Talking in SFX

We have a very sound-oriented language.

Our nicknames sound musical, even whimsical. Take, for example, the name Ompong Remigio. Ompong is a multi-awarded creative director and a Creative Guild of the Philippines hall of famer whose full name is Maria Corazon Paulina Fajardo Francisco Remigio. She got the moniker Ompong when she was growing up as a sumpungin kid. Ompong came from the mispronunciation of the Tagalog word sumpong, and the name stuck.

Considered by the marketing communications industry as the "Queen of Radio Advertising," Ompong has won over 150 radio awards for big multinational brands like Colgate, Nestle, J & J, and Bayer. And if you add her TV and print awards it would total to over 300. In the 2005 Ad Congress alone, she garnered one platinum and seven gold trophies for her radio work, mostly on Ligo sardines and carne norte ads. In a recent Radio for Advertising Directors (RAD4Ads) workshop, Ompong shared her views on how to write disruptive radio commercials that can build market shares, bring sales as well as win awards.

The Philippines, known to be blessed with singers, also talk in musical terms. "As examples, most Pinoy nicknames are sound effects (SFX). Dingdong is a doorbell and it’s a name of a boy. Tingting is a tall glass and it’s a name of a girl. Dada is endless talk and it’s a girl’s name. Bongbong is the church bell and it’s a boy’s name. Miaomiao is a cat sound and it’s a name of a boy or girl. It’s the same for Boomboom, which means an explosion," Ompong observed.

Local names also rhyme. Sisters can have names like Tingting, Bingbing and Gingging. The boy could be a Badong. But if he’s gay, he’s a Badingding. So, you can sing out the names as you call the kids, bringing back memories of Pauline Sevilla’s ’70s hit song, Ting-a-Ling-a-Ling-Dingdong-Ting-a- Ling-a-Ling-a Ling-a Ling-Dingdong.

A lot of sibling names also start with the same letter with only a change in vowels. One sister named Dada could have a brother named Dodo, and a baby brother named Dudu. When called together at dinnertime, you could end up with something like The Police’s hit sound, Adadada. Adododo. Adududu.

In this country, what sounds like nonsense makes rhythmic sense. Like Bababa ba? means "Is this going down?" Or Kakabakaba ka ba? means "Are you scared?" Kakabogkabogkabog means "My heart is beating wildly." Katingkatingkatingkati na ko means, "I itch like hell." Katakot-takot means plentiful. Kagilagilalas means awesome.

Filipino is so unique and fun. We have to utter all the syllables or else we’ll get in trouble. We shouldn’t say "Sexmooooan" or the Advertising Board will kill us. Say Sex-mo-an to mean a place in Pampanga. All these point out to one thing – with a rhythmic, rhyming and entertaining language, it shouldn’t be hard to do great radio advertising.

But why are we still plagued with wornout radio ads? "Because somewhere along the way, we’ve forgotten how we sounded. Pinoy radio then was more visible than TV. Local flavor was also richer then. There was much comfort and compassion in the voices and deliveries that housewives found relief and joy just by listening while doing the laundry or ironing clothes. Listening to the radio then made clothes cleaner and crisper; the home-cooked food much tastier because there was no video competing for attention. Now, in the era of wash-and-wear T-shirt and maong or denim, the need to dress better has disappeared with the dominance of TV soap operas and MTVs," Ompong elucidated.

Sadly, radio, the catalyst of imagination, is fading away. Somehow, monsters and zombies were more frightening then when they appeared on radio and not when they were so graphically portrayed on TV. And yes, love was more moving. Heartaches were more painful, villains more hateful, and cloak and dagger, more hair-raising.

Radio feeds the imagination and our imagination can kill us. More than pictures, words slice through like the sharpest blades. And they stay with us forever while a picture can fade. How can we forget the radio ads – Bataan Matamis, Acebedo Optical, Darigold, Liwayway Gawgaw, YC Bikini Brief, and Seiko Wallet?

Life was simple then. Radio ads, though incredibly awful and silly at times, were simple. Not many products were competing for attention. But now, with the advent of cable TV, iPod Nano, Limewire, and cell phones, local entertainment has reached a new dimension. And they all compete with radio. Which makes doing radio ads even more challenging. "The most ignored medium is really the hardest to crack. But if we do more entertaining and refreshing radio ads and we make them more engaging than the station’s programming, then that’s reinventing radio," Ompong stressed.

Radio has its audience – from those stuck in traffic to those manning the sari-sari store who can’t afford to let their eyes wander other than the goods lest they be pilfered. Radio also reaches the dark, God-forsaken corners of more than 7,000 islands in the Philippines. It is a primary medium and not just a repository of leftover funds after TV and print. It makes so much sense to love it more. If we love it more, it will be easier for us to do good radio ads.

How to do a good one? "For starters, let’s go back to being Pinoy. Let’s not try to be somebody else because we’re happier being ourselves. We’re silly. We’re insane. We’re strange. We should be proud of that. We can write about familiar radio properties. Like irritating rules and regulations. If we can’t lick them, spoof them," Ompong suggested.

These days, proficiencies for Tagalog and English have eroded. Ompong averred, "Gay speak is very much part of pop culture. Let’s not be preachy about values. Let’s have fun. We can also laugh about our weaknesses or how ‘slang’ makes us feel ‘imported’."

We have to be refreshing since people automatically tune off to something they thought they have heard before. "Let’s be cruel, more than safe. These are just some of the ways we can cut radio ads. If television needs ‘watchability,’ radio needs ‘listenability.’ It should not be an unwelcome interruption but rather an entertaining piece one can enjoy. And can playback happily," Ompong underscored.

As for breaking into the international scene especially in creative competitions, Ompong said, "The key is to be heard. The No. 1 rule in writing is to sound like ourselves. If we sound like somebody else, nobody will know us. Think of India, China, Japan, Thailand and Mexico. They are celebrated for their colorful accents and culture. Our accents (and we have a diverse collection ) are worth becoming mnemonic devices or sound bites. Imagine if the world sings like us."

Let’s talk in pictures and SFX. We will for sure get our desired brand goals and industry accolades. Tut. Tut.

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E-mail bongo@vasia.com or bongo@campaignsandgrey.net for comments, questions or suggestions. Thank you for communicating.