SINGAPORE — Spikes Asia 2024 officially comes to a close with the awards ceremony on March 14, putting the spotlight on the biggest advertising and creative work in the region. From 36 finalists, the Philippines has brought home eight metals, thanks to agencies MullenLowe TREYNA, Leo Burnett Manila, and VML Philippines.
On top of these wins, history was also made with “Unbranded Menu” by Leo Burnett Manila and McDonald’s Philippines winning the Grand Prix for the show’s inaugural Gaming category, and “Right to Care” by MullenLowe TREYNA nabbing the country’s first-ever Glass: The Award for Change Grand Prix.
Here’s the breakdown of wins for each Philippine-based agency:
Leo Burnett Manila – one Grand Prix, two Silvers, and two Bronze
MullenLowe TREYNA – one Grand Prix and one Bronze
VML Philippines – one Silver
The Philippines’ first Glass: The Award for Change Grand Prix
MullenLowe TREYNA has earned its spot with one of the evening’s biggest wins, a Grand Prix for the Glass: The Award for Changehonor with the “Right to Care” Card. The campaign also received a Bronze under the PR category for Launch / Re-launch, on top of being shortlisted under Healthcare – Brand-led Education & Awareness. This is the Philippines’ first-ever Glass Grand Prix, and with such a socially-important campaign at that.
Inaugural Gaming Spikes Grand Prix
Another historic moment at Spikes Asia 2024’s ceremony is Leo Burnett Manila nabbing the first-ever Grand Prix on the Gaming category‘s first year. This is added to the long list of wins the campaign for McDonald’s Philippines has enjoyed since launch, and adds to the work’s three other metals of the night, with a Silver for Influencer & Co-creation and a Bronze for Community Management / Social Engagement under the Gaming category, and a Silver for Use of Social and Digital Platforms under the Creative Strategy category.
The client-agency partnership also won a Bronze for “Ride the Arches” in the Brand Experience & Activation category under Travel, Leisure, Retail, Restaurants & Fast Food Chains.
One Silver for a KitKat
VML Philippines‘ (formerly Wunderman Thompson Philippines and VMLY&R Manila) “Punctuation Marks” campaign for KitKat won a Silver for Print & Publishing – Consumer Goods, specifically for “Comma,” “Em Dash,” and “Ellipsis.”
adobo Magazine is an official media partner of Spikes Asia 2024.
SINGAPORE — Awards season for the advertising industry has officially begun with Spikes Asia starting off the celebrations. As the festival opens in Singapore today, March 13, brands and agencies are also eagerly awaiting the results for the coveted Spikes Asia metals. This morning, the shortlists have been announced, honoring the best of creativity from across the Asia Pacific region. The Philippines boasts 36 finalists this year, with McDonald’s Philippines and Leo Burnett Manila, as well as KitKat and VML Manila‘s, works raking in the most finalist spots.
The country’s top three categories are Radio & Audio and Print & Publishing with seven nominations each, and Brand Experience & Activation with five.
For Radio & Audio, KitKat’s “Punctuation Marks” campaigns by VML Philippines were the sole nominees for Consumer Goods and Script, while Bantayog Street Memorials by Dentsu Creative was the sole nominee for Not-for-Profit/Charity/Government. The Unbranded Menu by Leo Burnett Manila leads all nominees in the Gaming category with four shortlists.
Here’s the breakdown of finalist spots for each Philippine-based agency:
Leo Burnett Manila – nine nominations
VML Philippines – eight nominations
GIGIL – four nominations
Dentsu Creative – four nominations
TBWA\ Santiago Mangada Puno – three nominations
Ogilvy Philippines – three nominations
BBDO Guerrero – two nominations
MullenLowe Treyna – two nominations
Ace Saatchi & Saatchi – one nomination
Leo Burnett Manila x McDonald’s Philippines
The biggest contender form the Philippines this year is “Unbranded Menu” as it continues to receive recognition. At this year’s Spikes, Leo Burnett Manila and McDonald’s Philippines grabs a total of nine nominations: seven for “Unbranded Menu” and two for “Ride the Arches.”
Four slots were won in the Gaming shortlists as it earned nominations for sub-categories Brand Integration for Games, Use of Gaming / Streaming Platforms, Influencer & Co-Creation, and Community Management / Social Engagement.
Under Creative Strategy, the campaign also received nods under the following sub-categories: Breakthrough on a Budget, Brave Brands and Use of Social & Digital Platforms.
“Ride the Arches,” meanwhile, also boasts two nods under the Brand Experience & Activation category.
VML Philippines x KitKat
VML Philippines (formerly Wunderman Thompson Philippines and VMLY&R Manila) is also a big finalist this year with its KitKatcampaign “Punctuation Marks,” specifically the iterations for “Comma,” “Em Dash,” and “Ellipsis,” which have received eight finalist spots in total.
Under Print & Publishing, all three works are nominated for sub-category Consumer Goods, while for Radio & Audio, all three campaigns were the only nominees from the Philippines under sub-category Consumer Goods, while “Comma” and “Em Dash” were the only local representatives for the Script classification.
GIGIL
GIGIL has also earned four shortlist spots this year at Spikes Asia, with two under Film for its work with Grab Philippines, and two for Netflix Philippines.
Its Mother’s Day film with production house Arcade Film Factory earned a nomination under the Consumer Services / Business to Business sub-category, while Niel received a nod under the Cultural Insight classification.
On top of these two nominations, GIGIL’s work with Netflix Philippines also is in the running under the Outdoor category, specifically for Interactive & Immersive Experiences with the “4Dish Pot” in promotion of Netflix’s original series Replacing Chef Chico, and Brand Experience & Activation.
Dentsu Creative Manila
Earning four finalist spots is also Dentsu Creative, for its works with Greenpeace Philippines and the Bantayog ng Mga Bayani Foundation (Monument of Heroes)
Under Industry Craft, the agency was included in the shortlists for sub-categories Photography: Outdoor and Photography: Print & Publishing for the “Black and White” campaign for Greenpeace Southeast Asia – Philippines.
Dentsu Creative was also the only Philippine nominee for the Not-for-profit / Charity / Government sub-category under Radio & Audio for the “Bantayog Street Memorials” as a tribute to Martial Law heroes, on top of being a finalist for the Brand Experience & Activation category.
Boysen x TBWA\ Santiago Mangada Puno
TBWA\ Santiago Mangada Puno also enters the list of Philippine finalists with three nominations for Pacific Paint (Boysen Philippines) with the “Boysen Plants” campaign. Under Design, it earned a spot in the Posters sub-category, while Print & Publishing jurors favored the “Venus Flytrap” and “Pitcher Plants” iterations for its Consumer Goods sub-category, earning a spot each.
Ogilvy x IKEA
Ogilvy‘s work for IKEA Philippines is also a star contender this year, with three nominations for “This is An IKEA Store.” It earned spots under Brand Experience & Activation, Creative Commerce, and Media under the Large Scale Media sub-category.
BBDO Guerrero x Mitsubishi
BBDO Guerrero joins the list of Philippine contenders this year for its work with Mitsubishi in the Print & Publishing category, under Consumer Goods. Two of its works, specifically “Samuel” and “Astrid” with production house Illusion CGI Studio, Bangkok, earned nods from the jurors.
MullenLowe Treyna x Right to Care Card
Joining the list of Spikes Asia finalists is MullenLowe Treyna, which has earned two spots, specifically in the Healthcare category under Brand-led Education & Awareness, and PR for the Launch / Re-launch sub-category with the “Right to Care Card” initiative. This campaigns aimed to empower LGBTQ+ couples in Quezon City, one of the biggest city populations in the country.
Ace Saatchi & Saatchi x National Union of Journalists in the Philippines
Ace Saatchi & Saatchi completes the list of Spikes Asia finalists from the Philippines this year with its work forthe National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP). The nomination is for the campaign “NUJP Report from the Grave,” which earned a Radio & Audio spot under the sub-category Use of Audio Technology / Voice Activation.
Winners for Spikes Asia 2024 will be announced tomorrow, March 14, 2024.
adobo Magazine is an official media partner of Spikes Asia 2024.
MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Known for awarding ideas that work, APAC Effie Awards is back in full swing and along with it is the Manila Roadshow, which took place at Leo Burnett Manila on January 16. Coupled with case studies and an in-depth writing session, here are five takeaways from the roadshow:
A brand lives its purpose
There are different ways of showing effectiveness. In the case of “McDonald’s Classroom” by Leo Burnett Manila where the stores’ party areas were converted into conducive classrooms for teachers during the lockdown, effectiveness was not measured in the after sales, but in the lives touched by the campaign.
“People really felt the purpose of McDonald’s coming to life because it’s really all about how we can help the people in the communities where we operate in,” said Joy Santos, Chief Strategy Officer, Leo Burnett Group Manila.
Speaking on behalf of the client, she said that investment can mean different things; it may not always be about the pesos and centavos earned, but in how the brand’s purpose is brought to life.
“Putting money behind it [purpose] when you’re not gonna make any money off of it shows commitment.” Furthermore, the campaign re-established McDonald’s as an ethical and responsible company which consumers can trust.
You can out-Pinoy the competition
How do you go head-to-head against competition whose media budget is 98% more than yours? This was the problem of Grab Unlimited when they launched in 2021. Anchoring on the insight of familiarity breeds content, GIGIL was able to associate its client with better deals and grow its market share by 36%.
From the client side, Justine Anne Aruta, Country Marketing Head at GRAB Philippines, said that they wanted to work with an agency that will push them beyond their comfort zone. She said that it was one thing to be noisy about the promos but to latch on the insight while out-Pinoy-ing the competition can only come with the campaign “Delivery Man.”
“The power of the insight na pag nakikita mo ‘tong taong ‘to araw-araw, close na kayo was so strong,” she said. She also added three things that she learned from the work: be brave, commit to the idea, and collaborate.
You have to make the judges want you to win
In his session on writing effectively, BBDO Guerrero Chief Strategy Officer and APAC Effie Juror Gino Borromeo said that once you remove all the titles and positions, judges are human too. They want to be entertained and inspired by the paper they’re reading.
He said, “When I say people, they’re busy. Some of them don’t like to read, they won’t admit it. Some of them don’t speak English meaning not all of them are native English speakers, and we take that for granted sometimes, but you know what? They’re people. Some are cranky, some hate their jobs, and they do this [read entries] after they go to their bad day. So my point is if you’re going to pitch to somebody like that, you’d better know how to make them smile.”
This also extends on defining the audience in very human terms and staying away from corporate speak and jargon-ese which were apparent in Philippine entries in the past.
“When you start to describe in human terms, it’s easier for a judge to remember. It also helps your storytelling.”
Show the strength of the story
Presenting the case of “The Loudest Call for Help” by Ogilvy Sydney, Gino pointed out that the most effective solution is sometimes the most simple one: utilizing public pay phones to directly engage Australians and disrupt their apathy towards homeless youth by ringing the phones all at once and telling stories when the calls are picked-up. What came out of the well-crafted story and its vehicle are two Gold APAC Effies in Media Innovation and Small Budget Services.
Gino added that identifying the challenge and objective is the most important because that tells whether the idea and execution are great. Tough and dramatic problems will most likely catch attention but in presenting the problem, entrants also need to:
Contextualize and frame the situation
Relate the objectives and KPIs to the business challenge
Explain the significance of the objectives
Prepare and follow the rules
As with all award shows, APAC Effies has its set rules and not following them leads to disqualification, so the biggest takeaway from the roadshow is to spend time on writing the paper.
Previous Jury Chair, Digital Marketing, Media and Commerce Lead at Unilever, Dennis Perez, likened writing the paper to thesis writing. Also coming from the client side, he had this to say: “If there’s one awards show that is right up the alley of advertisers, it’s the Effie. It’s very easy for you to convince your client to actually enter at Effie.”
As a finishing touch, Gino gave tips on what drags down the scores of the entries such as being written for the wrong category, poor writing and using unfamiliar terms, incomplete sourcing of data and results.
With all the expert advice shared that the Roadshow, Metro Manila’s creatives are equipped to take on the challenge of the APAC Effies with a greater shot at winning. All that’s left to do is to channel that wisdom into making 2024 the Philippines’ strongest year yet in terms entries.
APAC Effies 2024 is accepting entries until March 2024. adobo magazine is the official media partner of APAC Effie Awards 2024.
