MANILA – January 3, 2014 – In the November-December issue of adobo Magazine, we remember the creative highlights of 2013.
1 – Grand Prix Coup – 2013 will surely go down as a high point in DM9JaymeSyfu’s short history. The seven-year-old shop nabbed the country’s first-ever Cannes Grand Prix with its wonderfully low-tech ‘Smart TXTBKS.’ The entry pipped snazzier rivals for the mobile prize, a category agencies are keen to prove their mettle, before going on to snap up two Grand Prix awards for Mobile and PSA at Ad Stars and two more – Direct and Mobile – at Spikes. Cannes Mobile Jury President Rei Inamoto said it best summing up ‘TXTBKS’: "This Grand Prix may noy be the most sexy piece…but it is definitely one of the most beautiful pieces I’ve ever seen…it gives knowledge to every child in this country…it actually has a chance to change the world."
2 – Metals Boom – The year was also the country’s best-ever outing on the awards circuit. Local agencies triumphed across the season, from AME, with DDB winning the country’s first-ever Gold for ‘Pacquiao Positive,’ to the Webby, with TBWA\SMP taking the People’s Voice Vote for ‘ t of Life.’ Agencies also came home with Golds and other metals from Clio (Ace Saatchi & Saatchi for ‘Tiger Energy Playground’) FAME (TBWA for ‘KNOxOUT Project Edsa’), Cannes (Ace Saatchi’s double Golds for ‘Screen-Age Love Story’ and JWT for Schick’s ‘Icons’) and Spikes (BBDO Guerrero for Department of Tourism’s ‘It’s More Fun’).
3 – Gunn Acclaim – Thanks to BBDO Guerrero, a Philippine agency has for the first time cracked the Gunn Report Top 50 Most Awarded Agencies in the World index. Campaigns such as PepsiCo/ MyShelterFoundation’s ‘Liter of Light,’ Saridon’s ‘Persistent Headaches’ and Department of Tourism’s viral sensation ‘It’s More Fun in the Philippines’ propelled the office into 49th place globally and helped BBDO to pole position in the Big Won country ranking. ‘Liter of Light’ also received special commendation in Gunn’s Media Report for its creativity, innovation, and results. On top of that, BBDO dominated the Kidlat competition, captured its fourth Agency of the Year crown plus Best in Market Performance and Digital Excellence plates at the annual 4As tilt and ‘It’s More Fun in the Philippines’ took the 2013 Warc Prize for Asian Strategy.
4 – Unstoppable Force – John Mescall and his McCann Melbourne team are without doubt the toast of the global industry this year, thanks to an animated music video cum PSA that became a pop-culture phenomenon. The combination of an insanely catchy tune, offbeat lyrics such as ‘Use your private parts as piranha bait’ and cast of characters dying in absurd ways delivered more than 55 million views, spawned countless spoofs and made ‘Dumb Ways to Die’ a darling on the awards circuit. It swept Cannes and D&AD to become the most-awarded campaign at both competitions, grabbed Clio’s Best of Show, Webby wins and earned a TED citation to boot.
5 – People’s Choice – Speaking of Webby Awards, TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno’s wonderfully touching ‘ t of Life’ captured the People’s Voice vote at what is the Oscars for the web community. With funding from Energizer, the agency produced a short online film about a love story between a doll and a robot to support non-profit organization Manikako. ‘ t of Life’ had earlier won awards from AdFest to Kidlat, earning more than five million views without having to spend a centavo on media.
6 – Adboard Fall-out – For the Advertising Board and its chair Bienvenido ‘Nonoy’ Niles Jr., 2013 was without doubt an anus horribilis. A membership crisis that started in late 2012 reduced its ranks further this year when the 4As took a leave of absence within months of the Philippine Association of National Advertisers (PANA). The Advertising Suppliers’ Association of the Philippines (ASAP) left soon after. Having lost its largest members, AdBoard was forced to cancel the 23rd Advertising Congress, usually held at this time of the year, rather than go ahead without its largest members and in the shadow of 2010’s Ad Summit Pilipinas, the 4As new creative pow-wow. The cancellation was unprecedented: AdCon had previously been held without fail since its founding, surviving even the turbulent aftermath of Senator Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Aquino Jr.’s assassination in 1983, only to be hobbled by this year’s membership crisis.
7 – Creative Mash-up – Philippine agencies joined forces with overseas counterparts to create campaigns that played well locally. In first, Ogilvy Manila partnered with the network’s Mumbai office and hit the sweet spot for Cadbury with ‘Roadtrip.’ No wrong turns with Guns N’Roses’ memorable power ballad, ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine.’
8 – It Takes a Village – This year’s Kidlat Awards went beyond the creative department to also honor the rest of the village responsible for championing creativity. In addition to its usual slate of creative department honors, the Creative Guild introduced five new categories, most of which went to BBDO Guerrero, which emerged as the show’s Most Creative Agency. New categories included the Creative Client of the Year (won by BBDO client, the Department of Tourism), Creative Planner (BBDO’s Cristine Buenaventura), Creative Account Executive (BBDO’s Iking Uy), Top Creative Producer (BBDO’s Al Salvador) and Production Partner (Tower of Doom).
9 – Networks of the Year – Ogilvy & Mather was in sizzling form at Cannes, becoming the first agency ever to win more than 100 Lions in one year. Its record-breaking haul of 155 Lions included the network’s first-ever Creative Effectiveness Award, and its first-ever Titanium and Integrated Grand Prix. Lions were won across 29 countries, helping Ogilvy to effortlessly retain the Network of the Year honor at Spikes, after agencies in seven markets delivered eight Grand Prix prizes and a massive haul of Gold and other metals, while Melbourne – the ‘Dumb Ways to Die’ office – added another Agency of the Year award to its mantle.
10 – Cannes Chat – Advertising legends George Lois and Lee Clow traded war stories in their tete-a-tete at Cannes’ 60th outing. In their own inimitable way, the blunt New Yorker and the laid-back Californian delivered some comforting words to an industry desperately in need of some reassurance. "The name of the game isn’t technology. The name of the game is creativity," Lois intoned, while Clow reminded the audience "When the camera was invented, artists didn’t just throw away their brushes and start taking pictures."
For more stories, view the digital edition of adobo magazine on ISUU, or grab a copy on newsstands.
