MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Finding inspiration in the overlooked can be as simple as seeing at what’s in front of you, said Ogilvy Philippines Executive Creative Director Chino Jayme at the 4As Philippines‘ General Members Meeting on August 06.
“Whenever we get a brief, we just think about ‘How will I solve this?’ ‘How will I do it?’ ‘How will we submit it?’ ‘How will we make it successful?’ – That’s it but to be honest. Real work is something that we overlook every day and we don’t think about,” defining it as the direct briefs clients give them, vis-à-vis the initiatives that willingly come on one’s accord.
“It’s easier to produce award-winning work in everyday work,” he said while adding the context that there is an increasing awareness among clients on awards, competition, and partnership. It was not always the case before social media made it apparent what rival brands do, how people react, and which work gets recognized.
On initiatives, he said that “there is something good about suggesting or offering to a client what you think will also work so this is still definitely a good thing” but rallying support, production, and execution can be difficult because it requires double the resources and the effort.
While some can describe real work as “work that feeds our stomachs and the initiatives are works that feed our mind,” Chino argues that it can function as both. To work on campaigns with evolving craft saves time, mind, and manpower. Especially when a case film has to be made, the work gets even more filtered to a fine point of everything coming together. Bringing assurance, Chino said that the initiatives will still be there after everything.
The caveat is that “not every brief is a potential award winner” but it can’t be dismissed. He advised, “you’ve got to think about everything that you get and see if there is an opportunity there because there definitely is.”
More so if the work yields results, it can also be the doorway to initiatives. “A winner from real work — that’s something that the client takes much pride in and I think it’s something that strengthens partnerships.”
“If you are able to change or affect culture, if you’re able to change the way people think, then I think that deserves an award.”
Exemplified by Ogilvy’s recent Silver Media Lion winner (which came from real work), Chino pushes the point that sometimes hitting two birds with one stone only takes pouring the same amount of love for initiatives into the real work.
If the work is spectacular — the “real work” — then the awards will follow.
