Talk about the ultimate activation challenge: a three-day visit by eight of your network’s top creative honchos.
Last March, Manila got a full-strength JWT jolt, when eight regional leaders descended upon the agency for JWT Asia’s quarterly Passion Patrol. Held just a week after the euphoria of ADFEST, it was three long days (and crazy nights) that neither visitors nor visited will soon forget.
The work
Together with Dave Ferrer, the region’s best spent three days reviewing Asia’s January-March output and ranking it according to a pitiless but effective 1-10 global scoring system.
The week ended with a JWT First Press session, on creativity in a recessionary year. It was a rare chance for the whole agency to learn from names previously just glimpsed on e-mailed press releases. Frequent Manila visitor Guan started with the top-scoring work, including some from JWT Manila (check out a selection on www.adobomagazine.com). Highlights included a revolutionary Post Office activation for KitKat from Tokyo and a short film for Lux, starring Catherine Zeta Jones.
Ma Yan followed, discussing the magic that made JWT China win ADFEST Agency of the Year. He described his team’s deep understanding of the Chinese market, their drive for creativity and collaboration with artists outside the agency scene – and their rule to have a life outside work. Simple-sounding tips, for work that is anything but: guerilla efforts for Anta shoes, the stunning Shan Shui environmental campaign and the envy-inspiring Bruce Lee viral Campaign for the Nokia N96. (The ultimate measure of success: Ma Yan couldn’t resist getting his own N96, complete with action figure — also a JWT idea.)
Next up was JWT Bangkok’s soft-spoken Pinit Chantaprateep. Showing three radically different —but all award-winning — insurance ads, he showed how there are many solutions to a single product. Thailand continues to create some of the most memorable TVCs in the whole region, for everyday packaged products like Chiclets gum — a personal client of Pinit’s and JWT for 16 years (!).
The energetic Ramsey Naja finished up with an engaging discourse on ‘the Blur’–where imagined and actual reality intersect and blur. He spoke at length about simplifying the creative process, and how true brand belief was akin to religion in its power to inspire faith. His talk was peppered with legendary ads, all results of simplifying the creative process.
The play
Of course, the Passion Patrol also got a taste of Manila night life: gourmet adobo and kare-kare as a storm raged, visiting steakhouse Mamou (and not ordering steak). But it was their Rockeoke send-off that was one for the books.
The calm before the storm had Ma Yan chomping on a cigar while everyone settled in with their choice of liquid courage. But once the band was set up, the action picked up something fierce, with everyone chugging Red Horse (a JWT client, of course!) and rocking their lungs out.
Words won’t do the revelry justice. Suffice it to say, Ramsey, Ma Yan and Guan lived out their Beatles and Elvis fantasies; Jos and the rest of JWT Manila took their turns at the mic (and the guitar, in the case of Art Director Bob Cruz). It ended with everyone singing their hearts out to a ‘very GMA Supershow’ version of "Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You."
The night ended with a visibly pleased Ma Yan and Regional Creative Officer Betty Tsai contemplating future Passion Patrol sessions in Manila. Clearly, the ultimate activation was a smashing success.
