Like Neil Gaiman, Philippine STAR rocks Subic

All 3,000 delegates of the 20th Philippine Advertising Congress currently ongoing at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center were treated to a daytime program unlike any other yesterday,  during The Philippine STAR lunch. As always, The STAR organized a rocking party that served as an equally exciting follow-up to Neil Gaiman’s jampacked “A Gathering of Dreamlings and Nightmares” talk.

Delegates were ushered into the Subic Convention Center dining hall where gifts awaited at every seat, along with many other raffle prizes like trips to favorite Asian destinations like Singapore, Malaysia and Bangkok, Acer laptops, X-Box consoles, Canon IXUS digital cameras as well as Nokia N77 cellphones.

The most exciting prizes, however were parked right outside the session hall, bannering The STAR’s “Double Victory” theme-two handed-new 2007 Toyota Vios, ready to be driven home by two lucky delegates.

STAR president and CEO Miguel Belmonte told delegates during his welcome speech: “The only paper you read from cover to cover is also the newspaper that delivers the best results for your brands.” This is why The STAR lunch is all about winning partnerships with friends in the advertising industry-partnerships that have no doubt helped propel the paper into being No. 1 in advertising sales revenue. Riding on this theme, all good things came in pairs during the nearly three-hour luncheon gathering.

A joint performance by Parokya ni Edgar and Francis M got the party started- the stellar ensemble really appealing to the crowd, as did the hosting of showman Edu Manzano, who raffled off the prizes to the eager mix of advertising executives, media practitioners and students.

After two more performances by Parokya ni Edgar and Francis M, and Edu Manzano who gamely demonstrated his patented “Papaya Dance”, the much-awaited announcement of grand prize winners came.

 Ruel Yap, sales director of Optima Digital, and Marilyn Villapando of Campaigns and Grey will each be driving home in a brand-new Toyota Vios when the Ad Congress ends on November 24, Saturday. The Excited Yap says: “I was joking everyone that I was going to be touring them around town in my new Vios. When the first winner came up, I thought, ay wala na. Suddenly, my officemates shouting my name. ang sarap ng feeling! Thank you so much, STAR! It’s a merry new car for me this Christmas.”

Villapando, on the other hand, says she had never been lucky with raffles, so winning- and winning a Vios, no less – was really a surprise. “Of course, winning added pleasure to the experience, but the Congress is always worthwhile for many reasons,” she says.
“This 20th one is even more special because it’s one of the best I’ve attended in content, organization, execution and… and Neil Gaiman rocks!”

The prizes, performers and celebrities all made The STAR lunch one of the most memorable gatherings of this year’s Ad Congress. But to The STAR, it is all about making the bond it has with friends from the industry even stronger. After all, had it not been for their loyal patronage and trust, The STAR would not have garnered such a huge chunk of this year’s total advertising revenues, 46 percent to be exact in October 2007.

“The STAR us at the forefront of making the medium more accessible to the next –generation consumers, through truth in news reporting and advertising,” said Lucien Dy Tioco, STAR vice-president for advertising.

The Philippine STAR enters the New Order with much optimism that the medium, the industry and the paper will continue to grow together and have many more memorable Ad Congresses.