Leo Burnett Manila wins radio ad award in New York

For the first time, an ad agency from the Philippines has won an award in the prestigious New York International Advertising Festival for a radio campaign.

The award, a bronze medal in the international radio competition, went recently to Leo Burnett Manila’s "At the Movies" campaign for Marsman Drysdale’s fruit juice.

The Leo Burnett campaign consists of three radio commercials, each is a spoof of a certain portion of a popular American movie.

Lifting a segment each from Forrest Gump, Star Wars, and Sixth Sense, the three commercials used local talents to simulate the voice of the characters and slightly but gracefully change the lines to serve as intro to the campaign message: "Fond of fruit?"

The adaptation is both humorous and dramatic, reflecting the playful creativity in the concept.

With such famous movies, it is easy for the commercial to capture listeners’ attention, associate the product with popular characters and establish brand essence and brand recall.

The campaign was conceptualized by a Leo Burnett team led by creative director Dino Jalandoni, copywriter Martin Aviles, and associate account director Kara Filamor. They also attributed the award to the commercials’ craftsmanship and execution.

"A very good product and a very good client will lead you to a very good advertising," Jalandoni said. The product, manufactured by Marsman Drysdale Foods Corp. and launched in the retail market last year, comes in six flavors: mango, mango nectar, apple, orange, calamansi and gingerade.

In winning the award, LB Manila has eventually broken the finalist’s barrier at the New York festival, whose judges are advertising luminaries from all over the world. The competition attracted 1,254 entries from 36 countries.

In the London advertising festival last year, the "Sixth Sense" commercial of Drysdale’s radio campaign also emerged among the finalists.

Ranked sixth among the Philippines’ top ad agencies, LB Manila is part of transnational advertising network Leo Burnett Worldwide, whose global operations include 94-full service advertising agencies and a variety of specialty marketing services. The company handles at least seven of the world’s 25 most valuable global brands.