MARTIN-WILLIAMS, MINNEAPOLIS, USA

CD: TOM MOUDRY
ART DIRECTOR: TOBY BALAI
COPYWRITER: JULIE KUCINSKI

PUBLICIS ROME

ECD: ALASDHAIR MACGREGOR HASTIE
CD: PATRIZIO MARINI
COPYWRITER: FEDERICO RUSSO
ART DIRECTOR: ALESSANDRO IZZILLO

DUVAL GUILLAUME ANTWERP, BELGIUM

CDs: GEOFFREY HANTSON, DIRK DOMEN
COPYWRITER: KRISTOF SNELS
ART DIRECTOR: SEBASTIEN DE VALCK

TBWA HELSINKI

ART DIRECTOR: MINNA LAVOLA
COPYWRITERS: EKA RUOLA, ERKKO MANNILA

LEO BURNETT SAO PAOLO

CD: RUY LINDENBERG
ART DIRECTOR: LUIS CATAPANO

OGILVY LONDON

ECD: MALCOLM POYNTON
COPYWRITER: JASON MENDES
ART DIRECTORS: STEVE CORLIN, ANDY WYTON

M&C SAATCHI NEW ZEALAND

ECD: OLIVER MAISLEY
CD: JEREMY SOUTHERN
COPYWRITERS: MARIANNE HARVEY, JEREMY SOUTHERN
ART DIRECTOR: MARK ANSTIS

MARK BBDO, CZECH REPUBLIC

CD: LEON SVERDIN, MARTIN CHARVAT
ART DIRECTOR: DAM KURZ
COPYWRITER: PAVEL SOBEK

CUMMINS NITRO, MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

ECD: SEAN CUMMINS
CD: JAMES PROCTES
ART DIRECTOR: JASON HYNES
COPYWRITER: JULIE POULTER
Nestle Diet

3, ALBUQUERQUE, USA

CD: SAM MACLAY
COPYWRITER: SAM MACLAY
ART DIRECTOR: TIM McGRATH

HUXLEY QUAYLE VON BISMARK, TORONTO

CDs:ANDY SHORTT, CHRIS HALL, MARK TAWSE-SMITH
COPYWRITERS: ANDY SHORTT, MARK TAWSE-SMITH
ART DIRECTOR: CHRIS HALL

SAATCHI & SAATCHI ROME

CDs: GUIDO CORNARA, AGOSTINO TOSCANA
ART DIRECTOR: ANDREA BACCIN
COPYWRITER: ANTONIO GIANNONE

PHILIPPINE ADVERTISING: THE BEST OF TIMES

My article in Philippine Daily Inquirer today, Friday, February 22, 2008, page B2-3

CDP LONDON, UK

CD: JONATHAN DRAPES
COPYWRITER: JOE WILLIAMS
ART DIRECTOR: ANDY PRESTON

LUERZER'S ARCHIVE, 2006 - HENKEL

AGENCY: DDB PHILIPPINES
ECD: ROGER PE
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: ERIC SALAZAR
ART DIRECTOR: MANNY DE PAZ

SAATCHI & SAATCHI PARIS

VOLKSWAGEN TOUAREG

"SOUTH AMERICA"
AGENCY: DDB International Malaysia
ECD: Roger Pe
Copywriter: Roger Pe
Art Directors: Kai Ming Wong/Sam Siong Wee

GREY SINGAPORE

CD: KOH HWEE PENG, JUSTIN LIM
ART DIRECTORS: KOH HWEE PENG, NICK TAN
COPYWRITER: JUSTIN LIM

"YOU MONKEY!"

AGENCY: DDB International Malaysia
ECD: Roger Pe
Copywriter: Roger Pe
Art Director: Kai Ming Wong

THE NETHERLANDS

Agency: Ogilvy Amsterdam
ART DIRECTOR: JAN WILLEIM SMITS
COPYWRITER: EDSARD SCHUTTE

DECEMBER 2007 ISSUE, LUERZER'S ARCHIVE MAGAZINE

"FORTUNE CAT"
AGENCY: DDB International Malaysia
ECD: Roger Pe
Copywriter: Roger Pe
Art Director: Kai Ming Wong
Photographer: Kai Ming Wong

2007 LONDON INTERNATIONAL AD AWARDS, SILVER

PRIL

AGENCY: DDB Philippines
Client: Henkel
ECD: Roger Pe
Copywriter: Roger Pe
Art Director: G.I. Samudio

VOLKSWAGEN JETTA

"PIZZA DELIVERY"
"REFUEL"
"CARWASH"

AGENCY: DDB International Malaysia
ECD: Roger Pe
Copywriter: Roger Pe
Art Director: Desmond Phang

MARCH 2007, KABAYANIHAN, MALAYSIA

"PLUG"
Agency: DDB international Malaysia
ECD: Roger Pe
Copywriter: Roger Pe
Art Director: Kai Ming Wong

2007 MALAYSIAN KANCIL AWARDS, FINALIST BEST COPY

"AFRICA"
Agency: DDB International Malaysia
ECD: Roger Pe
Copywriter: Roger Pe
Art Directors: Kai Ming Wong/Sam Siong Wee

MORE ADS

Denver Homeless Mission - Cultivator Denver, USA

Olla Condoms - Age Sao Paolo, Brazil

Yoba Erotic Toys - Australie, France

NEW ADS

Publicis Finland (Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority)


DDB Toronto (Support Bras)CD: SAM MACKAY
COPYWRITER: SAM MACKAY; ART DIRECTOR: TIM McGRATH


Saatchi & Saatchi Belgium (Ariel) CD: JAN TEULINGKY
ART DIRECTOR: DIDIER VANDEN BRANDE,COPYWRITER: LUIS GUSTAVO FONSECA

The Name, Rome (WWF)CD: FRANCESCO TADDERRECCI, LUCA ALBANESE
ART DIRECTOR: EMANNUELE PULVIRRENTI: COPYWRITER: FILIPPO TESTA

FULL METAL HARDCORE: THE BEST OF TIMES IN PHILIPPINE ADVERTISING

by Roger Pe

Fidel Ramos has just turned around our economy and made the Philippines one of Asia's emerging tigers. The last Southeast Asian nation to land on the list, where Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia yearly registered an average 8% growth, was at last, ready to show the world.

Sadly, it was short-lived.

The 1997 Asian financial bummer rained on our parade and fell on a country long wanting to take-off. "Thankfully", the dark clouds also hovered across the region, casting a spectre of gloom over the big cats' lair. The mighty proud, roaring tigers, unvulnerable for many years, faded into their dens, retreated all defanged.

Nipped in the bud, the cub's grand debut to the elite Tiger Club resounded to a screeching halt.

Indonesia's story was replete with hair-raising parallelisms to ours. An 8% regular on the GNP scale and which has replaced the Philippines as America's Most Favored Nation in SEA, the world's biggest archipelago suffered the biggest reversal of fortune.

The rupiah plummeted to its worst devaluation abyss and the country thrown into a maelstrom littered with riots, bombings and ethnic violence. Chaos became the order of the day and when the epic saga came to an end, the world's fourth most populous country eventually saw the unseating of its long-time dictator.

Thailand unloaded its secret treasure largesse, its citizens volunteered to peddle their gold excesses to resuscitate an economy gone haywire and went back to basics. Surmounting the crisis was in the national consciousness of a population not wanting to pass the blame on anyone.

That consciousness also gave birth to a creative brand that is unmistakeably, uniquely Thai. Today, we all know that it is a Thai franchise embedded in prestigious award books, honored in global annuals and imprinted in creative people's minds.

He ain't called Mohamad for nothing but the indomitable allah of that crisis - Mohamad Mahathir, took the bull by its horn and shielded the ringgit like it was Mel Gibson doing a Braveheart. Undaunted, fearless, a true guardian of the people's welfare, Mahathir built what is Malaysia today after the crisis - modern, industrialized, strong dollar-for-dollar.

While the dominoe-effect did not spare the island-nation, traditionally strong Singapore perhaps suffered the least because of inherently solid fundamentals. The country avoided being dragged deeper into the Asian financial sandpit by exercising extreme prudence in protecting its foreign exchange reserves.

1997.

The moon was in the seventh house. Jupiter aligned with Mars, and luck, hooray, stirred the stars. The dawning of the age of Aquarius for Philippine creative advertising has begun. While it was the worst of time for Asia, it was also the other way around - the break of a new day for Philippine advertising.

Many people still remember 1997 as the year when the Philippines climbed and inched a millimeter near the world's advertising apex - The Hardwares.

Ogilvy Manila skyrocketed the Philippines to the metal age for the first time. While we didn't get to the moon, we didn't get mud either. We won two Bronze statues each from the Clio and New York Festivals - at a time when the value of the latter wasn't condescendingly demerited yet by punters purportedly owning rights to Asian creative rankings.

The quantum leap made by Ogilvy's Anvil and Pepsi campaigns was synonymous to a tsunami breaking a spell of low tides. We said requiem to a long trophy drought and industry watchers described it as a closure to our lofty finalist certificate achievements.

More statues in varying colors and shapes came after that bonanza, and BBDO, the reinvented agency with David Guerrero, the man behind all those 1997 Ogilvy ores, at the helm, delivered with two Gold statues from London International Advertising Awards. The twin-kill was another first, harvested by the agency from a self-promotion ad (a bald man pointing a hairdryer to his head) and a print ad for Bayfresh (a flower photoshopped to look like spokes of of an electric fan).

The Philippines continued to dazzle the world in 2002, this time with another Silver and three Bronze Clios. They came from Ogilvy ("Door Key", The Economist) and BBDO ("Dining Out", Visa).

We got our first Asia Adfest Lotus Gold on same year courtesy of Leo Burnett's "Lolo" tv commercial (McDonald's) where previously, the same agency had won a couple of bronzes from its Bengay tv spots.

McCann-Erickson shone with a Gold (1999) and Silver (2001). Jimenez-Basic, Lowe and Campaigns and Grey also metalled within that period.

DDB Philippines, during the time of this author, struck World Silver and Bronze statues, including a London Silver trophy, to gain passport to this august company of Philippine international winners.

Only two ad agencies have so far netted one of the world's most coveted awards - the One Show Pencil. JWT ("Trees") and TBWA-Santiago, Mangada and Puno (a public service radio spot for PGH) own bragging rights to this achievement, a feat even their fiercest competitor talk about. "Trees" by JWT is perhaps the most statue-awarded pinoy ad in history.

TBWA-SMP also owns the Philippine record in total gold, silver and bronze haul from New York Festivals. The agency that has won the 4A's Agency of the Year three times in a row is also a major Philippine winner in Cannes and Asia Adfest, aside from being a Creative Guild Ad of the Year behemoth year in and year out.

A television ad largely edited from an award-winning documentary by Ditsi Carolino became the highlight of the Philippines' campaign in Cannes 2005. Exposing the plight of incarcerated Filipino children in adult jails, the spot created for Consuelo Foundation opened the world's eyes and bagged a Silver Lion. For the first time, the world's most prestigious advertising competition also invited a Filipino in its main jury - Emily Abrera - chair emeritus of McCann-Erickson.

Young and Rubicam's public service print ad for La Concordia brought another gold (for photography) from London International Advertising Awards, upping the country's total gold tally in that award show to three.

The year also trumpeted JWT's landmark gold and silver win ("Trees") in Asia Adfest.

2007

Indeed, 7 is a lucky number. 10 years after 1997, it continues to weave magic to the Philippines' trophy hunt, paving the way for a monumental golden avalanche in 2007.

In June last year, the most ferocious of all Lions was finally tamed and brought home ashore by JWT.

"Corporitual", a radio commercial for its client Lotus Spa shocked everyone by winning a Gold Lion in a field often dominated by the world's best radio producing agencies - DDB Chicago (renowned for its "Men of Genius" series", Wieden -Kennedy London, Goodby, Silverstein and Partners among others. The world heard the blaring cymbals - the Philippines has arrived. What made it doubly amazing- it came from the hardest medium of all.

Apart from its earthshaking Gold, JWT turned in another Silver and BBDO bagged a Silver and Bronze, combining for the Philippines' biggest finish ever in Cannes - 1 gold, 2 Silvers, 1 Bronze.

Clio Gold At Last

Young and Rubicam Philippines and Y&R Malaysia partnered for a headline-hugging feat. The teamwork produced a Gold Clio from their work on Soroptimist of Malaysia campaign which also gave them stunning results from Neil French's inaugural World Press Awards.

1997-2007. It was written in the stars.

Indeed, it rained. It poured. And how.

2008 ASIA ADFEST: ANOTHER GOLD FOR THE PHILIPPINES?

by ROGER PE

The grandfather keeps addressing one of his granddaughters as Gina. Karen, his other granddaughter, who takes him out for a treat, orders a burger. The highlight - he slices it, wraps the other half and says, "this one is for my favorite apo."

Scene from one of the Philippines' best loved tv spots.

The story, woven in a McDonald's store, upped customer traffic volume, touched millions of television viewers nationwide and did the same with Asia Adfest judges.

Created by Leo Burnett six years ago by a team of Richard Irvine, Edsel Tolentino and Sheila de la Cuesta, the tv commercial ended the country's long-time quest for gold in the region's toughest creative award show.

The crafters of the spot used many unconventional ingredients to catch people's attention: minimalist copy, 'disturbing silence', camera work that did the talking, sensitive, spontaneous acting and use of an almost docu-effect but brilliantly executed cinematography.

Most award-winning commercials are actually very simple. This one is, and talks about a very Asian topic - filial piety with a twist.

It had none of the verbose, de rigeur, wall-to-wall copy, tiring product windows we hear that annoy people every day and make them switch off the tv set. To answer your next question, yes, it won many hearts and sold the product anyway.

"Lolo" continues to make history. Today, the trail it blazed is still unsurpassed in tv category. No one has come close to the massive talk-value it generated during its time and no pinoy tv spot has inched closer to its landmark gold win in the region's most prestigious award competition.

THANKS TO JWT's "TREES"

Our second gold came after four years, in print this time, and in a medium many consider as the Filipino creaive's strength. JWT Manila registered Intensity 10 on Cannes of Asia's creative richter scale. The win in the once private domain of Thais, Singaporeans and Japanese reverberated far and wide giving the industry a shot in the arms. The stunning gold follow-up came at an opportune time: when a bronze wasn't easy to get and finalist-framed certificates were something to crow about - in an award show that had already eclipsed the sheen of rival Asian Ad Awards - the Spikes.

What honor it gave us when even proud Singapore, the usual resurgent Malaysia and emerging India were scramblings for crumbs, pushing the Philippines shoulder to shoulder with the always iredescent Thailand, albeit only for a brief period.

"Trees" owed much of its power through simplicity executed with visual illusion charm. Imagine a page of a notebook with its spring binder holes graphically resembling like rows of trees and told us to recycle paper. Brilliant.

The culprits responsible were not the old, jaded type many had expected. Two young genex-driven turks, seemingly out to re-edit the books, they were kid giants Joey Ong (Art Director) now ACD at Jimenez-Basic and David Ferrer, JWT Manila ECD.

The Greenpeace ad also galloped through world's major award shows, made a splash in international annuals and in today's current rage - online creative sites. With a Silver from One Show and Cannes, Bronze from Clio and Asian Ad Awards, "Trees" also shimmered bright on the glossy pages of Campaign Brief Asia, Communication Arts and The Work.

Its biggest aftershock: it turned around an agency within such a short time and made it one of the hottest shops locally and regionally. And the world is noticing.

JWT Manila today is one of the network's crown jewels in Asia along with JWT Bangkok, JWT KL and JWT Mumbai - dynamic, freshly overhauled, cleansed, repopulated with youth and vigor and reinvented.

Gold on tv. Gold on print. Can we win a gold on radio in Asia Adfest? JWT Manila seems to be the agency most likely to gift us that on the strength of its Cannes whopper - the Gold Lion winning "Corporitual" ad done by the agency for its Lotus-Spa client.

Now, it's a race for JWT and top Philippine creative ad agencies to win our first Asia Adfest radio Gold.

HOW ASIAN AD AGENCIES ARE REINVENTING THEMSELVES

by ROGER PE

Before the Asian financial meltdown in 1997, when marketers were generous and clients made ostentatious display of advertising wealth, we heard so much about phrases like "paradigm shift", "consumer insight", "gut-feel", "brand persona" and the many more.

We remember a creative icon with so much fondness for "paradigm shift" that marketing and admen parroted it with the same fervor. It was fashionable using it and the buzzwords that mushroomed then. Anyone who spiced their marketing briefs with these jargons sounded smart and looked straight out of Madison Avenue. We were constantly amazed, and how they caused us to utter "wow" in our own little corner of the room.

Knowing how fleeting advertising trends are, they are, of course, stale now and have become cliche.

And knowing how ad agencies love to coin catchphrases and enrich our vocabularies, some words reincarnate with a vengeanceand emerge from mere webster ink blots to today's buzz phrases with a zing.

The word Reinvent, for example.

Though as old as your grandmother's grandmother, it is being given a total makeover to sound hip, timely, hardhitting and with a definitive purpose. Spin-doctors are using this one-word formula to relaunch their clients. Brand strategists see this as a great move to re-excite their targets. Management executives are echoing the same to re-energize their different teams. The same is being cascaded down to the last person at the bottom of the corporate totem pole. Marketers are employing the same tactics to give their brands and services added boost. Ad agencies are brandishing the word to retain clients' businesses and arrest shrinking incomes.

Competition uses it as a mantra. The whole town is practically mouthing the latest battlecry: Reinvent ... or die.

How apt when the industry had been marginalized and continue being threatened to the very core of its existence. A great act since we are facing even more difficulties in the global economy, market fragmentation, rise of innovative media and law of diminishing returns.

At the beginning of the year, Wall Street journal reported that ad agencies worldwide "are submitting to marketer' demands, however outrageous they may be to ad agencies. Clients were even calling for changes in the way ad agencies are structured and dipping their fingers on who's in the team, an unthinkable scenario from years back. But that's getting ahead of the story.

How some agencies are coping up

As global economics continue to cloud the future of the industry, the meldown, according to WSJ, "will drive more money to the internet - a much cheaper medium and has definitely more measurable reach and results."

In view of its big profit potentials, the online landscape is continuously being explored - with great success by global trailblazer Tribal DDB - Advertising Age's Global Interactive Agency Network of the Year for 2007 and Adweek's winner of the same accolade in 2005 Established in 2000, Tribal DDB today has 44 offices in 25 countries integrating all its interactive web properties under the Tribal brand.

"Tribal DDB's insightful, intuitive and dynamic approach to digital media gives today's marketers and advertisers the edge they need in brand building. Their achievement is a testament to the culture of creativity and professionalism that pervades in DDB. We are very proud of them," says Gil G Chua, group president and chief executive officer of DDB Philippines.

In Asia, its viral campaign for McDonald's in 2007 won "Top 10 Best Campaigns in Asia" and "Top 10 Best Interactive Campaigns in China" by Media and Digital Media, respectively.

Myrill Lynch predicts overall ad spend in online advertising in the US will grown by 2.3% and will surpass magazine spending in 2010. As technology becomes more and more accessible and evolves faster than we can blink, online advertising in Asia will also continue to rise, surpassing previous forecasts.

Other than harnessing the potentials of online advertising, ad agencies are becoming more and more creative in winning businesses from clients.

Idea Avenue, a medium size Thai-owned ad agency is offering an unorthodox commitment to its clients. If the advertising it makes does not sell the client's product, it charges only the cost of producing it. The one-year old agency is applying the tactic to compete in an ad market hugely dominated by foreign agencies. if the commercial does not bear fruit, the agency only a service fee. But if it works, it is asking clients to return a company bonus.

"No agency in Thailand has done this before", says Vichai Suphasomboon, the company chair and CEO. His agency expects a 70% rise in billings - from 300 million baht last year to 500 million this year.

And you thought Manila is a billboard jungle? Agencies all over Asia are squeezing hard revenues from this medium that has also been reinvented. Exert a little effort, put an ounce more, you may have a tri-vision version approved. Do more category-breaking campaigns never ever before seen, reinvent the usual ... you just might stumble into a billboard idea worth its weight in Cannes and other prestigious award shows.

Malaysia treats billboard as an outdoor medium 'above' the usual. For creative agencies, billboard has become a playground for creative minds to have fun and break the rules. We once put a nnequin below a 20-ft high billboard to make 'him' look like 'he' wanted to scrutinize and tes-drive the new Volkswagen passat. Clients loved it. People talked about it. Target bought it.

In Vietnam, office buildings are being reinvented as a medium to showcase agency branding and corporate positioning. Imagine an apple, a peach, a strawberry, a pear - all photographed in their luscious freshness, all of them with Vietnamese hats to express local insight, global standards. Lovely.

In Indonesia, an account director of Virus Communications said, "part of the strategy should include daring new alternative media that yet to be tapped to the maximum - guerrilla advertising, events and PR, online advertising and word-of-mouth."

A stern and one of the most feared admen in Malaysia once told us, "when people are not having fun when they work, the crap shows." That's probably one of the reasons why an agency set up its office in the fun area of the city, junked the usual corporate identity font and transformed it into a blazing neon light sign.

According to Nielsen Media Index 2007 survey, despite a backdrop of evolving new media choices and hanging consumer habits, traditional media continues to sustain their mass audience presence. But internet and cable television, traditionally seen as 'new' or 'alternative' media have strengthened their foothold in the mass media consumption palette in Singapore over the past years and moving a step closer to 'mainstream' media status.

In Hongkong, some ad agencies are reinventing themselves by re-investing on creative people, cutting down on fat staff and turning the tables on hard-to-deal-with clients who constantly put them on the threat list. Some spin offs choose only clients they want to work with to be more productive and profitable. Some are even even turning down invitations to pitch.

Reinvent. That seems to be the buzz word today, in a world that is always tied up whenever the US economy suffers hiccups. Should we do the other way around for a change? Take the bull by its horn, dump the same collar for good. That seems to be the real meaning.