MANILA Two executives from Golden Arches Development Corp, which operates the McDonald’s fastfood chain in the Philippines, outgunned competitors from the country’s biggest companies to compete in Cannes Young Lions Marketers battle.
Senior product manager Ada Almendras and product manager Ashley Santillan beat 13 others in a 24-hour competition to strengthen the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s brand.
In a break from previous years, the Inquirer, the country’s official representative to Cannes, provided full sponsorship for the first time.
Almendras was on a Golden Arches team that joined with longtime partner Coca-Cola in the “#BetterTogether” campaign. With local audiences’ social media addiction, the Leo Burnett ad set out remind them “to celebrate real world connections which are more meaningful than digital ones”.
Alexandra Prieto-Romualdez, the Inquirer’s CO and president, said the pair presented a comprehensive and practical pitch that was more than a one-off with elements to sustain the effort.
Santillan was on the team behind the quirky ‘Playtime with Dad’ to highlight the chain’s McDelivery service.
A team from Nestlé Philippines, Raymond Lagdameo and Samantha Huang, scored the first runners-up slot and will represent the country at the Spikes Asia competition in Singapore in September.
The four competed against teams from the country’s biggest companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Del Monte, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Smart Communications, Globe Telecoms and PepsiCo.
