LAWIN BULATAO
EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR
HAVAS CREATIVE
MANILA
Adfest 2017 Jury for Media Lotus and Effective Lotus
1. Jury insight:
There was a lot of healthy discussion and rigor on our jury. Victor, our jury head, was calm, thorough, and made sure everyone had their say. And we as members couldn’t help but be inspired. There was a very nice spread of big brands, obscure brands. Lots of strong ideas. But what would stand out amongst the winners was that work that recognized it wasn’t enough to have just great content, you need a great delivery system as well. A heartache we had in common was in the Effectiveness Lotus. Many cases had the tendency to just throw big-sounding results numbers at us whether or not those were results were relevant to their stated objective. Sadder, there were at least two entries that we felt should have gotten metal but got themselves booted out of contention because of sloppy (or over standardized) case writing.
2. What was the most interesting piece of work in you category and why was this your pick?
The missing persons campaign from Bangkok was strong on many levels: it had scale, it worked from intriguing insight in terms of mechanics and execution, and carried tons of heart without being unnecessarily sentimental.
I also have to make mention of Japanese work for Uniqlo and Docomo which had “I Wish I Had Done It” written all over them. And there’s no shaking the power and precision timing of the Correcting History campaign. But my full laughter and admiration has to go to the Japanese Garigari Kun Price increase apology piece: so simple, so culturally distinct, so socially insightful, while remaining universally recognizable.
3. What do you like about ADFEST?
Adfest has always been a fun show for me. It has a lot of heart and culture. It is a show that celebrates and encourages regional and national uniqueness rather than some invisible global standard. And the people of Thailand are simply amazing.
Lawin has been in the industry long enough to catch the last days of rubber cement and the advent of artificial intelligence. He’s worked with BBDO, JWT, Dentsu, and Publicis and in that time has handled some of the Philippines’ largest and most successful brands. His move to Havas and involvement with its media business allows him to come up with solutions that work not just in a gallery but also in the marketplace. He has wins for Direct, TV, Press, Radio and Digital and is a strong believer that work that works is what works. He has been a University speaker and regional trainer for creative and strategy and as part of the Havas Regional Creative Council, heavily active in the SEA new business efforts of Havas.
He is a father of three, more often than not a loving husband, and spends what time he can practicing kendo.
