monkey business

Two weeks ago, I traveled for three hours to Subic Bay, a beautiful port district north of Manila. I went there for the 20th Philippine Advertising Congress, a four-day biennial event that celebrated and awarded the country's best ads. Our agency, PC&V, won two trophies which made the long, out-of-town trip worthwhile for me. :-)

During one of the breaks in between guest speakers (which included writer Neil Gaiman), I went for a short drive along the bay. Aside from being bound by beaches, the place is known as a wildlife sanctuary of sorts. As a matter of fact, I passed by an area where monkeys roamed freely. Some of them swung on trees and electrical wires while others cavorted by the side of the road.

Then. I. Spotted. Two. Naughty. Ones. Doin the nasty! :-D So I whipped out my Canon Ixus 950IS and stole a shot.

On the way back to Manila, I showed the picture to an award-winning art director-friend. He quipped, "That will make a nice billboard for a motel." Then we both laughed. I took his cue and made a layout. Complete with a headline and the logo of the Philippines' most famous motel chain. Just for fun. ;-) The result is right below.

Do you think it can win an award at the next Philippine Advertising Congress? LOL

The Monkey Be@rbricks at the top are: (left) the Cute Be@rbrick of Series 5 & (right) the Monkey Bearbrick from the Medicom Toy Fan Club.

reinventing love

At JWT Manila, the advertising agency where I used to work back in '97, Art Directors took a test before they were hired. One of the test problems (sort of) went like this:

'The heart has been the symbol of love for as long as we can remember – aren't you bored with it? Go ahead, design a new icon to take its place.'

Interesting exercise, wasn't it?

Just yesterday, we shot a television advertisement where we featured newlyweds. Similarly, the challenge for us was how to portray these clichèd characters in a new way.

Check it out below: we went for a wedding couple with a hipper style. Long hair, canvas shoes and a Vespa for him. A hiked up skirt and a tomboyish straddle on the bike for her. No guests throwing rice. No wedding cake. No white doves.

In my opinion, the principles of advertising are like the laws of love –

One, you simply can't bore the consumer – you have to continually reinvent the product to keep it exciting.

Two, a strategy is mandatory – you must plan to make it work.

And three, creative execution is key – from the setting, to the music, to the script/conversation, to the costumes – everything must be perfect!

(Hmmm, come to think of it, there is life after advertising for me... marriage counseling! :-D)

The 2006 Valentine Be@rbrick (top, right) is one of the few that come with a 50% size bear. The heart symbol on its chest has been modified to include an @ symbol. Why? Here's my take on it.

Models: Century Tuna Superbods Runners-up JC Tiuseco & Mica Tuaño assisted by Make-up Artist Effie Go

a couple of hotties

The scantily clad twosome (above) are Kegawazoku Be@rbricks. They are named after the Kegawazoku Theater Company, an all-female Japanese group that performs edgy song and dance numbers – musical revues that are spiked with unexpurgated violence, sex, nudity and political commentary. The male is named 'Junlie'; the female is called 'Marie.' Notice how their nipples are covered only by stars. Heehee.

Speaking of sexy couples, I just worked with two Brazilian models (Michele and Gui) for a television ad last month. (Yup, I am from the feverishly fun world of advertising.) You can tell from the picture below that we came up with one helluva commercial. Don't they look terrific?

Brazilian hotties like these two are raising temperatures in Manila and the rest of Asia. For some reason, they are suddenly all over! Even Vanity Fair magazine's latest issue features the sexy party boys and girls of Brazil. Photographed by stylish photographer Mario Testino, supermodel Gisele Bundchen and the young 'it' crowd from Ipanema cram the pages with earthy glamour and exuberance.

Doesn't that make you want to come to the next Carnival in Rio?

Info from Michael K. Bourdaghs' Blog / Michele and Gui's pic by yours truly