MANILA, PHILIPPINES– Last weekend, a new campaign seen on TV and social media caught many off guard.
It seemed simple and straightforward enough as it begins with a sunrise with buildings in the foreground before lights on a street turn off to signal the morning has arrived. That’s when the words “Aangat tayo muli” are first heard.
With an overall message of waking up to a new morning after being in hibernation for so long, the campaign shows that although things may start returning to normal, the world has definitely changed. Yet some of the strongest images that the campaign may have shown is the image of brands that are often on opposite sides suddenly appearing together.
By no means was this a small feat and TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno was the agency tasked to bring the campaign to life. In an adobo magazine exclusive, TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno Chief Creative Officer and Managing Partner Melvin Mangada shares how this inter-company, inter-brand campaign was crafted.
“Task Force T3 was formed during the early weeks of the pandemic by a multisectoral group from private companies and representatives of the government,” he says. “Its objective is to collaborate on three actions urgently needed: Teach, Trace, and Treat.”
“The group recognized the importance of communications to inform the public about safety measures as well as a need to transform the current consumer mindset to rebuild trust and consumer confidence. Margot Torres of McDonald’s and George Royeca of Angkas, both active in Task Force T3, were assigned the communications part and pulled in TBWA to help create strategies and materials for the campaign,” he continues.
The objective of the ad was straightforward in its simplicity: restart the economy by restoring consumer confidence. That simplicity, however, hid a difficult task because Filipinos were paralyzed by fear about the pandemic that was fueled by the social media buzz on rising COVID-19 cases and deaths.
“Clearly, the challenge was to strike a delicate balance between safety and vigilance (Ingat) and optimism and consumer confidence (Angat). Thus, the line,” Mangada explains.
“The agency started on the strategy and creative work early July and concepts were ready after a week,” he notes. “Several series of presentations followed, to government agencies including Congressional representatives, entrepreneurs, broadcast, publishing, media, and online platform vendors.”
“We pitched the project to brands and corporations on two consecutive nights of presentations. A few brands committed on the same night. This was followed by numerous micro-meetings with clients that expressed interest to participate. Production started in September,” he says.
“Representatives from different brands were invited to attend the pitch presentations,” Mangada bares before noting that, “It was not difficult convincing them to participate because they believed in the cause. Brands were not screened so it was open to all – even competing brands. In the end, having rival brands together in the scenes helped drive the message of unity.”
Too often, it takes a major event to unite companies, brands, or entities that either have nothing similar among them or are competing for the same audience. In this instance, with the objective of reviving the dormant economy while observing new safety protocols, that certainly holds true.
The images and message in this initial ad are so powerful without being blatant or overwhelming because in the end, the message of unity and rising up once more is something that everyone can get behind.
‘INGAT ANGAT’ script written by Marci Reyes
Aangat tayo muli
Ito ang paniniwalang ating panghahawakan.
Sa ngayon, pangamba at pagdududa ang pumipigil sa ating ibalik ang dating buhay.
Pero aangat tayo muli.
Dahil may isang bagay na hindi kayang kunin ng Covid sa atin.
Ito ang ating pagiging matibay at determinado.
Tayo ang laging hindi natitinag ng bagyo, lindol, baha, at pagsabog ng bulkan.
Paulit-ulit bumabangon ilang beses man gulpihin ng sakuna.
Kaya … aangat tayo muli.
Kakayanin natin muli ito.
Sa palaging pag suot ng mask at face shield,
pag hugas ng kamay at pagpapanatili ng distansiya, hindi mo lang inaalagaan ang iyong sarili kung hindi pati na rin ang mga nakapaligid sa iyo.
Sundan natin ang mga ito at magkasamang salubungin ang sikat ng araw sa mga paborito nating lugar.
Walang kasiguraduhan ang mga darating na araw. Ang sigurado lang ay kapag isinapuso natin ang pag iingat, aangat tayo muli.
INGAT ANGAT TAYONG LAHAT.
CREDITS:
Clients: Task Force T3 Spearheaded by Margot Torres & George Royeca
TBWA: Overall in charge of the project from strategy, all creative materials including digital, coordination with 31 clients, financials
Creatives: Melvin Mangada, Marci Reyes, John Ed De Vera, Greg Hernandez, James Mendoza;
Accounts: Portia Catuira, Kara Filamor, Paulie De Lunan
Planners: Jimmy Santiago, Rj Paculan, Josef Montinola
Media Agency: Omnicom Media Group (OMG) Mary Buenaventura, Carla Cifra and team
PR : EON Richard Arboleda, Vikki Luta and team
Website : Nuworks, Jeff Saez and team
Production : Pabrika, Director Joel Limchoc and team, Slingshot, Steve Vesagas
