"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