James Bernardo joins Bates 141 Manila as ECD

PHILIPPINES, MARCH 4, 2011 – Bates 141 Manila has announced the end of its search for an executive creative director. James Bernardo joined the agency this month from Bates 141 sister company Ogilvy, where he was Head of Copy and Creative Director. 

 

Bates 141 Manila CEO Angel Antonio dispels the rumor that it was hard to find a replacement for former ECD Joey Ong, who moved to DDB Philippines in January: "There were a lot of names to choose from, but I only talked to three. I really fell in love with all of them." Through discussions with the senior members of the Bates 141 team and regional creative head Sonal Dabral, who were all heavily involved in the selection process, Bernardo emerged the right man for the job.

"It was a mutual attraction," said Antonio of the relationship between Bernardo and the agency. "At Bates 141, we are strong with on-ground, experiential, digital, retail marketing… The idea of new media appealed to him." 

 

"It’s where advertising is going," agrees Bernardo. "I am excited with the prospect of engaging consumers in that way, having been in ATL for a long time. It’s a new playing field with a different set of rules. That’s the strongest reason for the move." 

 

He describes the transition "very easy", especially because he has been a neighbor–Bates 141 and Ogilvy are in the same building and share certain resources. "I hope the working relationship of Bates 141 and Ogilvy becomes stronger," says Bernardo. 

 

The choice was made with the blessing of both Joey Ong and Ogilvy Country Head Randy Aquino. "It’s sad that James, who is well-loved and respected in our Agency, is leaving. He was instrumental in developing very successful Tang campaigns and some award-winning work. We are, however, proud and delighted that a sister WPP Agency, Bates 141, will benefit from his professionalism and very good people and creative skills. We all wish him success in his new role," said Aquino.

 

Bernardo has big shoes to fill and there will be expectations for him to match Bates 141 Manila’s performance over the past year, which includes wins at Spikes Asia and the AWARD Awards for Tulakabataan.

 

A Journalism graduate of the University of Santo Tomas, Bernardo got his start in advertising by accident. In the past 20 years, he has built his career first as a copywriter at Ace Saatchi & Saatchi, working on accounts such as Ayala Land, Petron, Purefoods and Safeguard, winning awards and new business along the way. In 1993, he was appointed creative group head at Lintas (now Lowe), where he rose to creative director. He returned to Ace Saatchi & Saatchi and became global base unit head creative for P&G’s Safeguard brand in Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.

 

Moving to Saatchi & Saatchi Jakarta, Bernardo helped the agency become Creative Agency of the Year at Citra Pariwara. After his Indonesian stint, he returned to the Philippines to join BBDO Guerrero Ortega, handling Bayantel, Mitsubishi and Ayala Land. He joined Ogilvy & Mather in 2008, handling Kraft, Pond’s and Vaseline.

 

A regular of the industry’s music-related events, Bernardo also moonlights as a DJ and fronts for the funk rock band, Pasok Mga Bwitre.