The creative industry is teeming with talent and the young are showing great promise. adobo magazine gathers eleven young creative forces to look out for in 2018, and they are all under the age of 30.
Sofia Tawasil Copywriter, McCann Worldgroup Philippines
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Beneath that gentle demeanor, Sofia is a ball of energy. Simmering with fresh ideas, insights, and solutions this 24-year-old has already won the rare Cannes Gold Lion as one of the writers of the multi-awarded Fully Booked “LIVES” radio campaign for McCann Worldgroup Philippines. And in the past year, she picked up two Silver Clios and a bronze London International Statue.
A copywriter by trade, Sofia has considerable experience as a digital creative, having cut her teeth working in social media team. Her brain is naturally predisposed to solutions and digital thinking, but she’s shown she can shine in more traditional forms of communication, winning metals in traditional radio that clearly state that even in this era of blurred lines between ATL and digital, she’s clearly ahead of the curve.
Clara Roxas
Copywriter, Publicis Manila
A young copywriter with the work ethic of an industry senior, Clara has been working in the ad industry for six years, starting as a suit at J. Walter Thompson in 2011. She worked mainly on Unilever and Shell before shifting to Creatives in 2014.
Her hardwork has slowly started showing results, with big business wins and awards show wins in both local and international stages from Cannes Lions and Ad Stars both for her work in Caltex. She’s been a copywriter at Y&R for almost four years now, handling some of the agency’s biggest accounts like Colgate-Palmolive and AB Heineken.
Therese Liboro
Associate Creative Director, Dentsu Jayme Syfu
Therese is tenacious once she sets her mind on something, whether it’s getting a campaign approved, winning an award or pitch, cheering up officemates, reading an entire book in one sitting or finishing a 20-hour series in two days.
Weirdly energetic and enthusiastic, she was once called “a golden retriever on espresso.” But behind that cheerful disposition is a fiercely competitive spirit, kooky creativity and a lot of grit. Working under the tutelage of creative powerhouses like Merlee Jayme, Jerry Hizon, Louie Sotto, and Gary Amante has propelled her to cop numerous recognitions for her work in LoveYourself’s “StayNegatHIVe” campaign, Smart, and Belo.
Jasper Ilagan
Creative Director, IDEASXMACHINA
Jasper is that rare Creative Director who can excel in any role in the agency. He’s as adept, for example, in translating creative jargon into timetables to persuading the client into extending deadlines.
During his eight years as a creative force in IXM, he won numerous awards in the Philippines and overseas including the agency’s very first D&AD In Book, One Show Merit Award, and Epica Awards Gold. He also collected metals for local awards shows like Kidlat Awards, Araw Awards, Philippine Association of National Advertisers (PANA) Effectiveness Awards, Catholic Mass Media Awards, and Tambuli Effectiveness Awards. He then won the Southeast Asia Young Achiever of the year at Campaign’s Asia-Pacific Agency of the Year awards.
These days, he serves as the creative head for most of the agency’s biggest accounts including Philippine National Bank, Toyota, Philippine Star, 3M Philippines, SMDC, Asia Brewery-Pascual Creamy Delight, and OLX Philippines.
In a world where everyone breathes and lives technology, Nif is one of the few creatives who sees technological innovation as a great tool to change the world. He started his career in the advertising industry as a Junior Developer with Tribal DDB in 2014, working in the background of many successful campaigns and executions of the agency, before becoming its pioneering Creative Technologist and UX UI Designer.
He has grown from humble developer to a multi-awarded creative technologist, winning internal creative competitions and awards both locally and globally. He has shown and proven his mettle in using technology as a tool to empower creativity into changing minds and transforming lives. He is also one of the key people in reshaping Tribal DDB to be known as an innovative digital agency around the world by advocating design thinking into the agency’s creative process.
Iya Parungao Art Director, MullenLowe Philippines
Iya’s entry to MullenLowe serves as her first jab in the creative industry and yet, she has been thriving. Two years in the agency and she has since managed to score a bagful of awards. She has displayed both artistic acumen and the discipline to drive results.
Starting out as a Junior Art Director, she instantly developed and executed major initiatives across ATL, BTL, and Digital channels, with a portfolio that boasts of an impressive lineup of multinational companies in different industries from Wendy’s (Philippines and Guam), Alaska, Close-Up, Magnum, and 7-Eleven. Not long after, she has bagged accolades including from Spikes Asia, Boomerang, and even our very own adobo Design Awards.
Albert Millar Copywriter, J. Walter Thompson Manila
Albert has made an interesting shift in his career, veering away from his Export Management degree at the De La Salle College of St. Benilde to advertising. From his earlier days as a writer for Guerilla advertising, he has since joined the J. Walter Thompson Philippines team where he handled Listerine, Del Monte Fit N’ Right, and Manulife among others.
Described by his peers as one of JWT’s most talented copywriters and presenters, he has become a force in taking on writing challenges and putting on a good show during pitches. Outside the confines of his office, he dabbles into film, theater, and video games, swearing by Deadpool, Daredevil, and the Houston Rockets.
With three years in the industry, Terence has already created an unmistakable dent in the art world by turning heads not only for his visual work but for his gift in storytelling. At 25, he already took on the Associate Creative Director and Head of Design for NuWorks Interactive. He has since been awarded by numerous local and international awards shows like The One Show, New York Festivals, Spikes Asia, Kidlat, and our very the adobo Design Awards.
Just this year, he has come up with a passion project called “The 100 Days of Secrets” which is a collection of illustrated portraits of strangers in exchange for their secrets. The project has reached a global audience and has reached numerous publications from HuffPost, Metro UK, and Upworthy.
Lizther Ann Castañeda
Creative Director, BBDO Guerrero
Graduating top of her class in 2012, Lizther has been dedicated in improving her craft on storytelling and brand management with a strong clientele including the Department of Tourism, Pantene, Johnson’s, FedEx, and Pepsi among others.
She has since enjoyed accolades for her role in translating brand ideals into creative work like the Kidlat Awards, Ad Stars, and Araw Awards for a Mother’s Day campaign with Johnson’s. For the same client she has also been awarded the Tambuli, the Kidlat award for its “Sharing is Good” campaign.
Marielle Nones
Art Director, Publicis JimenezBasic
Marielle Nones once had a small problem with her name. Early on, she has made attempts to replace her nickname, “Auti” but award circuits here and abroad gave her all the reasons to stick with it. In 2017 alone, she pocketed metals for her work in brands like Globe and Maxipeel, including a bronze Clio, a Kidlat and a Tambuli award respectively.
At 27, she swears by her love for art directing which allows her to solve problems not only for brands that she has taken under her wing and the world at large. A firm believer in the power of advertising, her goal is to make the world a weirder, better place. If she isn’t at work, she’s probably off taking photos in a far-off country or taking a very long nap.
This article was published in the adobo magazine Trends 2018 issue.
