The Philippine advertising industry achieved another milestone when McCann Worldgroup Philippines took home a Radio Lions haul at the recent Cannes Lions 2017.
The agency won a Gold Lion for its “Lives 1 of 4 ‘Frank’, Lives 2 of 4 ‘Hanna’, Lives 3 of 4 ‘Nicky’” campaign series for Fully Booked, and a Silver Lion for the “Dim Dads ‘Rufus’” and “Dim Dads ‘Pedro’” series for Nestlé Philippines’ Maggi Magic Sarap in the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity Radio category last Saturday, June 24, 2017.
They took three best-selling books and turned them into mini-audiobook synopses aired over the radio, complete with pagination.
“Lives 1 of 4 ‘Frank’” was a synopsis of Mary Shelley’s classic “Frankenstein”, “Lives 2 of 4 ‘Hanna’ featured Young Adult novel-turned-Netflix-series “13 Reasons Why” by Jay Asher, while “Lives 3 of 4 ‘Nicky’” featured Gillian Flynn’s “Gone Girl”. The ads ended with a line from Fully Booked saying, “with a book, you’re not just living a page, you’re living a whole ‘nother life.”
Aside from bagging the gold medal, McCann Worldgroup Philippines snatched a Silver Lion campaign for its “Dim Dads ‘Rufus’” and “Dim Dads ‘Pedro’” series for Maggi Magic Sarap. The two ads were funny and witty anecdotes of two men who try their best to cook but ends up with dishes no one wants to eat. Luckily, Maggi Magic Sarap comes in to save the dish.
Both campaigns were headed by chief creative officer Raul Castro, executive creative director Joe Dy, and creative director Maan Bautista.
This is the fifth time the Philippines has won a Gold Lion at Cannes. The first was when J. Walter Thompson Manila won the country's first Gold Radio Lion with a radio campaign for Lotus Spa. In 2013, the same agency earned gold in Outdoor Lions for its Energizer Schick Icons poster campaign. The year 2013 also saw Ace Saatchi & Saatchi take home two Gold Lions for PLDT Screen Age Love Story.
McCann Worldgroup Asia Pacific and Japan president and CEO Charles Cadell was there to accept the Gold Lion on behalf of McCann Philippines along with McCann Asia's Regional Communications Director Samantha Strauss.
As for the current state of the advertising industry, the Philippines remains hopeful for the resurgence of the legitimate ad agencies. They are striving to continue their success in providing creative and informative advertisements also by getting a bit more competitive. This means a good adverstising agency must separate themselves from the bad ones.
“The agency should be responsive to the needs of its client and changing consumer needs,” said Margot Torres, former Philippine Association of National Advertisers chairperson. “Ad agencies must be committed to excellence in its craft and to the growth of its people and that partnership. Choosing an agency is based on the people behind it since they are the team who will work with you,” she added.