bernadette Chincuangco and adobo’s Janelle Squires 11 Sweet Shop’s Claire Davidson (2nd, left) and colleague with Saatchi’s Andrew Petch and BBDO’s David Guerrero flanked by adobo’s Angel Guerrero (L) and Janelle Squires 12 David Guerrero and the team that helped BBDO Guerrero emerge as Agency of the Year

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INTERNATIONAL CREATIVE AWARDS

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Scan for full album

ADOBO MASTERCLASS

Time and engagement Photography Shampoo Padilla

MANILA Companies must define the soul of their brand, an undertaking described as vital since the era of consumer empowerment has changed the rules of engagement.

In an adobo Masterclass presentation filled with energy, insights and knowledge, master brand builder Tom Doctoroff offered a simple yet nuanced framework that acknowledged timeless marketing truths and the sharp shift in an era of consumer empowerment.

The ‘Time, Tension and Ideas: The Art of Engaging Asian Consumers’ presentation highlighted four interlinked modules, accompanied by illuminating case studies from the Philippines, Asia and beyond.

“Engagement has become the new rallying cry, and rightly so”, according to Doctoroff, JWT’s Asia Pacific CEO. In making his point, he channeled former Procter & Gamble CMO Jim Stengel, calling on brand stewards to “bring a

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relationship mindset to everything we do”.

He described the brand idea as a fusion of consumer insights and “unique brand offer (UBO)”.

Consumer Insights “Insights are not observations; insights answer the question ‘why’,” that is, the tension or conflict between human truths and cultural truths that have the potential to maximize the relevance of brands in consumers’ lives and the role they play”, he explained.

He described conflict as the forced compromise between competing human and cultural truths, between needs and wants, between pleasure and guilt, between family and career, between gourmet dinner and time, between mortgage and vacation, “Find the conflict – consumers will chose to spend more time with brands that resolve conflicts in their lives.”

In the Philippines, he saw conflict arising from an eagerness to embrace what life has to offer set against concerns over how much of their destiny is in their hands. (as acknowledged in Cream Silk and OMO campaigns).

The Brand Idea He described the brand idea as the brand’s longterm identity, one with a life force that needs to be vividly dramatized through engagement rather than articulated in words.

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The brand idea, he added, must be meticulously defined for a long-term relationship with the consumer – it needs to remain consistent over time yet flexible enough to evolve as competitive, demographic and other environmental circumstances shift. Accordingly, the brand idea cannot be narrowly defined that it becomes boring from repeats in execution or broadly defined that makes it difficult to hold together at the executional level.

“Somewhere in your product or in your business there is a difference, an idea that can be developed into a story so big so vital and so compelling to your public as to isolate your product from its competitors and make your public think of it as distinctly a different kind of product.” (as big, populist engagement ideas as seen in Cadbury’s ‘Eyebrow Dance’ campaign).

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Engagement Ideas Well-defined brand ideas are key to driving the development of “ownable” engagement ideas that effortlessly bring the brand idea to life.

“Engagement ideas can be short-term or long-term, tactical or thematic but it must be able to extend across media in a manner that elicits active participation with the creative idea itself.”

Consumers would rather spend time with big populist ideas that engage rather than ideas that interrupt, he said, pointing to the seismic shift away from the old, top-down broadcast model to a bottom-up model, driven by consumers empowered by technology to propagate ideas and content.

Doctoroff, however, noted that while Korea’s HomePlus supermarket chain had anchored its ‘Virtual Store’ engagement in strong consumer insights – helping time-pressed Koreans use their waiting time to shop for groceries – the Cannes 2011 Media Grand Prix winner failed to capitalize on its first mover advantage. “This was not an ownable idea. There’s nothing to stop a competitor from doing the same,” he added.

Connection Plan When engagement ideas are defined as participation platforms, he said the opportunity to “marry” creative and media becomes much richer as ideas are woven through the fabric of consumers’ lives.

Active consumer engagement activities, he explained, can help a brand transcend its product category and redefine its role in consumer’s life as Kit Kat has done over the past few years in Japan where it has become a lucky charm – the brand name translates as “surely win” – for high school students taking their exams.

The latest iteration of the multi-faceted campaign, Kit Kat Mail, turned Japan Post’s 22,000 post offices into a communications partner and distribution channel, a marketing coup in one of the world’s toughest retail markets.

“Now it’s about having a relationship to drive purchase and advocacy” over the old model of building awareness to shape preference and ultimately purchase, he added.

Brands that get engagement are well placed to maximize their budgets and increase profit margins through enhanced consumer loyalty.

Sponsors: Tower Club Penfolds Wines Executive Decisions Business Mirror BusinessWorld The Philippine Star

Big populist engagement ideas Kit Kat (‘Have a Break. Have a Kit Kat’) – riding on Felix Baumgartner and his record-breaking sky-dive from the edge of space in late 2012, Cadbury’s 2009 ‘Eyebrow Dance’ to depict the dairy range as ‘A Glass and a Half Full of Joy’, ‘Voyeur’, a multimedia HBO campaign from 2007 that used voyeurism as a vehicle depicting the brand as a pre-eminent story-teller able to provide a peek into people’s lives. Doctoroff also praised Honda’s series of UK campaigns – starting with 2003’s ‘Cog’ to 2004’s CSR-driven ‘Grrr’, 2005’s ‘Impossible Dream’ and 2006’s ‘Choir’ – in dramatizing its ‘Driven Aspiration’ brand idea with consistency and dynamism.

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ADOBO Main Course

The Kung Fu of Art Direction Thomas Yang channels Bruce Lee in an inspiring Main Course Words Emarrah Sarreal Photography Shampoo Padilla

Thomas Yang held center stage at adobo’s first Main Course event of the year from the get-go: His presentation was intriguingly titled, The Kung of Art Direction.

Within minutes into his session, the DDB Group Singapore creative director, who headed the jury for adobo’s 4th Design Awards the day before, had succinctly explained the ‘kung fu’ portion of his presentation at the Mind Museum in Fort Bonifacio.

Multi-awarded, bespectacled, open and obviously excited to be in Manila, Yang channeled the philosopher in the late Bruce Lee, widely regarded as the most influential martial artist of the 20th century.

Lee famously rejected well-defined martial arts styles, proposing instead the merits of being like water; shapeless and formless’ water becomes the vessel it is poured into.

In a similar vein, Yang said art directors should refrain from acquiring a trademark style but model their approach to the client’s job at hand.

It’s an approach that contrasts sharply with an art director’s collaborators – photographers, illustrators, stylists among others who are hired for their specific styles.

After After After

With an accompanying tongue-in-cheek slideshow laden with more martial arts imagery, Yang took an enraptured crowd of more than 120 industry creative professionals through the steps he used to become a Cannes award-winner. The slides showcased the qualities he felt led to effective work, and those that, in his opinion, caused others to miss their mark.

Among the most significant of these was the importance of creatives finding a suit that they could trust and collaborate with, as that person would provide a combination of conscience, sounding board and reason in the creation of campaigns and executions.

Yang also highlighted the need to make one’s work smart – while avoiding the mistake of trying to be too smart for one’s own good – and thus avoiding the mistake making it stupid. He also stressed the value of asking questions when in doubt.

One of the best tests of whether a work was effective in delivering its message, shared Yang, was to try running it by someone higher up or older (who may not necessarily understand all the technical work involved) and someone lower or younger (who may not be familiar with the

An arresting, tongue-in-cheek approach to raise awareness about breast cancer screening

Wednesday, Wednesday, 24 April, 24 April, 13 13 Wednesday, 24 April, 13

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product or advocacy but are aware of trends and current development). If the work requires little effort for both groups to get it, then it should have little to no problem reaching its intended audience.

A key part of the presentation was offered with behind-the-scenes stories of three of his most famous works via meticulous behind-thescenes documentation and candid commentary that had audience members laughing out loud at various points.

First up was Yang’s print campaign for Rough Guides. The work involved massive amounts of research, patience and creative thinking (and eBay!) in recreating the wonders of the world through the use of the images found on the backs of actual minted currency.

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Next was a campaign for breast cancer awareness, featuring a topless model clad only in body paint that drew attention for its surprisingly direct approach towards the prevention of a serious illness.

Finally, Yang produced his work for Life Cycle (a small local bicycle shop) that won big at last year’s Cannes. Here, Yang showed the advantages of accomplishing astonishing effects and executions in-camera, as opposed to relying on computer-generated imagery or retouching.

The final work, representing cityscapes and road maps, were comprised, literally, of hundreds of parts from fully-functioning bicycles that had been dismantled and shot, piece by piece.

Main Course participants were almost universally positive to the nuggets of wisdom

Yang had served up. DM9JaymeSyfu creative director Gogi Singson, who said that, his own extensive experience notwithstanding, he had learned a lot and thought that Yang’s approach to creativity was “hardcore”, and the standing edict to ‘make things epic’ was just as epic and beautiful as the works presented that morning.

At the end of the presentation, the sustained applause Yang received from his appreciative audience was acclaim well earned, with everyone in attendance having been enraptured, entertained and, most importantly, inspired.

The Main Course with Thomas Yang was presented by adobo magazine, in cooperation with Power Mac Center, DDB Manila, Executive Decisions, Raffles/Fairmont Makati and The Mind Museum.

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Adobo anniversary

adobo on 7th High

The word on creativity celebrates seven years Words Emarrah Sarreal Photography Shampoo Padilla

highlights and gave peeks of upcoming On March 20, advertising’s best and events, seminars and workshops, most creative minds converged at including the much-anticipated adobo Buddha Bar Manila to celebrate adobo Football Cup, which has been upgraded magazine’s seventh anniversary. to an industry-wide tournament.

From its 45-page maiden issue in 2006, “I consider it a unique privilege to be part featuring radio maven Ompong Remigio, of a small publication that impacts such a large to the nearly-200-page magazine it is and influential community who can change the today, adobo has come a long way.

When I launched adobo I knew it wouldn’t world with a few creative ideas,” said Squires. be a stroll,” said founder, publisher and editor- The focus of the night was adobo’s Marchin-chief Angel Guerrero, in her anniversary April issue, a redesigned, refreshed version of address. And it wasn’t. “It has, in fact, been the publication that has come to be recognized as the premiere publication on Philippine a difficult, challenging, and demanding advertising industry. Also new was the ascent. But our journey has always been an exciting, energizing even exhilarating one.” revised tagline, “The word on creativity”.

Cover subject Matec Villanueva of Chief operating officer Janelle Publicis Manila was all smiles as she said, Barretto-Squires went through past adobo

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“Allow me to quote a very wise man, the Dalai Lama, who said, ‘People take different roads, seeking fulfilment and happiness. Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they’ve gotten lost.’ (adobo) decided seven years ago to take a different road. You must be on the right track because you’re still here. Congratulations on your seventh and I’ll see you on your next seventh.”

The evening would not have been possible without the support of adobo magazine’s event partner Smart Ads and sponsors: Buddha Bar Manila, Pinwheel, Robert Mondavi Wines, Manila Beer, Tanduay Black, Clear Channels, 25th Media, Worldstage Productions, On Media, Grand Embassy AR (GEAR), Shampoo Shots and Geronimo Photographico.

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01 Gigi Garcia and Rose Javier of Ace Saatchi & Saatchi receive their award for February’s Ad of the Month 02 adobo’s anniversary covergirl, Matec Villanueva (center) with Philippine Star’s Lucien Dy Tioco and Angel Guerrero 03 Jingo Fermin (right) with his My|Phone accounts team 04 DDB COO Timmy Jayme (2nd from left) with his creative team L-R Gomer Barce, Cardie Santos, Lester Bustarde 05 Provago’s Ryan Pronstroller, Ale Vargas and Jennifer Go 06 IMMAP’s Coni Cruz, E-Learning Edge’s Hans Roxas Chua and BBDO’s Francine Gonzales 07 A toast to us! The lean and mean adobo Magazine team 08 Ad of the Year finalist for August, Puno for Meralco Foundation by IdeasXMachina led by CEO Third Domingo (second from left) 09 adobo’s power ladies, Apple Manansala, Janelle Squires and Angel Guerrero 10 And the Ad of the Year winner for 2012 is... JWT’s ‘False Cover’ with the evening’s main sponsor, Smart Ads’ Leah Besa-Jimenez (2nd from left), Arnel Villanueva and Joe Dy of JWT, Janelle Squires 11 Scan the image with the adoboReality app to view anniversary video

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01 adobo magazine’s Sales & Marketing head, Apple Manansala with welovepost chiefs Pedring Lopez and Cody Miller 02 Arriving at the scene - DM9’s Alex Syfu, Merlee Jayme and Ronald Barreiro 03 adobo’s Ad of the Year finalist ‘Clapper’ for Solar Entertainment, UIP and Universal by Campaigns & Grey’s Mel Aguinaldo and Paolo de Leon 04 L-R British School Manila’s Gwyn Davies, Q2 HR Solutions CEO & founder, Trixie Whyte, MyShelter Foundation’s Illac Diaz, adobo’s COO Janelle Squires, TV5’s Jane Walker and Artemis’ Tania Lichauco 05 DM9’s Eugene Demata with Unitel’s Madonna Tarrayo, glamorous Ace Saatchi & Saatchi GM Mio Chongson and JWT’s Golda Roldan 06 Up for grabs - adobo’s Ad of the Year finalists and winners trophies 07 Blackberry’s Kristian Salvo with Angel Guerrero and Hit Production’s Salito Malca 08 Revolver’s GM Luis Morelos and his team 09 Revolver’s AF Benaza and !Gung Ho’s Joaquin Valdes (2nd and 3rd from left) 10 OnMedia’s Armand Sazon, Anton Villanueva and Tippy Sy 11 L-R Cheil’s Onat Roldan, Hot Air Balloon’s TJ Parpan, and BBDO’s David Guerrero

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Top and bottom The view from the NAB 2013 show floor

N A B 2 0 1 3 AT L A S V E G A S

3D gives way to 4K

NAB 2013 was another showstopper with the latest tech trends on offer Words Aids Tecson Photography Sid Maderazo

LAS VEGAS NAB2012 was all about 3D content. This year, NAB’s focus has shifted to discussion about 4K production and delivery. No where was the shift more apparent than in the product line-up: Cameras such as the new Blackmagic 4K camera and Canon’s C500, editing systems such as Adobe Creative Cloud and Avid, all the way to professional and consumer monitoring systems such as Barco’s new DP4K-P 4K projector and Sony’s Bravia XBR 900 LED 55-inch / 65-inch 4K UHD TV sets.

So what is 4K? The Digital Cinema Initiatives consortium, a joint venture of major motion picture studios, which was formed to establish a standard architecture for digital cinema systems, established a standard resolution of 4096 X 2160 (aspect ratio 17:9) for 4K film projection.

What does this mean to the local advertising industry? From a production standpoint, it means investing in newer

equipment. Not just cameras, but storage and archiving systems as well. It always makes sense to acquire raw footage in the best possible resolution to future-proof it.

From a post-production standpoint, it gets a bit trickier. Aside from the need to increase storage capacity, there is also the need to increase equipment horsepower. Storage systems need to be faster to sustain playback of this enormous amount of data.

Visual effects and animation are also more difficult to composite, process and take longer to render.

When it comes to acquisition, things are much simpler. But once you get into the post-production workflow, then it creates several issues, which I personally think far outweigh the benefits.

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Especially for the local industry, where TVCs are still aired in Standard Definition/NTSC, a complete 4K pipeline is far from practical.

4K has become a buzzword of sorts, something technology and production companies have grasped to show that they are ahead of the game. To some extent, this move can be likened to the megapixel war of digital cameras. There are benefits, such as being able to blow up images for digital cinema projectors that display 4K, to easier stabilization of content such as aerial footage, as well as being able to zoom into a shot and still retain sharpness and detail. These benefits though can also be derived from shooting in 2K, with far less workflow issues.

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Top Snapped at NAB: Aids Tecson, managing director of Underground Logic and Sid Maderazo, TV commercials director and post-production partner

At the end of the production pipeline, is of course delivery. There are now a number of ways consumers watch content, with online streaming onto a computing/mobile device and satellite transmission to a television set being the most used. Unless you’re in a Google Fibre equipped city in the US, or in South Korea, wherein a Gigabit connection is commonplace in households, then chances are you will not be able to stream 4K. And even in these ultra advanced places, 4K streaming would still be a struggle at times. Locally, we even struggle with SD content from YouTube.

As for the second method, we have to contend with the limitation of the current broadcasting infrastructure, which was built around HD transmission. Aside from that, imagine having to pay about $25,000 for a 4K television set. The average person sits about 10 feet from their television. At that distance, the average human eye can distinguish an object roughly 0.035 inch wide. Even the current 720p 50-inch TV sets have pixels that are roughly 0.034 inch wide. As it is, a 1080p TV set can be overkill, what more a 4K TV? When the technical smoke has cleared, it still boils down to the quality of the content. Whether it’s the outstanding production value or the interesting entertainment value, these will far outweigh the method of acquisition or delivery.

To quote Bill Gates, Microsoft’s founder and tech genius: “The television revolution that began half a century ago spawned a number of industries, including the manufacturing of TV sets, but the long-term winners were those who used the medium to deliver information and entertainment.”

Bill Gates, Content is King 1/03/1996

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This page Examples of some of the hightech toys set to hit the market

“4K has become a buzzword of sorts, something technology and production companies have grasped to show that they are ahead of the game.”

May-June 2013

THE ROAD TO CANNES Young Lion competitors DM9JaymeSyfu art director Benci Vidanes (left) and graphic designer Josh Galvez are not afraid to push themselves to the limit, and then pushing some more. With last year’s bronze win setting a precedent for the team, they remain confident that their irrepressible DM9 spirit will see them through.

Young Marketing Lion competitors Focused, yet fun-loving, Johnson & Johnson assistant brand manager for Modess Nikka Arcilla (left) and brand manager for OTC Respiratory Health Roz Noriega are a marketing force to be reckoned with. Coming on the heels of last year’s team (also from J & J!), the pair are determined to make their shot count and enjoy the experience.

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Returning for his third jury stint, David Guerrero sees Cannes as a giant reality check on the state of the world’s communication business.

“And it is typically a humbling experience,” notes BBDO Guerrero’s chairman and chief creative officer.

“I’ve had years where we struggled Advertising’s foremost festival pulls out to get any recognition … and others all the stops for its 60th anniversary where we were greatly encouraged.

“However, I’ve always con15 years ago, sees Cannes as the sidered it vital to compare work CANNES organizers have pulled industry’s World Cup. “Cannes is from our agency, country and even out all the stops for the 60th anniverto me where spirit meets the heart region to the rest of the world. And sary bash, packing the festival with and soul of all else. It’s the Coliseum although the process is as prone to the cream of jurors and speakers. of industry creativity. It’s where the human frailty and inexactitude as The all-out effort to mark the best come to become better and any awards festival, it is the only way milestone in style is understandable. where they fuel their passion for the we really have to answer the quesCannes is today the world’s leading work, the food, the weather and the tions – ‘what is good work?’ and ‘is creative festival, drawing the biggest industry,” says the chairour work any good?’. gathering of professionals from man and CEO of DDB “The big difference advertising, media and marketing Group Asia Pacific, Into other festivals – howfrom across the world to the French dia and Japan. “Cannes ever good – is that so Rivera each June.

FESTIVAL AT serves the desire for many people are there A combination of timely category everyone to do better to see the drama unfold introductions to the competition, A GLANCE and to learn new ways to as the juries work powerhouse juries and inspiring and change the world, even through the raw entries, provocative content and speakers CANNES if it’s only 90 seconds or to shortlisting and from beyond the industry has kept LIONS 2013 a tweet at a time.” finally to awarding. The Cannes relevant to generations of Inspiring Creativity for 60 Years Bates Chi & Partjudging room stories creative professionals. ners regional CEO Daand the endless debates It is at Cannes that the industry vid Mayo was similarly outside it are a massive comes to compete, measure them16-22 effusive. “Cannes is the part of the learning.” selves against their peers, debate, JUNE 2013 Palais des Festivals pinnacle of our industry Cannes has indeed learn and be inspired by the best in et des Congrès, year. Every industry has become the creative the field. John Ziegler, who shared Cannes, France one. It’s the crossroads mecca, judging by the modest accommodation with an art of the calendar, the explosion in entry and director on his first Cannes outing F E S T I VA L tipping point of the from the inaugural PROGRAMME P&L and the axis of 1954 show, held not Scan QR code creative debate.” in Cannes but Venice, where the Lion of San Marcos inspired the highly prized trophy.

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Appropriately for a show targeted at the advertising and marketing industries, organizers have kept the product in sync with the times.

When the first Gulf War jolted a then-prosperous industry, the show responded by creating an accompanying program of high profile seminars organized by some of the biggest names in the industry. The move helped make Cannes a learning experience, led by the best and brightest in the business.

Other innovations in the ensuing years have mirrored the industry’s evolution and expansion beyond traditional media. Having started out as a two-category competition, its organizers expanded the battlefield to 16 categories.

Branded Content and Entertainment, Mobile and a by-invitation Effectiveness Lions category were only added last year, but even on their inaugural excursion, the first two competitions drew 800 and 965 entries respectively. Easily dwarfing the 187 submissions received across two categories in 1954.

Cannes’ content innovations and move beyond film have helped it grow its appeal beyond agencies in recent years. Clients have flocked to the show to check out winning work alongside the digital crowd.

For those who flock religiously to the south of France year after year, the show’s value is clear to see. As Mayo notes: “Above all (Cannes is) a debate on what we mean by ‘creativity’ as we continue to attempt to quantify the unquantifiable.”

Photo wikipedia.org

Better with age

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C A N N E S s p ea k e r s

ANDERSON COOPER

Speakers from A to Z The Cannes Lions has assembled a veritable who’s who from the world of advertising, media, sports, entertainment, digital, design, art, fashion and photography for its 60th year

NICK EMERY

Advertising

AMIR KASSAEI

LEE CLOW Global director of media arts, TBWA\Worldwide, Chairman TBWA\Media Arts Lab Clow started at Chiat Day in Los Angeles 40 years ago and has stayed there ever since.

Along the way he has created groundbreaking work with Apple Macintosh’s ‘1984’, celebrated sports with adidas’ ‘Impossible is Nothing’ campaign and love for dogs with Pedigree’s ‘Dogs Rule’ campaign. There’s no better example of Clow’s impact on the industry than his more than 30-year partnership with the late Steve Jobs, particularly in creating the ‘Think Different’ work that heralded Apple’s rebirth.

Seminar Legends: A Million Stories

DAVID LUBARS Chairman and chief creative officer, BBDO North America Lubars is best known for hiring big-name directors and an A-list star to turn BMW commercials into mini films back in the day when branded content still meant soap operas. Under Lubars’ leadership, BBDO has become a dominant creative force in North America and the world, reaping multiple Agency of the Year wins. The office continues to make great TV ads for both Snickers and M&M’s for the Super Bowl but also the groundbreaking HBO ‘Voyeur’ multimedia campaign.

Seminar

Hemmingway, Dickens & Michelangelo: The Best Agency Ever?

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Anchor, CNN The multi awardwinning Cooper is a familiar face on CNN, anchoring presidential election night coverage, moderating presidential debates in addition to anchoring Anderson 360 and reporting for CBS’s 60 Minutes. His memoirs, Dispatches from the Edge, topped the New York Times Best Sellers List and other bestseller charts.

Seminar Time Warner Inc Presents: What Connects In Comedy

Worldwide chief creative officer DDB Worldwide Kassaei is one of the most lauded creatives in the world.

He is fond of saying, “Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion”.

He firmly believes that a person with passion, will and courage can change the world for the better. Of the business, he says, “It has never been just about advertising. Our business is marketing products, companies and relevant services – and one of our vehicles is advertising.” Iran-born and French-educated, Kassaei has filled roles from account manager to strategic planner to art director and designer at agencies such as TBWA, Barci & Partner and Springer & Jacoby. At Springer & Jacoby, he advanced from copywriter to creative director and finally to ECD on the global Mercedes-Benz and Smart accounts.

Kassaei joined DDB in 2003 and was appointed to his current role in 2011. Over the past five years, he and his team have won more than 4,000 national and international awards, including 140 Cannes Lions.

Seminar Master Classics: Enjoy The Pain

Media LAURA DESMOND

Global CEO, Starcom MediaVest Group Desmond was one of the youngest CEOs when she was appointed to lead SMG in 2008, one considered a game changer in building the media agency of the future. She has ushered in and nurtured relationships with some of the biggest and most successful marketers worldwide such as Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Kraft (Mondeléz), Mars/Wrigley, Samsung, Walmart and Microsoft.

Seminar SMG Presents TED@Cannes: There is Magic in the Future

May-June 2013

Global CEO, MindShare The co-founder of Mindshare in 1996, Emery has been working in the global media arena for 25 years. While his career history is that of a planner, Emery has worked across markets and in all areas of the media business.

Seminar How To Be More Adaptive…And Why It Will Make You More Creative

Digital NICK LAW

EVP and global chief creative officer, R/GA Law has won numerous international awards and has been widely published in the US, the UK and Asia Pacific. Within a year of joining the company, he was promoted to VP of visual design and shortly thereafter named ECD on Nike, an account that has produced some of the industry’s most innovative and high-profile work. Law has an extensive and diverse career, spanning multiple marketing disciplines – from branding and corporate identity and design before switching to advertising and then ultimately, digital marketing.

Seminar The Next Creative Revolution

AJAZ AHMED

Founder and CEO, AKQA Ahmed founded AKQA at 21 to create an ideas and invention company to help organizations embrace the digital revolution. One of the most-awarded companies in its field, AKQA counts Nike, Red Bull and Google as clients.

In his spare time, Ahmed and Nike’s head of digital sport Stefan Olander co-authored Velocity, a bestselling book about the changing business and technology landscape.

Seminar Future Lions Awards

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LOU REED

DAVID KARP

Founder, Tumblr Karp was born and raised in New York, dropping out of school at 15. An internship at Frederator Studios led to a gig leading product at UrbanBaby. When CNET acquired the company in 2005, Karp started his own development agency, Davidville. In 2007 his team launched Tumblr, now the home and platform for more than 90 million creators. As a top 10 US network, Tumblr serves an audience of more than 170 million people worldwide Seminar A Fireside Chat with David Karp

Entertainment SEAN COMBS Producer, artist, performer; CEO, founder of Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group Music has always been at the heart of ‘Diddy’ Combs’ career as a solo artist, performer and producer with four multi-platinum albums and three Grammies to his name.

He parlayed his success in music to a collection of business through relationships with MTV and HBO. Today, the multi-faceted entertainer or oversees a broad range of businesses including recording, music publishing, artist management, television and film production, recording facility, apparel, fragrance and restaurants.

Seminar Culture as a Creative Catalyst

JACK BLACK Actor, producer, musician The actor, producer, comedian, voice artist, writer, and musician is best known for his roles in High Fidelity, School of Rock, King Kong, Nacho Libre, Tropic Thunder, Bernie, and the Kung Fu Panda series. Black been nominated for two Golden Globe Awards.

Having enjoyed digital forays with the beloved shorts Drunk History and Prop 8: The Musical (among others), Electric Dynamite is officially wading into the digital pool with Ghost Ghirls for Yahoo Screen.

Black and his partner, Priyanka Mattoo, are looking forward to creating more original comedy content for internet audiences.

Seminar The New World of Online Content – Appealing to the Habits of Today’s Consumer

Musician A founding member of the legendary Velvet Underground, Reed is recognized as one of the finest songwriters around, a profound influence on modern rock music. He is also a playwright, a poet, and a photographer whose photos have been exhibited worldwide. His third photography book, Romanticism, was released in 2009. In 2010 he collaborated with artist Lorenzo Mattoti, who created a graphic novel based on Lou’s album, The Raven.

Seminar Grey Music Seminar with Lou Reed

Photography

CONAN O’ BRIEN Comedian, writer, producer, late night TV host O’Brien is firmly established in the late night comedy universe, judging by his ‘Late Night King of Cool’ title from Entertainment Weekly.

The Harvard graduate started on the writing staff of HBO’s Not Necessarily the News before moving on to Saturday Night Live, where his work won an Emmy. After failing to land the Late Night Show hosting gig, O’Brien hit the road, launching his aptly titled comedy road show, the Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour. The two-month 30city tour sold out on nearly every location.

He returned to a hosting gig with TBS for a brand new talk show. The show, Conan, premiered in November 2010.

Seminar

Time Warner Inc Presents: What Connects in Comedy

Brands

ANNIE LEIBOVITZ Photographer Leibovitz’s first major assignment was for a cover story on John Lennon. She became Rolling Stone’s chief photographer in 1973. By the time she left the magazine, 10 years later, she had shot 142 covers and published photo essays on scores of stories, including her memorable accounts of the resignation of Richard Nixon and of the 1975 Rolling Stones tour. In 1983, when she joined the staff of the revived Vanity Fair, she was established as the foremost rock music photographer and an astute documentarian of the social landscape. She also created several influential advertising campaigns, including her award-winning portraits for American Express and the Gap. Leibovitz also collaborated with many arts organisations.

She has a special interest in dance, and in 1990 documented the creation of the White Oak Dance Project with Mikhail Baryshnikov and Mark Morris.

Seminar Iconic Storytelling Frame by Frame: Annie Liebovitz, Disney and mcgarrybowen

MUHTAR KENT

Chairman/CEO, The Coca-Cola Company Kent has been with the beverage giant since 1978 in a variety of marketing and operations leadership roles across Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Active in the global business community, he is co-chair of The Consumer Goods Forum and was recently appointed as a member of the Eminent Persons Group for ASEAN by President Obama. He serves on the boards of Special Olympics International, and Ronald McDonald House Charities, among others.

Seminar

The Cannes Debate with the Coca-Cola Company

Design VIVIENNE WESTWOOD Designer and social commentator The maverick designer, social commentator, and British icon, Dame Westwood’s creativity has infused meaning into fashion, creating a revolutionary voice that allows consumers the world over to express their own personalities while maintaining a connection to her brand.

One of the most recognized and influential designers of the late 20th century, she is largely credited with bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream. Her name is synonymous with many of the most pivotal moments in British fashion, music and political history for the past 40 years.

Seminar Stories Are More Than a Narrative.

And Fashion is More Than Design

May-June 2013

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C A N N E S c o n t en d e r s

Contenders form guide

MARCUS REBESCHINI Chief Creative Officer Y&R Asia

‘DUMB WAYS TO DIE’ turns ECDs green with envy for a good reason: They’ve tipped the infectious PSA to win big at Cannes as it has at just about every global advertising show

MASAKO OKAMURA

TIN SANCHEZ

Executive Creative Director, Dentsu Tokyo

Executive Creative Director, BBDO Guerrero

Own network ‘The Ultimate Pencil: Old Man/ Flower’ for Mars Lumograph: “Well crafted. You can feel the softness of the pencil and the human heart.” ‘Reversal of Roles’ for Helpage India from Taproot India (acquired by Dentsu in 2012): “A simple idea with keen insight. Everyone on this planet should see this masterpiece. FYI, the headline is ‘When Parents Become Children’.”

Own network ‘Chase’ TVC for HomePro from

BBDO Bangkok: “Amazing stunts culminating in a really silly shopping scene. The abrupt change in the mood and tone of the story makes it hilarious.”

Own network “Honestly it’s always hard to pick what will win as you have to take in a lot of considerations. Is the judge jetlagged? Hungover from the night before at the gutter bar? Rushing their judging process so they can be outside, sunning it up? What can win nothing all year can go on to win a Gold at Cannes. Or a finalist by one agency and a similar idea go on to win a Grand Prix five years later. I’ve experienced both scenarios. I can’t pick a certain piece from the region as nearly every office has something cool, but what really interests me is we have two ideas going into this year’s new Innovation category. I believe they’re both strong contenders so I guess it comes down to the above considerations if they progress to shiny status.”

Wish I’d done that ‘Dumb Ways to Die’: “Because they could’ve done something gruesome for that brief, but instead they came up with a hypnotic material that glues you to the screen like a child watching Sesame Street.”

LOUIE SOTTO Executive Creative Director, DDB DM9JaymeSyfu Wish I’d done that ‘Dumb Ways to Die’ from

McCann Melbourne for Metro Trains: “Tough material cooked in fresh ways to create a fantastic delicious campaign. Just jealous.” Ragu ‘Bedroom’, ‘Hamster’ and ‘Cheek’ TVCs from Barton F Graf 9000: “Love it. Can sing it even though I live in Japan! This campaign reminded me why I still love TVCs.”

JOJI JACOB Executive Creative Director, DDB Singapore Own network ‘World Problems’ for waterislife.

Own network ‘Water is Life – Hashtag Killer’, DDB New York.

Wish I’d done that Zonajobs.com ‘Grandma’ from Draftfcb Buenos Aires and Kayak.com ‘Brain Surgeon’ from Barton F Graf 9000.

com by DDB New York: “Many brands have been holding open conversations on social media but ‘Water is Life’ is a smart integrated campaign that guilts people into donating money to solve real world problems rather than complaining about #firstworldproblems.

Executive Creative Director, Leo Burnett Bangkok

Wish I’d done that

Own network ‘Seek a Volunteer’ from Leo

Dove ‘Campaign for Real Beauty’ by Ogilvy Canada: “A beautiful, inspiring piece of work anchored around one of the deepest human insights.”

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SOMPAT TRISADIKUN

Burnett Melbourne

Wish I’d done that ‘Bury the Past’ from DDB

DB9JaymeSufu: “Love the idea and hope it will win.”

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Wish I’d done that “Slim pickings, I must say

for these last 12 months. ‘Dads in Briefs’, the name says it all. Hilarious and beautifully written and more so acted. ‘Nike + Fuelband’ and ‘Bridge of Life’ are some nice ideas, not to mention. ‘My Blood is Red’, ‘Homeless News’ as well as ‘Coke Download’. These are just some ideas that instantly pop into my head, which I guess is a good test of what engaged me throughout the year. But there can only be one idea I wish I’d done. Being a multiple SPCA dog owner, I really wished I had thought of ‘Driving Dogs’. I love the strategic thinking behind this campaign. The footage of the dogs driving MINIs cracks me up but, more importantly, makes me think of all the weird tricks I could teach one of these old dogs. Borderline weirdness but that’s why I love it so much. It might or might not win huge, but it’s what I wished I’d done. Save an SPCA dog and sell MINIs. Two brands I wouldn’t have expected to ever see working together. But gotta love it.”

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C A N N E S c o n t en d e r s

THIERRY HALBROTH

GUANHIN TAY

Executive Creative Director, McCann Erickson Hong Kong

Executive Creative Officer JWT

THOMAS HONG-TACK KIM Executive Creative Director, Cheil Worldwide

Own network ‘Dumb Ways to Die’ from

McCann Melbourne: “Will likely be the strongest contender to be the most awarded piece of creative worldwide and set a new record accordingly.

Just seeing the current performance it’s pulled in AdFest, Webby, D&AD, etc. There’s simply no stopping it. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime rewarding campaign that every creative director should aspire to experience. So simple, so contagious.

Right now, I’d wish my name was John Mescall.”

Wish I’d done that ‘Minewater Barcodrop’

from Cheil Korea: “The other campaign I wish I’d done.

Something that will certainly change people’s behavior. Again, so simple, brilliantly executed and another little step for the good of humanity. Very jealous.”

ALI SHABAZ Executive Creative Director Grey Singapore

Own network JWT Bangkok’s social media interactive four-part mini movie for Oriental Princess, Thailand’s largest cosmetic beauty brand: “I think this campaign is so unique is that it managed to (break) new ground for the category, adding an Asian take on the ‘femme fatale’ who aspires to have looks that can kill! The whodunit plot revolves around a male detective trying to solve a murder involving six beautiful women as suspects. As the movie unfolded, viewers were invited at certain points to click on a ‘get the look’ icon for each of the characters, which opened a seductive makeup video that showed women how to transform themselves into their favorite femme fatale. Within two weeks almost 300,000 people visited the microsite. Over 140,000 people participated in the game component and nearly 40,000 consumers watched the ‘get the look’ sequences.”

Own network ‘The Bridge of Life’ in which Cheil Worldwide partnered with Seoul City and Samsung Life Insurance and turned a bridge (a suicide black spot) into a “healing place”. The interactive bridge now has sensors on the guardrails that light up when people walk by, offering up messages of comfort, kind words and even jokes. Those messages were crafted after consultation with psychologists and suicide prevention activists. The campaign shows that there’s no need to be heavily dependent on traditional media or the internet, and that every company is a media company now.”

Own network ‘Lend An Eye’, a mobile app

that helps the visually impaired move around with freedom, from Grey Singapore. “The blind person activates the app and calls a volunteer. When the volunteer accepts the call, the blind person hangs the phone around their neck with the camera facing out Now the volunteer sees exactly where the blind person is and guides him through the live video feed. The app has made a big difference to the blind so I think it stands a chance.”

Wish I’d done that P&G’s ‘The hardest

Wish I’d done that Dove ‘Sketches’ for its

‘Campaign for Real Beauty’: “Where women get an artist to draw them as the perceive themselves and compare it with how others see them. It’s powerful and controversial. Perfect recipe for Cannes.”

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Wish I’d done that ‘Dumb Ways to Die’:

“The Sunshine Coast Daily described it as ‘the Gangnam Style’ of train safety campaigns’, ‘Dumb Ways’ captured my attention the first time I saw it. Even now as I write this, the tune is still humming in my head. I know it has already won in a few major award shows and I’m certain it will do extremely well in Cannes. Especially in film. The mark of a successful campaign are the countless spoofs it manages to generate. This is one piece of work I’d wish I had done.”

May-June 2013

job in the world is the best job in the world’ from Wieden+Kennedy: “The campaign shows everything moms do to help their children succeed. It is based on the most fundamental emotion, which is nothing new. However, the way it expresses such emotions is very refreshing and eye-catching. The strong affection between a mom and a kid is universal; therefore it is always touching and relatable.

Even without using any particular language, the campaign features international faces (both Asians and Westerns). It was also very timely, appealing to everybody in the world before and after the 2012 Olympic Games.”

CANNES J UD G ES

Returning for a new round Cannes is Fielding two Jurors from the Philippines. David Guerrero and Melvin Mangada have judged at the festival before, returning for its landmark year

David Guerrero

Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, BBDO Guerrero DAVID GUERRERO will be making his third appearance as a Cannes juror, this time to judge Outdoor entries.

Guerrero’s previous two stints were on the Radio jury. He went on to lead the Radio jury in 2007, making him the first Cannes jury head to hail from an agency in Southeast Asia.

He is set to take the reins of another panel later this year – at London International Awards’ Print, Poster and Billboard competition, making him the show’s first jury head from the Philippines.

Guerrero’s first judging stint at Cannes proved memorable for more than one reason. The first was personal: “Going on stage on the awards night and summing up the jury deliberations for the audience was fun”.

The second reason was the result of a happy coincidence: “The biggest moment was awarding a Gold Lion to JWT Manila, a first for the country,” he recounts. JWT struck gold in 2007 with the Lotus Spa campaign, created by a team comprising former (Dave Ferrer and Brandie Tan) and current (Tin Sanchez) BBDO creative talent.

Going into this year’s judging, Guerrero acknowledges what he sees as “two main ‘strains” of outdoor that the juries have identified. “The first is the classic 2D poster which relies on graphic simplicity — Jeep’s ‘Two Worlds’ or Coke’s ‘CokeHands’ — or a single relevant proposition (such as The Economist or Google Voice).

“The second is outdoor work which has been designed for people to experience such as Turner Networks ‘Push to Add Drama’ or the Oasis album launch from a couple of years ago.

“I think the outdoor category embraces both of these types without having to decide which is better than the other. From my perspective there is still a lot to be said for both approaches.

And you just have to get behind them to understand how innovative the idea is.”

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Melvin Mangada

Chief Creative Officer, TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno MELVIN MANGADA is returning for his second judging stint at Cannes this year following his last outing on the outdoor jury panel in 2011.

This time around, Mangada will be lending his ear to radio entries, a medium largely overshadowed by the more visually-led categories in major media markets. It’s a situation common to the Philippines.

“Radio as a medium is very much alive in the Philippines. There’s Teleradyo radio telecast and talk shows online,” he says.

“Despite the opportunities, I suppose there’s a bit of disinterest among the new generation of creatives in writing for radio, given the more glamorous and visual mediums available. For a writer bent on improving his craft, radio copy is definitely a good exercise.”

Radio is of course a medium that helped the Philippines win its first Cannes Gold Lion with JWT’s 2007 Lotus Spa campaign.

For his upcoming radio jury stint, Mangada says he will be looking for entries boasting “freshness and executions that move the medium forward”.

Returning to Cannes as a judge in this milestone year holds special significance to Mangada, who believes “Cannes pushes creativity forward” year after year.

“Anyone who’s been to Cannes leaves the festival inspired, raring to do the next big thing. Cannes is the one festival that navigates the future f our imagination.

“Having said that, I’ve learned that winning a Cannes Lion does not assure you of a successful career in advertising and not winning in Cannes does not mean you can’t be great in advertising. Beyond the metals, it’s what you do with what you take home from Cannes that defines you as a creative person.”

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LOGIC & MAGIC

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E X P L ORI N G POST- CANNES

Eat like a local in France Word & Photography Neal Oshima

IT’S HARD TO GET A BAD MEAL IN FRANCE Three weeks

One can easily build a meal around these deeply-flavored, meaty Coeur de boeuf tomatoes from the Saturday market in Cluny.

of driving around France with Jerome Philippon of Sommelier Selection, researching and photographing artisanal food and wine producers proved that point. At all levels, dining was excellent and, while the high-end restaurants will always be expensive, the European recession has actually lowered prices everywhere.

We found excellent food in small hotel restaurants in provincial towns where, for as little as €60, one can get a good room, with breakfast and a three-course dinner.

In Chablis, for example, at the lovely Hostellerie des Clos, the off-season etap rate was around €120, but included an immaculate room with private bathroom, a great continental breakfast and a three course dinner at their Michelin-starred restaurant.

Philippon recommends a coffee and a croissant or tarte as a good way to start the day, since in almost any neighborhood café,

May-June 2013

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CANNES LIONS 2013

I bought a wheel of organic soumaintrain cheese in the market in Cluny, that I stored in the car trunk until everything started to smell like a milder version of epoisses.

Fromagier Agour, a Basque cooperative, makes Ossau-Iranty AOC, a sheep milk cheese matured for 18 months in these caves. This cheese is a two-time Supreme Champion at the World Cheese Awards.”

tabac or roadside bar the coffee is excellent.

Later in the day, if you don’t want a full merienda or dessert but something more than just coffee, ask if they have a café gourmand, usually an espresso or cappuccino with three or four tiny one-bite desserts. For a savory snack, every town has a traiteur, selling deliciously prepared cold dishes, meats, salads, pastas and tarts that can be eaten on the run.

We found French meats to be very good, lean and tasty. The beef has much less fat and cholesterol than angus or wagyu , it’s surprisingly tender and juicy. At a very ordinary Paris bistro in the Marais, I sat at an outside table in the sun and had a great onglet steak, fries and a salad for a reasonable price. Even the hamburger I tried was excellent: Maison L’Aubrac, specializes in regional beef, cheese and vegetables. Their hamburger is made of loosely packed, lean and juicy beef, served with cheese, fries and a glass of wine, all from the L’Aubrac region of the Aveyron. Porc noix from the Pays Basque rivals the pata negra of Spain, and the milk-fed veal and lamb we saw were humanely grown.

We found excellent oysters, smoked trout and

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salmon that emerged rich and buttery from the cold Atlantic water.

Philippon notes that markets are a smart place to find good food at reasonable prices. In the fixed, daily markets of the larger cities, the weekly markets in rural towns or the neighborhood markets in the cartiers of cities like Paris, the selection is immense, the vendors are very knowledgeable. Fruits and vegetables are vine-ripe and ready to eat and there are always cheeses, cold cuts and breads to make fantastic sandwiches. I bought a wheel of organic soumaintrain cheese in Cluny, that I stored in the car trunk until everything started to smell like a milder version of epoisses (one of the stinkiest cheeses in France). My daily ritual consisted of wrapping it in another layer of plastic bag in the hope of containing its aroma until I got it to Paris. When I shared it with my hosts, we all agreed that it had been ripened perfectly.

FINDING THE BEST FOOD AND WINES Regionality has become a big issue in French food. France is a nation of tribes, each with its own language. In Brittany they often

May-June 2013

SIX VARIETIES of luscious oysters raised by Jean Luc Le Gall in the icy waters off Plougastel, Britanny, the extreme northwest tip of France.”

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JEROME PHILIPPON and organic winemaker Laurent Tribut taste recent vintages from his domaine, among oak barrels of maturing Chablis.

speak Breton among themselves and in the Pays Basque their identity with Basque culture and language often takes precedence over being French. The AOC (appellation origin controlee), now the AOP, has always been an important certification of regionality; only certain producers following strict standards can claim to use historic names like poulet de Bresse, bleu d’Auverne and even the dried Basque chili pepper is proudly AOP: piment d’Espelette. Local foods are becoming more and more important and everywhere you see restaurants, delis and markets that specialize in food from the region.

Because of the strong regional identity in France, one of the best things to ask are the local dishes. They take deep pride in serving foods from their town or district and these are invariably cheaper, fresher and tastier. Regionality applies to wines and cheeses of course, but there are also strict AOP standards for beef, lamb, veal, poultry, ham, oysters, fruits, vegetables, even salts and spices. When I’m confronted by a complicated menu, I find this question always works: “What do you recommend from this region?”. Sometimes this leads

to an extended conversation about ingredients, a trip to the kitchen or a visit by the chef.

NAVETS

FOOD TOURISM IN FRANCE

small young turnips, in the Chablis Sunday market, have a distinctive flavor the French prize.”

One of the best ways to spend your time in France is with what could be loosely termed ‘food tourism’, visiting places to see how they grow and produce foods, then devouring them.

Most provincial hotels have racks of brochures for visits to local wine and cheese makers. Some of these are free but you might be expected to pay for what you taste or purchase their products. You can learn a lot by talking to producers and participating in structured tastings. Tasting wine from a barrel and from a bottle can give insights on the vinification and the maturation process. A guided tasting of wines can teach subtle differences in terroir and variety.

Ask around to find out when nearby weekly markets are held. You can learn a lot about local foods and possibly arrange farm visits. Traditional specialty shops abound with interesting merchandise. The Athenaeum de la Vigne et du Vin in Beaune, the heart of Burgundy, is a huge bookstore in a medieval stone building, dedicat-

ed to books on wine. You can easily spend several hours here, browsing their books, maps and looking at wine paraphernalia. They also sell bottles of many of the top Burgundy wines. One recent discovery I made is a quincaillerie, sort of a cross between a hardware store and chef’s supply that also sells cleaning fluids, linens and lighting fixtures. You could say it’s the original version of a Williams-Sonoma. Quanquaillerie F. Theron in the tiny town of Villefranche-deRouergue was unbelievably quaint. In Paris, at Bon Marche, there are whole islands of salts, spices and pasta from all over the world, and their wine selection is excellent.

Finding interesting restaurants to eat in is a whole adventure in itself. The internet is a good starting point but we found it far better to ask knowledgeable locals and, above all, trust your own intuition and senses.

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hot topic / beyond screens /

BEYOND SCREENS What does the ‘post-smartphone era’ mean for interaction design and communications? / By Emily Hare

Shawn DuBravac, chief economist and director of research at the Consumer Electronics Association, told assembled attendees at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this January that we’re entering a ‘post-smartphone era’, referring to the fact that smartphones are used for ‘non-communication activities’ 65% of the time.

As the Internet of Things takes hold, all manner of products will increasingly come with an online connection. DuBravac stated that 350 million devices with IP (internet protocol) addresses will ship in 2013, meaning they can connect to a network and their location can be pinpointed. And when products such as Google Glass are available, the idea of a lamp, a fridge, a thermostat or even a lens having a digital presence will be commonplace. When any product can display the kind of information we are used to receiving from a mobile or tablet, a post-smartphone era of pervasive computing becomes a realistic possibility.

A simple iteration of this, offering a relatively unobtrusive alternative to screen-based communication, comes from a product called Good Night Lamp, currently in development at the company, based in London. The simple idea behind the product was that by turning on the larger lamp, other internet-connected small lamps in the ‘family’ around the world would light up automatically. Thanks to the light, relatives, friends or colleagues would know when each other are at home, leaving work or available for a call, for example.

Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino, founder of Good Night Lamp, told Contagious: ‘We’re not attached to the physical object of our mobile phone so much as what it allows us to do. Embedding everyday objects with computing capabilities allows us to craft the objects and use beautiful materials. Light grabs your attention in an immediate way. We are not trying to complicate that with Good Night Lamp, we believe that people will figure out what to do with this kind of platform.’

Catherine Nygaard, director of interaction design at experience design firm, Method, San Francisco, believes this switch is ‘less about smartphones and more about smart products and environments. We’re moving into smart grids and tactile environments. Everything is connected.’

contagious

INTELLIGENT ENVIRONMENTS Wearable electronics startup, mc10, in Massachusetts, has worked with Reebok to develop CheckLight, a skullcap that athletes playing impact sports can wear in their helmets. The cap is embedded with flexible sensors that will measure the impact of collisions sustained by people playing sports like American football, ice hockey or boxing. The team on the side lines or their teammates on the pitch will be alerted to the severity of an impact by a yellow or red warning LED light that clearly shows if players need to seek medical attention.

In this way, the high tech sensors and some complex computing arrive at an output that is incredibly easy to comprehend. Placing our needs and desires at the centre of these kind of interactions with technology, rather than concentrating development on the capabilities of the available devices will be key to developing services and situations that anticipate our needs and become increasingly smart the more that they are used.

Following on the path that Nest’s intelligent thermostat embarked on (see Contagious 29) is home improvement store Lowe’s Iris system, a connected hub for your home that monitors security, thermostats, doors and even moisture levels. A mobile app allows users to control and check all of their household sensors and receive text alerts when something out of the ordinary occurs. Third-party manufacturers such as Verizon and Whirlpool are slated to produce sensors that tie their products in to the ecosystem, further enhancing its reach. Anticipating future possibilities, Abbie Walsh, service design director at design consultancy, Fjord, says: ‘We increasingly expect to see sound and vibration joined by screenless touch sensors as well as touchpoints embedded into clothing, rooms and buildings.’

Dillon Butler, based in Florida, has shown just how straightforward and useful this behaviour could be in his Home Automation Control hack, which links together the Raspberry Pi computer with Siri, Apple’s voice control software. Butler’s YouTube video (under the username TheElvi-

contagious

We increasingly expect to see sound and vibration joined by screenless touch sensors as well as touchpoints embedded into clothing, rooms and buildings.

Abbie Walsh, Fjord sImprsntr) shows Siri being used to control his garage door, living room lights, home security system, thermostat and to check his security cameras. Over on Raspberry Pi’s chat forums, other coders are sharing their instructions and code so that any capable owner of the microcomputer could hook up their electronic goods and create this kind of system.

DESIGN IMPLICATIONS Walsh believes this type of connection between products and users will throw up new challenges for interaction designers, marketers and manufacturers: ‘As digital becomes an invisible layer in all areas of our lives, designing for the post-screen era will require new concepts, skills and thinking.

Designers will need to adapt in order to design for the next wave of technology. Without screens, it will be harder to grab the attention of the user and we will need to learn to design for partial and peripheral attention.’

This internet-enabled shift will mean that intelligent environments and systems can learn from us, gaining feedback and adapting their responses depending on the date, time and circumstances in which they are used. Method’s Nygaard says: ‘Brands and designers need to think about how the experience is the brand, which means our experience needs to consider a larger ecosystem and a more connected consumer or user journey.’ In a nutshell, ‘everything we do and think about now is about context, the physical environments and the underlying services that accompany them.’

This article originally appeared in issue 34 of Contagious Magazine / www.contagiousmagazine.com

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Downtime

Industry odds and ends

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AD ALIKE /AD NAUSEAM

It’s not often we get a twofer: This Hyundai TVC is a repeat of a repeat that manages to be just as offensive as the first time it was attempted. All three spots are built around the idea that suicide by carbon monoxide inhalation is impossible with these autos’ low emissions. Whoever thought these were clever should be put out of their misery.

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Hyundai Title ‘Pipe Job’ (2013) Agency Innocean 02

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Audi Title ‘A5 Suicide’ (2009) Agency SPEC (Not approved or paid for) 03

Citroen Title ‘Suicide by Car’ (2002) Agency EURO RSCG Wnek Gosper

Krokis #2

OUT AND A B OUT

TeamManila’s underground bike race is a hit with the two-wheeled crowd.

Photos:

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Jowee Alviar

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Fixed-gear enthusiasts from all over the Metro converged in the Fort

May-June 2012

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One of the shirts given to the first 20 riders to arrive

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D O W NT IME

RESTAURANT RE V I E W

Photos: 01 Philippine nouvelle cuisine at the new Lakwatsa in Nottinghill, London 02 Delectable Pinoy merienda on the next table in Lakwatsa, London 03 Kimi in her Team Manila tee by the Scrabble-tiled menu board

A review of the best eating places in town and around the world Words Kimi Lim

Lakwatsa

Nottinghill, London, UK

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LONDON, like any other cosmopolitan metropolis, is the city of a million cuisines. But, Filipino food is shockingly underrepresented despite the 100,000-something population of Filipino origin.

A search on Urbanspoon reveals that in the entire Greater London area, there are only eight restaurants that purport to serve Filipino food. Having sampled five of them at last count, it’s safe to say that none have stood out as much as Lakwatsa does. This relative newcomer is making waves with Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike.

Lakwatsa is a bubble tea and meriendahan lounge based in the chic Notting Hill area. The décor features lots of wood, soft colours and a homey feel as if emblemizing the warmth and hospitality of Filipino culture. The menus are coloured cards on clipboards; the bubble tea menu is spelled out in Scrabble tiles. Lakwatsa runs a loyalty card scheme for drinks and polaroids of frequent lakwatseros are placed on a wall next to their cards. The restaurant has gained popularity among couples and small groups in the area looking for cozy places to chill out.

The bubble tea is served in jars with large straws and offers a refreshing and light taste, with plentiful amounts of sago to chew on. For those who are peckish, the menu offers “light bites” such as lumpia shanghai, turon, halo halo

and adobo rice balls which are served in perfectly snackable and shareable portions for cheap eats.

It is also the only place in London which makes and serves pandesal, fresh on the premises.

Having only been in operation since November, Lakwatsa is a promising eatery with the potential to become the next big thing. A Filipino can only hope that Lakwatsa may be credited with the introduction of bringing the term merienda to the attention of London and the rest of the country.

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AD MEN ENTER THE DUNGEON MRM’S Budjette Tan and Bow Guerrero, along with PerkComm’s J.B Tapia (see illustration at far left), show off their creative prowess with the release of their new book, Mikey Reico & the Secret of the Demon Dungeon, being the first volume in a new series: The Dark Colony. A trailer for the book is up on YouTube!

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Events Calendar June 4 adobo Maincourse ‘Winning A War of Hearts’

by Christel Quek

July 11-12 7th Annual Publishing Convention

www.adobomagazine.com/maincourse

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The Mind Museum, BGC ----

June 13-14 Ad Tech Singapore

Suntech Singapore International Convention & Exhibit Center www.ad-tech.sg

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Manila, Philippines

www.publishingconvention.com

July 25 4As Agency of the Year www.agencyoftheyear.com.ph

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July 31 4th CMO Asia Awards for Excellence in Branding & Marketing Pan Pacific, Singapore www.cmoasia.org

June 16-22 Cannes Lions Festival Cannes, France

www.canneslions.com

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August 22-24 Ad Stars 2013 Busan, Korea www.adstars.org

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June 20-22 18th Graphic Expo 2013 SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia, Pasay City

www.fmi.com.ph/events/graphicexpo-2013

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June 26-28 Mobile Asia Expo: Connecting The Future Shanghai, China

sales@mobileasiaexpo.com

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May-June 2012

September 15-17 Spikes Asia 2013 Suntec, Singapore

www.spikes.asia/festival

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