The Secret of Winners

CEBU, Philippines - A fitting gift for their 15th birthday this year, Campaigns Cebu won two major awards in the recently concluded Catholic Mass Media Awards held in Makati City last October 14. Campaigns Cebu bested other entries from Manila-based agencies in the Best Print – Branded and Best TV Ad – Public Service categories.

The agency’s winning entries were, for Best Print – Branded, Julie’s Bakeshop’s “Everyday Heroes” 2009 Calendar and for Best TV Ad – Public Service, Cebu Chamber of Commerce’s “Preparedness.” Everyday Heroes is a full-color calendar that paid homage to people around us whom we cannot live without such as nurses, teachers, carpenters, seamstresses and OFWs. Preparedness, meanwhile, is a 30-second television commercial that depicted public school students holding classes outdoors because of lack of classrooms and how they are ready with umbrellas whenever it rains. The ad also won in this year’s Cebu Archdiocesan Mass Media Awards.

A Cebu-based advertising agency winning over advertising giants from Manila does not happen everyday, which makes Campaigns Cebu’s victory even sweeter. How did Campaigns Cebu do it? Let us find out the secret of winners.

The people behind Campaign Cebu’s winning advertisements is its creative team, composed of creative director Bryan Onglatco, art director Luisa Avancenia, copywriters Jules Cabigon and Norbert Elnar, and of course, the boss, General Manager and Executive Creative Director Zen Pastoriza.

According to Jules, anybody, even a 15 year old, who knows how to do Photoshop and write a blog can make an ad. “But the secret to making winning ads is the core of the strategy, who we are talking to, what we want to achieve from this communication, and that’s where the creativity comes in. Most of us creatives get carried away when thinking of a concept. It’s the creative strategy that keeps us on track. It’s the one that tells us to go center when we want to go left or right.”

Zen added that the creative strategy tells them what the brand needs. “The creative strategy analyzes what consumers want. The secret of doing good work in advertisements is thinking about what the buyer wants. The real client here is not the one that asked us to make an ad but the people who will see the ad. If the product won’t sell, the ad will not win an award.”

The Julie’s Bakeshop Calendar Everyday Heroes took the team 2 months to finish. The finished product was actually made of four different concepts rolled into one because the client loved the idea.

“The client really wanted us to highlight everyday heroes, the people who will make it difficult for us when they are not around,” shared Jules.

But the twist in the ad, which made it stand out among the rest, is the way they made each simple job look glamorous.

“We took it to a new level. The ad was something like homage to everyday heroes. We made a kusinera and a teacher look glamorous. Each page was a homage to each career. There was even a poem,” added Zen.

The Preparedness ad was something the team did in a breeze, they finished the concept in just a few hours. Zen said that it was Nonoy Espeleta of Julie’s who made it possible for Campaigns Cebu to get on board the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Adopt-A-School project.

“One thing to remember when making an ad for television is to have that kilig factor. If the ad does not have a kilig factor, it won’t win,” said Jules.

Luisa shared that the idea behind Preparedness came from their collective experiences going to public schools. “Most of us came from public schools and you know the situation in public schools, there are not enough classrooms, chairs, books, etc.”

“The ad seems funny when you view it but when you are in that situation or when you have experienced the situation, it no longer becomes funny,” said Jules.

Zen added that what made Preparedness different from all other ads is that they did not show the children in a poor light, that despite the difficulties the children were still smiling. “The message is really common but we presented the irony.”

So there, the secret is out. The key to winning ads is to make ads that are out of the ordinary, out of the box and something that will be a hit, not just with the clients who paid for the ads but also for the people who will view the ads. Now we know why Campaigns Cebu made it to the top. Congratulations, Camp Cebu. Here’s to more winning ads!