MANILA – After a gruelling judging process held in McCann Worldgroup’s office on Tuesday, two art directors emerged as the winners of this year’s adobo LIA Young Creative Competition.
The jury composed of Abi Aquino, Executive Creative Director at MullenLowe Philippines; Alvin Tecson, Executive Creative Director at Publicis Manila; Kat Limchoc, Executive Creative Director at Black Pencil Manila; Rey Tiempo, Executive Creative Director at Dentsu Philippines; Dale Lopez, Executive Creative Director at BBDO Guerrero; Brandie Tan Executive Creative Director at Publicis JimenezBasic; Herbert Hernandez, Executive Creative Director at Y&R Philippines; Tony Sarmiento, Chief Creative Officer at Havas Ortega; Mike Sicam, Creative Director at Ogilvy One; Jake Tesoro, Creative Director at Ace Saatchi & Saatchi, headed by Joe Dy, Executive Creative Director at McCann Worldgroup spent a lengthy deliberation process to determine which of the finalists deserve to win the ticket to Las Vegas.
In the end, Miel Soneja, art director from Dentsu JaymeSyfu and Joza Myrene Nada, another art director from Publicis Manila were selected as the entries that best responded to the brief: how do you make working in advertising sexy again?
“The problem was very close to the heart of every member of the jury and we really wanted to see which executions will bring the excitement and prestige to the industry again,” shared Dy.
One of the winning entries, ‘Addvertising,’ aims to encourage people working in advertising to change their social media bios to include different professions that the industry lets them experience as a results of working with different brands with different products and backgrounds.
“I wanted to do something that the advertising creatives don’t have to deal with. These people handle TV, digital, so I don’t want them to deal with the same things,” explains Soneja.
Soneja expects the campaign to succeed if ever it will be executed because of its simplicity.
“We liked how ‘Addvertising’ showcased that a career in advertising allows you to widen your expertise,” shares Dy.
The other winning entry, ‘1 Percent’, which according to the jury is reminiscent of Google’s application test, tries to remind the advertising community of how it would be such a waste to leave the industry that wasn’t as easy as pie for anyone to be in.
“Since the challenge was to make advertising great again, I came up with this website which I called ‘1 percent’. It’s an online recruitment platform for creatives. I wanted to bring back the notion that it’s difficult to get into the industry so people should be excited to be a part of it,” says Nada.
Nada added that she thought of this idea under the impression that ad people are stimulated by challenges that test their abilities and creative thinking.
“The idea focuses on the people who really get through the difficulty of getting into advertising by presenting a challenging but exciting barrier to it,” comments Dy. “If you get through it, you’ll be able to see the kinds of rewards and excitement that the industry’s culture has to offer.”
The two young creatives will be getting a free airfare and accommodations to attend the London International Awards judging and Creative LIAisons program to be held in Las Vegas in October.
