PATTAYA, THAILAND – Asia’s only international creative festival, ADFEST, announced the first round of finalists for the 2025 Lotus Awards. The Philippines secured 20 finalist spots, with GIGIL leading the pack with eight. VML Philippines and Leo Burnett Manila followed with three each, while Ogilvy & Mather Manila landed two. TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno, BBDO Guerrero, DDB Group Philippines, and MullenLowe TREYNA each earned one.
Here’s a breakdown of the Philippine-based agencies and their finalist spots:
- GIGIL — eight finalist spots
- Leo Burnett Manila — three finalist spots
- VML Philippines — three finalist spots
- Ogilvy & Mather Manila – two finalist spots
- BBDO Guerrero — one finalist spot
- TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno — one finalist spot
- MullenLowe Treyna Manila — one finalist spot
- DDB Group Philippines — one finalist spot
GIGIL
GIGIL dominated this year’s Lotus Awards, securing eight finalist spots across multiple categories. Five of these came from their Summer campaign for Grab, which earned two Film Lotus finalist spots and one Effective Lotus finalist spot.
Meanwhile, their Sim Registration campaign for TNT also landed an Effective Lotus finalist spot, while Steal for Mandaue Foam earned a Film Lotus finalist spot. Rounding out their strong showing, Gigil’s viral Skyro Loan billboard campaign was named a finalist in the Media Lotus category.
- Summer (Grab)
- Effective Lotus: Campaign Success
- Film Lotus: Online Film, Business & Commercial Public Services
- Film Lotus: Online Film, Viral Film
- Digital & Social Lotus: Film Series, Social Film
- Digital & Social Lotus: Social Engagement, Brand Storytelling
- Steal (Mandaue Foam)
- Film Lotus: Online Film, Retail
- Billboards (Skyro Loan)
- Media Lotus: Use of Media, Use of Print & Conventional Outdoor
- Sim Registration (TNT)
- Effective Lotus: Customer Acquisition & Retention
Leo Burnett Manila
Leo Burnett Manila secured three finalist spots at this year’s Lotus Awards for its work with McDonald’s Philippines. Their Night Classrooms campaign earned two finalist spots, one in Brand Experience and another in PR. Meanwhile, Ride The Arches, which transformed McDonald’s stores into cycling and refueling stations for bikers and cycling enthusiasts, landed a Direct Lotus finalist spot.
- Night Classrooms (McDonalds’ Philipppines)
- Brand Experience Lotus: Use of Media, In-Store Experience
- PR Lotus: Implementation, Corporate Image & Corporate Social Responsibility
- Ride The Arches (McDonalds’ Philipppines)
- Direct Lotus: Use of Direct, Field Marketing
VML Philippines
VML Philippines scored three finalist spots at this year’s Lotus Awards for its work on KitKat Break Bar, earning recognition in the Brand Experience, Media, and Outdoor categories.
Recognizing the resourceful way Filipino businesses use everyday objects as makeshift door barricades when needing a short break, the campaign ingeniously reimagines KitKat as a purpose-built break-time signal. Specially designed KitKat Break Bars are slid between door handles, serving as a quirky yet effective way to indicate a temporary closure, allowing employees to take a quick, undisturbed rest.
Proving to be a winning creative duo, VML Philippines and KitKat continue their momentum after securing two nominations at last year’s Lotus Awards for their Punctuation Breaks: Comma campaign.
- KitKat Break Bar (KitKat)
- Brand Experience Lotus: Use of Media, Ambient: Small Scale
- Media: Use of Media, Ambient: Small Scale
- Outdoor: Use of Media, Ambient: Small Scale
Ogilvy & Mather Manila
Ogilvy & Mather Manila’s This is an IKEA store was shortlisted on two categories Media and Outdoor Lotus. They created almost 1,000 retail “sampling” locations all over the country that led Filipino shoppers to IKEA.ph.
Within three months, 927 new “IKEA stores” were created across online and offline touchpoints. They brought IKEA to Filipinos by taking over salons, gyms, clinics, beaches, resorts, camping sites, and even Grab cars — turning them into IKEA stores through a QR code that led shoppers to purchase via IKEA.ph.
- This is an IKEA store (IKEA)
- Media Lotus: Use of Guerilla Marketing & Stunts
- Outdoor Lotus: Events, Guerilla Marketing & Stunts
BBDO Guerrero
BBDO Guerrero’s Mountain Dew’s Dew Battle, which also earned a Audio & Radio Bronze Lion (Sound Design) at Cannes Lions, bagged a finalist spot at the Radio & Audio Lotus category.
The spot emulates a realistic gaming scenario, using only one word, “DEW,” the nickname for the brand popularly used by gamers. At the heart of the idea is using sound to link the brand with one of its core audiences. BBDO Guerrero worked with sound designers, voice talents, and musicians to create authentic gaming audio environments using only the human voice, vocalizing a single word.
- Dew Battle (Mountain Dew)
- Radio & Audio Lotus: Radio Spots, Consumer Goods
TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno
TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno secured a Film Lotus finalist spot for Baha for Breakfast, their campaign for the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV).
- Baha for Breakfast (Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting)
- Film Lotus: Broadcast, Public Services & Cause Appeals
DDB Group Philippines
DDB Group Philippines’ film Family Business: Play, created for the Philippine Commission on Women, has earned a finalist spot in the Film Craft Lotus category.
- Family Business ‘Play’
- Film Craft Lotus: Production, Directing
MullenLowe TREYNA
Closing the list, MullenLowe TREYNA snagged a Digital & Social Lotus finalist spot for SCOLIOSIS #STRIPESFITCHECK, their campaign for the Scoliosis Philippines.
- Scoliosis #StripesFitCheck (Scoliosis Philippines)
- Digital & Social Lotus: Content & Influencers, Organic Reach and Influence
ADFEST 2025 is being held from March 20 to March 22, 2025 at the Pattaya Exhibition And Convention Hall (PEACH), Royal Cliff Hotels Group, Pattaya, Thailand.
adobo Magazine is an official media partner of ADFEST 2025.
