MANILA, PHILIPPINES — CreativeFest and the Kidlat Awards are gearing up for a big comeback with an impressive slate of speakers and jurors, gathering the most prominent names in creativity in and out of the Philippines for the May 10 festival. With the Creative Guild‘s theme of “Hypercreativity” this year, attendees can expect a celebration of what creativity in business entails today, honoring the evolution it has undertaken to cater to the industry’s ever-evolving needs.
“From being just a writer or art director, young creatives [are now called] to be multi-disciplined, specializing in something beyond their primary skills; many are accomplished or even have careers in music, film, gaming entertainment, tech, and more,” a statement from the Creative Guild read.
Left to right: Maan Baustista (VML Manila ECD), Young Competition Director; Jao Bautista (Propel Manila ECD), Young Competition Director; Nikki Sunga (BBDO Guerrero CD), PR and Social Director; Nolan Fabular (Octopus and Whale Co-Founder), Design and Website Director; Angie Tijam-Tohid (Havas Ortega Group ECD), Guild President; Chino Jayme (Ogilvy Philippines ECD), PR and Social Director; John Ed De Vera (TBWA\SMP ECD), Design and Website Director; Karen Parreño (SOCIALIXM Managing Director), Ways and Means Director; Gary Amante (Dentsu Creative ECD), Competition Director; Jenny Nadong (FCB Manila CCO), Competition Director; not in photo – Jay Lim (HAVAS Media Group COO), Ways and Means Director
These demands to be hypercreative in more than one field are a direct effect of industry changes that have happened over the past half-decade. “From the rise of the bedroom creative to the integration of AI, the landscape has opened up countless new ways to develop creativity,” the statement furthered.
Thus, this year’s CreativeFest and Kidlat Awards will be held with the spirit of hypercreativity in mind, powering up an engaging day with insightful sessions in the morning and an exciting awards show in the evening.
To make this year even greater, 4As Philippines has secured three international creative leaders in its lineup to stand as Jury Presidents in a few of this year’s categories. All three globally recognized creatives are also set to grace the CreativeFest stage with their own speaking engagements:
Joji Jacob (Singapore)
Singapore-based creative Joji Jacobs is set to lead this year’s Creativity for Good, Creativity in Strategy & Effectiveness, and the inaugural Creativity UNLMTD category, lending his expertise as Regional Chief Creative Officer of Havas Southeast Asia and North Asia, and Creative Partner & Co-founder of BLKJ Havas Singapore.
Joji’s insights on these categories are invaluable, especially coming from Singapore’s Most Influential Creative Director, as dubbed by the Institute of Advertising Singapore and Southeast Asia’s Creative Person of the Year by Campaign, two years in a row.
In his regional capacity, Joji helps oversee the creative output of the Havas offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, India, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and the Philippines. He is also the Chair of Havas’s APAC Creative Council, and a member of the Global Creative Council.
On top of his jury duties, Joji will also lead a talk on “How common sense marketing makes no sense any more.”
Park Wannasiri (Bangkok, Thailand)
With a 16-year track record in the advertising business, Park Wannasiri takes the seat as Jury President for Film Craft, leading the jury of production and film creation leaders to handpick the most impressive works from this year’s entries. Park is currently the Chief Creative Officer of VML Thailand, and has been on the jury for several ad shows such as Cannes Lions, Spikes Asia, and ADFEST.
Park is known to look for the unconventional in every brief, encouraging imaginations to run wild with free-format ideas that are creatively-engaging, and business-solving. This is his trademark philosophy which has been influential in his work with regional and global clients such as PepsiCo, Carlsberg, Smirnoff, Heineken, Honda, Shell, Netflix, KFC, and more. Furthermore, his work has been awarded across multiple categories in every major advertising show, including Cannes Lions, D&AD, Spikes, The One Show, Clio and many more.
He will also be at CreativeFest for his talk “The Hyper Hacks.”
Thomas Hongtack Kim (Seoul, South Korea)
Finally, Thomas completes the list of foreign Jury Presidents and speakers at this year’s show, flying from Seoul to Manila. He is leading the jury room this year as Jury President for the Classic Creativity and Engagement categories.
Thomas is the Founder of 2KG Creative Solutions Lab, and Chief Creative Officer at “Paulus” Meta Creative Collective. Prior to this role, he has worked across the globe with roles in New York, Beijing, and Shanghai, cultivating a portfolio of client work that spans markets and cultures. Perfectly in tune with the hypercreativity theme, Thomas himself is an expert of various mediums, specializing in architecting digital, social and CSR platforms for practical solutions. He focuses on addressing various environmental and social issues in collaboration with UN organizations, NGOs, corporates, and universities.
He has also received awards and served as a judge in some of the industry’s biggest festivals such as Cannes Lions, D&AD, One Show, LIA, ADFEST, and more, and was also the first to judge the SGD Pencil created by the UN and The One Show for his work on environmental and social issues.
Delegates can look forward to his CreativeFest talk, “Grand Purpose for Sustainability Through Creative + Technology.”
This year’s CreativeFest and Kidlat Awards will be held on May 10 at the Ayala Museum, Makati.
Send a message at secretariat@4asphilippines.com, 4asp@pldtdsl.net, or 09175222427 to secure your spot.
adobo Magazine is an official media partner of CreativeFest and Kidlat Awards 2024.
