Advertising veteran: Unique ads capture greater viewer attention

CEBU, Philippines — Advertising veteran Herbert Hernandez called for the creation of more unique and entertaining advertisements to capture greater viewer attention and effectively market products and services to more consumers.

Hernandez, who sits as co-founder of advertising agency Gigil, shared in his keynote speech during the recently concluded two-day summit organized by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), that with people having a short attention span, it is important to be creative and think uniquely to formulate entertaining advertisements.

The summit dubbed “A Summit to Inspire, Promote, & Grow MSMEs Entrepreneurship Program”, held at the City Sports Club Cebu on June 25, 2024, is one of the activities lined up for this year’s Cebu Business Month.

The first day of the summit focused on integrating digital technology to boost efficiency, competitiveness, and increase growth in business.

Hernandez cited a data from Forbes that says 85 percent of consumers say they are more likely to purchase a product after watching a funny advertisement.

“Especially right now, sobrang crowded na… yung internet. You need their attention… through this kind of something new, mas nakukuha yung attention mo and it should entertain,” he said.

Moreover, he believed that an advertisement should focus on the content itself, not on the commercial, to avoid ordinary concepts.

Hernandez said that to make an advertisement viral, it should stand out among the other advertisements of other existing brands. Thus, it must entertain viewers, making them stay to watch the film and not skip it.

Gigil, which highlights odd concepts full of humor and exaggeration, is an award-winning agency that has garnered three prestigious awards from the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in France. They recently received one silver, and in 2021 and 2022, they received bronze Lions, respectively.

Hernandez said it is not really necessary to make an advertisement humorous, hyperbolic, or odd to become viral. As a creative, one's goal is to formulate a film to entertain viewers.

“Hindi naman siya… nag-iisang solusyon but… you have to be different. Isa lang yung oddity pero maraming way, maraming type,” he said, adding that appealing to emotions and for a cause is one of the techniques aside from oddity. — Renee Ross Villariasa