STAR ad wins Araw Award

BAGUIO CITY (Via Bayantel) — The "Laban" advocacy advertisement that came out in The STAR on the 20th anniversary of former senator and martyr Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr.’s assassination bagged the silver in the Interactive Award category of the 18th Philippine Advertising Congress’ Araw Awards.

The "Laban" advertisement showed a hand held up in the "L "configuration that became the symbol of the struggle against the oppression of the martial law era and was conceptualized by the prestigious TWBA/Santiago Mangada Puno advertising agency. It was entered in the interactive and print categories of the Araw Awards.

TBWA cretative director Billy Samson said the advertisement aimed to strike a chord in the memory of the Filipino people, to remind them of how, with one gunshot, the Aquino assassination changed the country’s social and political landscape.

Aquino’s death at the airport tarmac on Aug. 21, 1983 brought the country’s long-repressed anger over the abuses of martial rule to a boil, bringing them forth to the so-called "parliament of the streets."

The protests grew and pushed the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos to call for a snap election in 1985, where massive cheating led to the walkout of the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) volunteers and culminated in the 1986 people power revolt that ousted Marcos and installed Aquino’s widow, Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, at the helm of government.

"The STAR woudln’t have supported the message if they didn’t believe in it," Samson said.

Samson worked with writer Nej Villavert and art director Joseph Ong to create the simple, yet effective, advocacy advertisement. He said TBWA proposed this "pro bono advocacy" advertisement to The STAR and was given the go ahead.

TWBA garnered seven other awards in the first part of the Araw Awards that took place Friday night at the CAP Convention Center at Camp John Hay.

The most awarded entry was for the "Lolo" advertisement of McDonald’s under the TV craftsmanship category. Two other McDonald’s entries "Opening" and "Family Portrait" by advertiser Golden Arches Development Corp. also won.

McDonald’s "Lolo" received the gold for best direction, silver for best direction, casting and copy.

Another popular entry was Visa’s "Dining Out" by BBDO/Guerrero, which bagged five awards. Three were for "Dining Out," including a gold for best special effects under the TV craftsmanship category.

Lowe Inc. and Jimenez Basic won six and five awards, respectively.

The glitzy Araw Awards were hosted by Peter Musngi and Mike Enriquez, top radio executives of rival networks ABS-CBN and GMA-7.

Angelica Jones, Tessa Prieto-Valdez, Ryan Agoncillo, Ara Mina and Tanya Garcia presented the awards, while the Bayanihan Philippines dancers performed their internationally acclaimed "singkil," to the crowd’s delight.

Confidence, consistency

Two international resource speakers at the PAC, meanwhile, said confidence and consistency are the Filipinos’ keys to global competitiveness.

Indian advertising guru Piyush Pandey, national creative director of Ogilvy and Mather-India, told Filipino advertising industry denizens that "you are as good as anybody else. Your work is fantastic. But you’re lacking in people believing in you to the extent of wanting to do more. You’re still trying to prove yourself to the people."

Pandey express confidence in the skills and capabilities of Filipinos, though he warned against the complacency that weakens Third World countries, where people tend to become "comfortable" resting on their laurels and where people avoid "rocking the boat."

Pandey is the first Asian to be named the incoming chair manof the film, press and outdoor juries of the renowned Cannes Lion International Advertising Festival in 2004.

George Singleton of the Europe-based Publicis advertising firm said Filipinos need to believe "that they can do it" in order to compete effectively in the global arena.

The Philippine advertising community, he said, must "really build something that is enduring over time," be it a business or a brand name.

To find the "big idea," there is a need to "step back and look at the big picture and ask what’s really happening before you propose a solution," the regional strategy director of Publicis-Asia Pacific said.

Pandey and Singleton are among six foreign speakers at the PAC and this is the first time the congress invited resource persons from the international advertising industry to participate in the activities.

Pandey urged the Philippine advertising community to find partners who are open to reinventing themselves in order to "promote and package ourselves that we are better."

"You have the capability. You are waiting for a break. The knowledge, the skills, the passion and artistry are there. I’ve never seen such passion from you and I can feel the buzz," Pandey said. "I am learning from this experience."

All it will take, Pandey said, are "two or three breakthroughs, nothing more than that" for opportunities on a global scale to arise.

PAC programs committee chair Andre Khan said Filipinos have the self-confidence they need, but should be "shown the way" to unleash their creativity.

Khan advised big ad agencies to "start opening the doors" to younger, less experienced members of the advertising industry.

"Consistency is a matter of discipline," Khan said. "I think it comes with age and once they learn the trade, the discipline will come in." He also noted the "oberwhelming" number of young advertising people among the congress’ 3,000 delegates.

"You don’t really want to restrain their creativity, so there may even be a conflict between being creative and being disciplined. You have to find the right formula for that," he said.

Khan said he hopes the Philippine advertising industry will "start conquering Asia" and, eventually, the world.

"Most multinationals come to the Philippines to merge, buy out, affiliate with our local agencies. What I would like to see is the Filipino agency going out, first into Asia, and start conquering it and then, eventually, going into Europe, the Middle East and the United States," he said. "I don’t see why we can’t do that."