MANILA – The Better Than Ever Raw School gathered some of the industry’s most prominent and experienced creatives to give a “Creative Brief History of Philippine Advertising” in what was comically called the series’ most boring session.
Held at B-Side, The Collective, the class featured Raw School principal Third Domingo, CEO of Ideas X Machina, who explained the role of advertising beyond selling to people. He said that it can touch people, teach them values, change culture, and even make history.
Meanwhile, senior executive officer for creative of Publicis JimenezBasic, Alex Castro, took the audience down his memory lane. From his beginnings as a copywriter in JR&A, he recalled the processes of ad making in the 70s and 80s. He mentioned difficulties relative to the current digital age—from being unable to playback videos during shoots to using correction fluid, or “liquid paper”, for editing paperwork. More comparisons were made about creative awards and global opportunities for the Filipino adman during his talk.
DBB’s creative director Bobby Vito, who stood out in his all-black get-up, talked about “Ang Pagtanda Sa Advertising” (Growing Old in Advertising). He compared the differences in the industry then and now, adding his insights. For instance, he said that when it comes to gathering information—what used to be manually searched in books, can now be found using Google. The insight he gave was that there isn’t an excuse for not knowing anymore.
Creative director JJ Henson from Publicis Manila still remembers the exact date he entered advertising—December 1, 1991. Unlike the other speakers who used PowerPoint presentations, Henson used a board and sheets of white paper as visual aids. Although much has changed technologically, he stressed that “how we produce ideas is the same.” He also shared how he learned from James Webb Young’s A Technique for Producing Ideas, a book he swears by.
The class ended with a the brief question and answer portion, which was followed by a Lakihan Mo Logo concert featuring Kamikazee and Typecast. The graffiti-lined walls of the venue, along with the energetic punk and post-hardcore music, were an added bonus to the learning night for creative minds.
