MANILA – DM9JaymeSyfu chief creative officer Merlee Jayme took to the stage on the Ad Summit’s second day to present her talk, ‘When Creativity Meets Humanity”. Fresh from her agency’s spectacular performance at the New York Festivals for its ‘SmartTXTBKS’ initiative, Jayme opened with a brief introduction about how her experiences growing up had shaped her into someone who believed in tempering her work with her conscience, citing her time as a Benedectine novice as a primary influence. “Creativity actually makes a difference to humanity,” she said.
Jayme then proceeded to present the latest iteration of their multi-Grand Prix-winning entry. The reason for the campaign’s success, stressed Jayme, was an unwavering belief in the power of the human heart partnered with the creative mind. The resulting “responsible creativity”, said Jayme, was the truest representation of the Summit’s theme of ‘Enlightenment’, as well as indicative of the industry’s direction as a whole. At the end of the day, said Jayme, sincerity was key. “The creative mind can do wonders. But never underestimate the power of the creative heart,” she said.
Jayme showed Summit delegates an update on ‘TXTBKS’, wherein the original concept of condensing educational material for easy viewing on obsolete phones had been expanded by applying it to storybooks for orphanages. In addition, shared Jayme, DM9 was actively collaborating with international organizations to produce localized versions of ‘TXTBKS’ in other developing areas, such as South Africa’s Limpopo.
The latter half of Jayme’s talk was spent familiarizing her audience with DM9’s latest campaigns created with “humanity” in mind. The first one, for Caritas, was called ‘D/Date, and built around the notions that a) most people, on average, only wear about 20% of what’s in their closets, b) most people only donate after calamities strike and c) when people do donate, they equate collection centers as garbage dumps for everything from prom gowns and costumes to single shoes. Working with Team Manila, DM9 was able to introduce the notion of ‘Donate By’ tags on clothes that would let consumers know when it was time to be altruistic. A proven success, the concept is now being explored by other clothing labels.
“It was easy to start the project with Team Manila because they’re small, and can print their own designs quickly, but now we’re looking at national-wide, or even international brands. We’re still in the logistics phase now,” she said.
Finally, Jayme presented ‘Pocket Fire Extinguisher’, a project the agency had undertaken in partnership with the City of Las Piñas) to solve the problem of fire prevention in slum areas, where fire trucks would have difficulty reaching in times of emergency. Produced in sachet-form, the extinguishers work by breaking a capsule inside the pack, allowing vinegar and baking soda to mix and create flame-smothering carbon dioxide, which could then be released by tearing off a perforated corner.
“We’re not looking to compete with those selling (full-sized) fire extinguishers because the target here is people who can’t afford to buy them in the first place,” Jayme told adobo.
