See you all tomorrow at Bonifacio High Street for Smilewich!

http://smilewichfactory.blogspot.com/

Come and support JWT on November 14!

Paalam, Tita Cory.

Pop's Not Dead

1959-2009

After weeks of mourning the tragic death of Michael Jackson, it appears the hype has arguably died down already (pun not intended). The King of Pop may be long gone but his music, however, continues to reverberate in our hearts.

And ears.

Especially during OT hours.

We won’t name names but don’t think we haven’t noticed some of you getting sentimental and endlessly playing MJ songs all night. And printing the Time commemorative issue and pasting it near your desks. And switching your wallpapers to Jacko’s face. In fact, we’re a bit surprised that a certain AE (who shall remain nameless except for his initials N.R.) hasn’t been wearing his fedora hats in MJ’s honor.

Juice Water Tinapay went around the office and asked the fans for their fondest Michael Jackson memories. Here’s what they have to say:

"In all the dance groups I've been in, from grade school to college, I’ve never failed to perform to an MJ song and have his signature cap and gloves. I have so many I can have an MJ cap and gloves ukay!" – Jakeena

"Our band was recently selected to play sa Michael Jackson night in Saguijo sa August 12, so yung banda namin listened to a bunch of MJ songs together. We realized ang gaganda pala ng songs niya. It took us over a week just to decide which one to cover (as in may arguments). Mahirap siyang i-cover, awesome ang discography niya, e!" - Griffey

"My sister and I argued about and fought over a lot of things when we were younger, except for one thing: Michael Jackson. I remember staying up really late one time so we could record Oprah's MJ interview at Neverland and we'd tape over and over for as long as our Betamax player could take it. I guess you can say MJ helped narrow the gap between me and my sister." - Maan

"It's when I saw the video of "The Way You Make Me Feel". He was so hot there. I seriously had a crush on him during that time. He danced so well and I super loved that song." - Janlo

“My favorite quote from Michael Jackson: ‘If you enter this world knowing you are loved and you leave this world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can be dealt with.’” – Icel

“We sang Heal the World when I was part of Little Mr. and Ms. Jollibee back in Grade 2.” – Javey

My fondest MJ memory is Thriller. I was about 5 years old. Even if it terrified me and gave me nightmares, my brother and I would force ourselves to watch it. We loved it that much. – Danni

The first time MJ revealed to the world the Moonwalk (during Motown's 20th Anniversary) just blew me away! - Carl

I loved it when he did the 45 degree angle thing- live. It was great in the video, but when he did it live--astig! - Bob

Long live the King of Pop! And now, we invite you to submit your moonwalking videos (paging Carl Urgino) at this tribute website below:

http://eternalmoonwalk.com/

Another Katrina Video

No, not THAT Katrina, you naughty minded people! (You'll have to ask *toot* for the link to those! Ahem.)

Here's the follow-up to Kat's high rating first video featuring surprise cameos from Jakeena "Britney Spears" Malli, Dave Ferrer, Direk Sid Maderazo and more international stars! Don't forget to keep on voting for the original video at http://youtube.com/canneslions and typing thecheshirecatgrin in the search box.

Update: As of June 2, 2009, Kat has been included in the shortlist of final candidates--the ONLY one from the Philippines! Good luck, Kat! You make us proud!

VOTE NOW!

If you've got time to Facebook, you've definitely got time to VOTE! The video below is Kat Encanto's entry to the 2009 Cannes Young Lions ad contest. Two winners, judged on creativity and the videos' views, ratings and footprint, will be sent to Cannes to represent YouTube in the prestigious Young Lions contest.

Log on to http://youtube.com/canneslions and type thecheshirecatgrin in the search box and give the video below an awesome thumbs up vote! Remember, EVERY vote counts and we need yours to make this happen!

Besides, if it was good enough for Obama (as you'll see in the video), then it's definitely good enough for us.

Never underestimate the power of a petition.

"Unofficially" Thankful

What's a little wine, chips and mini gourmet sandwiches on a lovely Monday evening? That's what we had at last night's very informal Town Hall, where Jos announced some "unofficial" good news for the agency. Too bad we can't post it here (yet). But let it be known that we are very proud and happy of our little victories and the people behind them.

So cheers to us!

Now, where are the rest of the unopened wine bottles, Maggie??

Passion Patrol invades Manila

Last March 25 to 27, The JWT Passion Patrol came to Manila for the first time since its inception. The Passion Patrol is JWT Asia’s regional creative evaluation session and is held every quarter. Four times a year, the region’s Creative head honchos gather together from all corners of the continent to review the latest work the Asian offices.

The rating system, as devised in 2005, is a Global 1 to 10 rating system used to evaluate the agency product. The scoring method is based on how much time the audience is willing to spend with the material presented to them. It is the standard by which every single piece of work we come up with is judged against.

This year, Manila hosted The Q1 Patrol, with CEO Jos Ortega and ECD Dave Ferrer welcoming our colleagues from neighboring offices. The guests of honor included Tay Guan Hin out of Singapore–regional ECD for Southeast Asia and Global CD for Lux, Sheung Yan Lo of China, also known as Ma Yan–regional ECD of Northeast Asia including all of our offices in China, Pinit Chantaprateep–Deputy Chairman and CCO of JWT Bangkok, Jun Fukawa–ECD of JWT Tokyo, Andrew Fraser–ECD of JWT Sydney, Ramsey Naja–Regional ECD of The Middle East and Ivan Wibowo, ECD of JWT Jakarta.

Together with our own Dave Ferrer, the crew spent three days holed up in the freezing chamber known as the Juniper Board Room, reviewing the latest output from all our Asian offices. They were kept organized by Regional Creative Officer Betty Tsai of Shanghai. Discussions ranged from praising, critiquing to even dissing work, and touched on how to improve the quality of work.

At sundown, through the duration of their stay, our guests were given a taste of the Manila night life. Wednesday night had them dining at Chef Laudico’s where they sampled gourmet adobo, kare-kare and other local dishes while a storm raged outside. The following night, they were escorted to Mamou in Serendra. True to their non-conformist ways, the group was at one of the most delectable steak joints in town, yet hardly anyone ordered the steak.

Several members of the JWT Tribe joined them for the two dinners, to get to know our creative leaders better, pick their brains and partake of the complimentary fancy chow.

The Passion judging sessions wrapped up on Friday, at around noon, ending a half-week long series of grueling debates and meticulous scrutinizing.

Friday afternoon saw JWT Manila hold another First Press session, with four of the Creative gurus regaling the audience with words of wisdom from their rich collective experience. It was a rare opportunity to hear from so many of the top creative minds in the region together, without having to go to AdFest or something of the sort. In attendance were several members from creatives, account management, finance, design, and of course, some of our clients.

The most frequent Manila visitor of the bunch, Guan kicked things off by showing the top scoring work from Q1, which included a couple of pieces from our own office. Among the materials showcased were a funny, unabashedly cheesy TVC from JWT Malaysia for a local cheese snack (starring a recognizable brand-new American President), a revolutionary way of using the Post Office for KitKat from Tokyo and a short film done for Lux, which starred Catherine Zeta Jones.

Ma Yan followed suit, and discussed what JWT China was all about. His talk was quite enlightening and timely, especially with JWT Shanghai recently being named Agency of the Year at the Asian AdFest in Thailand. He described their unparalleled understanding of the Chinese market, their driven resolve for creative work, and their cultural roots being evident in their work. These key points were puncutated by several pieces of work, including guerilla efforts for Anta shoes in the face of huge adspend from competitors during the Beijing Olympics, the AdFest-sweeping Shan Shui ads and their world famous Bruce Lee viral Campaign for Nokia.

Imagine selling out all on-order stock in 5 days. That's what this did for Nokia China.

Soft-spoken Pinit Chantaprateep shared some of the delightful TV spots which Bangkok is known for. The work out of Thailand continues to exhibit their quirky brand of humor and still prevails as some of the most offbeat, entertaining films coming out of the Far East. He ended with an entertaining selection of JWT Bangkok’s recent commercials which kept the audience in stitches.

The energetic Ramsey Naja finished up with an hour and a half long but extremely engaging discourse about what he describes as the Blur–where imagined reality and actual reality intersect and the lines blur, hence the term. He spoke at length about simplifying the creative process, and how true brand belief in advertising was akin to religion in its power to inspire faith. His talk was peppered with both classic and recent legendary ads, all results of simplifying the creative process, and all sterling examples of work and thinking we should be aspiring to.

Soon, nightfall struck, and the JWT Manila Tribe showed the Passion Patrol cats how we end the week in our neck of the woods.

Championing Pinoy Hospitality, Dave and Jos took the Passion contingent out on a night they won’t soon forget. First up was a fancy dinner at Lolo Dad’s in Ayala which would prove to be the last "dignified" setting for the week. Shortly after, they found themselves at Attica Bar in A-Venue for a very unique experience.

The calm before the storm had the distinguished Ma Yan chomping on a cigar while the rest settled in their seats and ordered their choice of liquid courage. On stage, the live band started to set up. But as soon as the band was ready, and the set list drawn up, the action picked up something fierce. It wasn't long before everyone was chugging Red Horse and rocking their lungs out via Rockeoke!

Rockeoke, in case you're not hip to the Pinoy scene, is essentially performance karaoke with a live Rock Band. Dave got the ball rolling by belting out The Cure's Friday I'm In Love .

Words alone won’t do the revelry justice. (Incidentally, there are photos and videos floating about, so beware!) Suffice it to say, the night saw Ramsey, Ma Yan and Guan live out their rockstar fantasies to the musical stylings of the Johnnies. The trio even joined together to give us their rendition of Hard Day’s Night.

Not to be outdone, Jos and the rest of the Manila crowd took their turns at the microphone. Art Director and rocker Bob Cruz even showcased his badass guitar skills when he jammed with the band and dished out a wicked solo.

The Johnnies capped the spectacle off with one last set that had everyone present singing their hearts out in unison (well, sort of in unison) to the tune of "Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You" which can only be aptly described as very “GMA Supershow.”

Going great lengths to ensure that our visitors left with more than just additional Facebook contacts and tagged photos, Dave presented our colleagues with a uniquely Pinoy parting gift which featured a commemorative shirt designed by Katrina Encanto and a CD of Eraserheads hits compiled by Rachel Villanueva.

The night ended with a visibly pleased Ma Yan and Betty Tsai contemplating the possibilities of future Passion Patrol sessions in Manila. So start prepping your pipes everyone.

Huge Congratulations are due Dave Ferrer, Jos Ortega, Maggie Madayag, Rachel Villanueva, Ge Madriaga-Mapa, Ramon Alfonso, Cez Golez, Kara Bautista, Tricci Alonzo, Katrina Encanto, Robert Reños, Amay Ridera, Peter Espina, Jesse Caube, Tolits Torres, Niki Rojas, Diane Fernando, Tesscafé Jumawan, Bernard Dizon and everyone else who helped make it an unforgettable Passion Patrol Q1. As Dave noted in his email, thanks to everyone's efforts, our guests took home very good impressions of the Philippines and considered this "the best Passion ever!"

Judgement Dave: Clio Awards 2009

Recently, we reported that our ECD Dave Ferrer will be  on the Radio Jury at Cannes this June.

As it turns out, it would be just one of three prestigious jury gigs for Dave. The upcoming Cannes Festivals, the recent AdFest and now, The 2009 Clio Awards. 

Dave is currently on the Radio Jury of the Clios, arguably the most recognizable advertising award show in the world. Last year, JWT Manila took home the country's only Clio metal, a bronze trophy for the Shell Radio spot "Are We There Yet?" It was JWT Manila's second bronze Clio, with the first one for Greenpeace "Trees" coming a couple of years ago.

Hat Trick for Judge Dave

Under his stewardship, JWT Manila has won quite a number of international and local awards for radio. In 2007, Dave and his team brought home the Philippines' first ever Cannes Gold Lion, for the celebrated Lotus Spa radio campaign. 

The Juan Show Gallery

as of march 2009

Because JWT is a company of "Firsts" (having pioneered several achievements in our industry), the Juan Show Gallery is dedicated to showing off artworks by JWT employees depicting first time experiences in their lives. Among the ones displayed right now include memorable Firsts in books, games, music and even heartbreak. (Uuuy)

Walk The Green Mile

If you're too lazy to join marathons, come to the Ipanema Walk The Green Mile walkathon instead, happening on March 21, Saturday at 3 pm at The Fort (across Le Souffle). Come in your favorite slippers or sandals (any brand) and be one of the first 50 people to receive FREE slippers from the new Ipanema Gisele Bundchen Seeds Collection. The next 50 receive Ipanema GB shirts while the rest will be given limited edition Ipanema GB baller IDs. One lucky winner will also receive an autographed pair of slippers signed by Gisele Bundchen herself!

Click on the video below!

JWT at KIDLAT AWARDS

The Creative Guild Kidlat Awards were held last weekend and JWT Manila sent a sizable delegation to Boracay.

This year's theme was Change is Good, sounding out the call for a change in thinking. The week was a resounding success, a testament to the efforts of our own ECD Dave Ferrer, who was on the Guild board and was in charge of promoting the event.

The event had esteemed guest judges Jureeporn Thaidumrong, John Merrifield and larger than life design icon Stefan Sagmeister (seen here with Dave Ferrer) come over and evaluate the best that Philippine advertising had to offer. The judging itself was quite brutal, as witnesses RJ Alfonso and Kara Bautista (who were taking photos of the judging) could only describe the process as "Grabe!"

Only 48 Metals survived from the over half a thousand entries submitted, and the merits of each were thoroughly scrutinized and debated.

Sagmeister and Merrifield both gave entertaining and eye opening talks which we can only hope help inspire those in attendance to come up with more world beating ideas.

The Awards night itself featured celebrity transexual Bebe

Gandanghari, formerly known as Rustom Padilla, as master of ceremonies. Or should that be mistress? Gandanghari was quite the hit among the audience, and was a proud representative of Change.

During the course of the night, last year's Hall of Fame Inductee Dave Ferrer presented the trophy to this year's honorees, Joel Limchoc of BBDO and Merlee Jayme of DM9.

Receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award was the man who built J. Walter Thompson Manila, J.J. Calero. A record of sorts for a suit to receive the honor from the Creative Guild.

Calero himself was there to receive the award and gave a heartfelt speech about the industry he loved so much.

The night saw several agencies win their fair share of metals, as award after award was handed. 

JWT Manila came away with two bronzes, Shell Are We There Yet? for Radio and Nokia Aruba Live Radio for Radio Campaign. Congratulations to the teams who brought home the Kidlat! Creative Director Joe Dy accepted the award for Shell, and joined Copywriter Maan Bautista and Art Director Javey Villones onstage for Nokia. Copywriter Kara Bautista was unable to make it to the stage for Shell.

Other JWT finalists include Atrieve Mailer for Design, Sunsilk Hairclimb for Outdoor, Ricco Renzo Paint Tubes for Direct and UP Mountaineers Spoilers for Radio.

While the bronzes and finalists were hard-earned and well deserved, the total haul was definitely a far cry from last year's showing. Perhaps last week was a much needed wake up call for us all.

Thankfully, no untoward incident happened to RJ this time around.

In the meantime, here are some of the creative materials developed by JWT Manila and Zzing for the Kidlat Awards.


Kabhoom! The Kidlat online game - Click here to play it!

The Kidlat Card was also designed by JWT Manila.

Aside from print ads, JWT Manila also developed a radio spot calling for registrants.

We leave you with this beautiful Boracay sunset taken by Art Director Bob Cruz. (From whose Facebook account most of these photos were taken. Along with some shots stolen off Danni Lim's account.)

Happy Birthday, Iking!

Most people in JWT know him as the towering dude who plays his air drums and snaps his fingers while shuffling around the office and down Paseo de Roxas. (No, he's not delirious, he's just singing to himself.) Among the Creatives, he's better known as Sneaking Uy, for his sly and subtle ways of slipping them that much revered document often referred to as The J.O.

Whether you want to call him Iking, Ikster, Sneaking or better yet, Henrique (his real name), one thing remains constant: his lunch baon will always consist of breakfast food.

Happy birthday, Iking!!!

P.S. His band AstroJuan just won the Myx Music Bandarito Favorite during the recent MYX Music Awards. Congratulations!

Welcome to JWT, Iea!

Meet our new Account Director Iea (pronounced as "ee-yuh") Gutierrez-Nepomuceno who previously worked at Tequila/Manila for four years. Iea will be under Golda's team and working closely with Iking and Anne.

So why JWT?

The offer was very challenging. I left my previous job to see how far I could take myself in a different environment. Plus, it didn’t hurt that I have former colleagues in TBWA\ who are now happily working for this Agency.

What keeps you busy?

I like drinking. A lot. And going to the gym when I can. I used to paint, take film photography, sketch and create mosaic. “Used to” being the operative term. I like dogs. And blurting out things.

What’s the one thing you know or heard about JWT Manila that made a good impression on you?

That it’s a fun agency to be in. People are genuine and hardworking.

JWT Manila makes some noise at the Adobo Anniv Bash

Congratulations to JWT Manila's winners at the Adobo Anniversary Party held at Whitespace in Pasong Tamo, Makati!

The big victory belonged to Kat Encanto who found herself waltzing--or rather, sprinting up the stage to claim her Gold trophy for winning in the Adobo Poster Design Category. We heard that by the time her name was called, she and Rache were still parking! (Kat eventually had to dash out and leave the mad steering to her partner.)

Adobo Magazine also presented her with a brand new Macbook Pro (See? Hard work IS rewarding!) The theme for the contest was Reduce Reuse Recyle. "The idea behind my entry was that the small things that you do can make a big difference", Kat shares.

See Kat's winning entry below.

Click photo to enlarge

JWT also received a trophy for its Ford Banner Ad which had won Adobo's Ad of the Month last January 2008. Click here to see the winning ad.

It is thus far the only digital winner in Adobo history. Accepting the award onstage were Joe Dy, Carl Urgino and former JWT Suit Mark Peckson.

The celebration continued well into the night as the JWT crew celebrated till closing time, outlasting even the hosts.

Zzing! in Sing!

JWT Digital Acceleration Class Picture

Zzing!'s Player 1 Cez Golez recently came from Singapore after attending a Digital Acceleration Workshop with fellow JWT colleagues from across Asia. The one-day training consisted of various representatives from Shanghai, Manila, Bangkok, Jakarta, Colombo and of course, Singapore. "We were a good mix of people from Planning, Creatives, Accounts and Digital, " Cez shares. "The workshop was led by the guys from JWT Shanghai, who took us through several topics that explored the latest trends and opportunities when using the Internet and your mobile to creatively market brands. This kind of knowledge is vital considering the rapid acceleration of how the digital industry is shaping how we communicate and interact with consumers."

Sounds like someone learned a lot. "The experience was really insightful and enjoyable. I had a great time-la!", Player 1 smiles.

KitKat Bites "Pools" TVC

Check out JWT Manila's new 5 second TVC for KitKat Bites, the newest variant of our favorite breaktime chocolate snack! Samples were given out yesterday to everyone. Pao Acosta, we want more...

Pam does First Press talk for Creatives

First Press fever is still in the air! Not only have we been getting a lot of good PR in all the major broadsheets, but Pam is doing the talks again for those who missed the one last January 30 (clients included).

Today, she does it for the Creatives, who were just too happy to plop on our multi-colored beanbags and munch on soda and popcorn while basking in the new insights.

Not bad for a Friday afternoon at work!

"Introducing...the woman who came out in Inquirer today!"

Creatives

First Ladies Pam and Danni

RJ and Icel

Popcorn lady Ate Tess and Bob

Dave Ferrer named to Cannes Radio Jury

Here’s another JWT Manila First.

Our very own ECD Dave Ferrer will be judging at the prestigious Cannes Festivals this year!

Dave joins the elite names on the Cannes Radio Lions jury, headed by LOWE Worldwide Creative Director Matt Bull.

Radio Dave

The Cannes Advertising Festival is the most important advertising event in the world, with the Cannes Lion perhaps the most coveted trophy in the award circuit. (Other than a D&AD Pencil)

In 2007, Dave and his team brought home the Philippines' first ever Cannes Gold Lion, for the celebrated Lotus Spa radio campaign. Under his stewardship, JWT Manila has won a number of international and local awards for radio over the past three years.

Aside from the Gold Lion, Dave is also credited with a couple of Silver Lions and countless finalists at Cannes.

Past judges from the Philippines include the likes of David Guerrero, Leigh Reyes and Emily Abrera.

Dave will also be on the Print Craft jury at The Asian Adfest in Pattaya, which marks his second stint at the regional show.

JWT First Press: 10 Survival Tips for 2009

Last January 30, JWT Manila hosted a forum titled “JWT First Press: 10 Survival Tips for 2009” at the Filipinas Heritage Library. The list was compiled by JWT's Global Trendspotting Team.

JWT Manila's Pam Garcia

Executive Planning Director Pam Garcia told 80+ clients, new business prospects and the media that the 10 global trends are very relevant to Filipino consumers as she provided tips on how brands can optimize results given the economic turmoil, specifically as it impacts on the already hard put Filipino consumer.

While all 10 trends appear to be a phenomenon already observed in varying degrees in the Philippine market, Garcia cited certain aspects that were particularly “Filipino” and were seen to have more immediate impact. This included the trend towards “Recessionary Living”, made more real with the recent job losses sweeping the country. “Filipinos practically invented sachets and dose maximization,” she said. Also “Simple Pleasures” where people will shift to counting their blessings instead of retail therapy and derive pleasure from small things like food treats and other affordable “indulgences”.

The trend towards “Authenticity” was also cited as something particularly relevant, given the recent consumer scare on melamine on milk and even more recently, the unprecedented victory of the first Black American president, Barack Obama who was said to have won because he was largely perceived as “more genuine.” Because all the more in times of crisis will consumers value credibility and accountability, HSBC with its campaign “What People Value” and local Red Horse Beer enabling consumers to experience strong beer in its yearly raw rock experience Muziklaban, are considered prime examples of this trend.

Jos and Pam

JWT Manila CEO Jos Ortega said: “The ethnographic profile of Filipinos is quite unique and it captures a blend of American, Spanish and Asian influence. It is against this backdrop that we believe the 10 global trends can best be appreciated and given practical relevance.”

As a reminder of what's in store for everyone this 2009, each guest walked away with specially designed mugs with the trends printed across them.

Juice Water Tinapay caught up with Pam Garcia, JWT's Planner extraordinaire, for her thoughts on the event.

So, how many talks like this have you given?

It was my first of this magnitude. As Jos said it was my "debut".I had a joint talk with two other planners and our ECD in my previous agency for a big group of mostly planners and creatives two Adcongresses ago but it was first time by myself in front of the screen. Jos gave a really interesting introduction of me and my early background as a journalist wanna-be before I got freaked out from the police beat.

How did you psych yourself for the lecture?

Do you want the truth? By crying a river in front of Audie Gemora. Whose exercise involved letting out any worries of this week. Note that the Audie Gemora "acting session" happened January 29.And shopping for clothes. And bringing two sets of outfits for the talk and had Chinkay and Jojo take a vote.And eating my favorite Bugong chicken with Jojo and Chinkay before the talk. Haha!

What was going on in your mind while preparing for your talk?

I was really nervous. Would they listen? Is my talk too long? Will Danni and Ge redesign my wardrobe? Would wearing yellow on my top make my face brighter? Haha! Will Jos give me that look in case I start to ramble? Mercifully it seems I did not.

Could you share a brief overview of the 10 trends for our readers?

JWT First Press "Ten Tips to Survive 2009" is JWT's way of sharing to Clients and friends that Friday afternoon a dose of inspiration and optimism during recessionary jitters. Picking up from the Global Ten Trends from JWT Global Trendspotting Unit JWT Intelligence, Jojo, Chinkay and I went into local ethnography to validate or localize the trends and gained a lot of learnings for our brands along the way.

We heard you had over a hundred slides? How many were there before Jos edited them?

I started with 120, and edited them myself actually before Jos had the chance to, down to 89. And though we both thought the talk was way too long at 89 slides, we also didn't want to lose any real consumer tidbits so I just said what the hell, let's just see. I ended up talking for two hours straight. I don't think I can do that anymore without steroids.

How prepared are we for the coming, if not already present, recession?

Serious question naman. Being Pinoys we are mostly recession-savvy. From the examples you will be inspired by how consumers have turned the recession into opportunity. As they say, from difficulty can arise diskarte and creativity.

Any interesting reactions from the Clients?

The most interesting kwento came from Jakeena. Our contact for a pitch that same night, heard from word of mouth that it was a really good talk and kept pestering Jakeena for the talk slides and the cool mug, even if he wasn't there. We haven't traced from which grapevine he picked that up from.And a former Client, Noel Lorenzana, came up to me after my talk, told me he will treat me to a good cup of coffee. Picking up from my sharing at the 2nd Trend Simple Pleasures that what gets me going in the morning is to have a sip of the best or most premium coffee I can find. So now I get offered an Illy or Lavazza treat aside from my daily sugar rush.

Will you be giving this talk again in the future?

Yes we will roadshow it or a refreshed version of it with other Clients who missed the talk.

Have you been applying any of the trends to your own life?

Yes definitely. Aside from Simple Pleasures, there's Recessionary Living of course. I've been experimenting with the 35 Peso brewed coffee And Authenticity. I'm being true to my core - which is to be the kind of planner and skin I am comfortable in.

Did you catch anyone sleeping or not listening while you were speaking? Nina Cruz maybe?

Haha. You must ask the JWT people in the audience. If you look at the pictures they were a mix of people taking notes, but I might have missed a few at the back. Golda kept cheering me on at various parts so that probably woke up any sleepyheads haha.Now for the version for Creatives this Friday, so you don't fall asleep, I'll have a pop quiz at the end. :) J/K.

To read more about JWT's Top 10 trends, grab a copy of The Philipine Star (Feb 17., Tuesday, p. C-10).

Friday the 13th

Happy Birthday, Leona!

Don't forget to greet our first celebrant for February (who is looking extra nice today ha...ahem!) Cheers to Leo and may all your birthday wishes come true!

Happy Birthday, Lizanne!

A big belated happy birthday to Lizanne, whose 18th (!!!) birthday was last January 30. Normally, only one picture of the celebrant is posted here but since we were late, we're giving her TWO shots!

The pics below were taken last week at Commons, where JWT friends brought out a surprise cake and burst out in the most out of tune, out of sync rendition of "Happy Birthday" that you can imagine.

Here's to more success and happiness for 2009, Lizzie!

81 years old ka na???

and sneakily posing in the background is..dj sneaky.

JWT launches Zzing! Advergaming unit

Late last year, JWT internally launched its new advergaming specialist unit called Zzing!, which is the product of an exclusive partnership between WPP Marketing, Inc. and Indigo Entertainment, the country's largest Flash and Shockwave developer and one of the best in the Philippines.

Read more about Zzing! in Adobo Magazine's latest online newsblast. Click here for the article!

Happy Birthday, Anne!

Birthday girl Anne Pagaduan adds another candle to her cake today! Happy birthday from all of us! Cheers to you, Anne!

Junk Food for Thought

Break time muna! As this hectic week of pitches and deadlines comes to an end, we've agreed to post what a crazed Juice Water Tinapay fan from the agency emailed us. Perhaps you could help him seek answers to the following mind-boggling questions of earth-shattering importance.

Just click on the Comments tab to leave your answers--and don't forget to rationalize why!

1. Ano ang mas masarap -- Flat Tops or Curly Tops?


2. Sino ang nauna ipanganak -- si Susy or si Geno?


3. Ano ang mas refreshing -- Zesto or Sunglo?


4. Alin ang mas masakit mangagat -- lion or shark?


5. Ano ang mas mabilis lumamig -- Wilkins or Summit?


6. Alin ang mas sandy -- Boracay or Puerto Galera?


7. Sino mas magaling sumayaw -- si Jollibee or si Barney?


8. Ano ang mas masaya -- birthday party o children's party?


9. Alin ang may mas magandang usage ng letter "M" -- Makati or Megamall?


10. Saan mas sayang ang oras -- sumagot ng questionnaire na ito or sumakay sa elevator na kasama mo lahat eh bababa sa Mezzanine?

Welcome to JWT, Miriam!

JWT welcomes its new Client Services Director, Miriam Sison-Pangan who will primarily be in charge of the Unilever business. She will be sharing the lead account management responsibilities for the agency with Golda Roldan.

"With today’s challenging and complex business environment, it is important that our clients have access to more senior management counsel. This new structure reflects that commitment", Jos shares. "Miriam brings with her a wealth of experience, knowledge and insights that will prove valuable for our clients’ brands."

An advertising practitioner for the past 23 years, she has managed a variety of accounts from consumer goods to retail business. These include brands like J&J, Del Monte, Purefoods, KFC, Shakey’s and BPI Family Bank.

Miriam has devoted 12 years exclusively managing the Unilever business - the last 6 of those doing both local and regional work. Prior to joining JWT Manila, Miriam was the SEAsia Regional Business Director for Surf at Lowe.

Let's all give her a warm JWT welcome!

JWT and Zzing! team up for Kidlat Game

JWT and Manila based advergame developer Zzing! have collaborated to develop an online game to promote the Kidlat Card, the Creative Guild's privilege card that entitles the holder to perks and freebies at partnering establishments in Metro Manila. Top scorers each week win a free Kidlat Card.

Instructions are simple. Use your mousepad or Wacom to fry as many Creatives as possible as fast as you can. The characters start off at a normal pace, just leisurely making their way across the screen. However, the more you hit, the faster the remaining characters zip around! Frantic music blares in the background so if you're wired with caffeine (and hopefully nothing else), this game may give you a slight case of the jitters.

If you think this is your chance to unleash revenge at those Creatives you've been meaning to strangle, we've got sad news for you: you're not exactly frying them to death here. Once the lightning bolts hit them, you have officially zapped the Creatives with brilliant ideas, thereby turning them into happy-go-lucky lightbulb heads.

See how many people from JWT can you recognize in the game! Click here to play it! Happy zapping!

BusinessMirror features Jos

ORTEGA: “The better the idea, the more time people will spend with it.”

Jos talks about rising above the clutter and creating work that stands out from the rest. Grab a copy of BusinessMirror (Jan. 5, 2009) or read the full article here.

Happy Birthday, Eli!

Welcome back to reality, JWT! Did you miss your desks and computers? We thought so.

Before you go back to nursing those holiday hangovers, don't forget to greet Eli a very happy birthday today!

Cheers, cheers!