20 advertisements win Araw Awards

NAGA CITY—From funny to dramatic to hip, advertisements in the past two years that endorsed products and advocated social causes were awarded gold trophies in the Araw Awards, touted as the “Oscars” of Philippine advertising productions, on Saturday night.

The 20 winning works from 17 advertising groups were chosen from a field of 1,748 produced from 2009 to 2011 and cited in a ceremony that capped the 22nd Philippine Advertising Congress (AdCongress22) held at the CamSur Watersports Complex (CWC) in Pili, Camarines Sur.

The awardees were picked for outstanding direction, cinematography, editing, casting, use of music in film, sound design, vocal performance, photography, strategy, idea, use of screens, use of outdoor, ambient and pop, promo and activations, direct, digital and film. There were no winners among print or radio commercials.

“This is the Oscars of advertising. It’s the biggest show of advertising. We made it tougher. So tough to enter and so tough to win,” said Merlee Cruz-Jayme, chair of the Araw Awards’ creative committee.

Awardees

Hit Productions received four trophies, followed by McCann WorldGroup with three. DM9 Jaymesyfu Inc., BBDO Guerrero, Unitel Production, Revolver Studios Inc., Media Contacts, Film Expert Inc. (Filmex) got two each, while ZenithOptimedia Phils and Publicis Manila, and AdPhoto Inc., Dentsu Philippines Inc., Leo Burnett Manila, Lowe Inc., Straight Shooters Media Inc. and PostManila had one each.

Nestlé Philippines was named “Client of the Year” for placing the most number of ads.

Araw, which stands for “AdBoard Recognition Awards” and is also a Filipino term for “sun,” connotes a nationalistic dimension that the sun is the centerpiece of the Philippine flag while its light is the way through darkness.

Leading the winners were “School,” produced by Unitel Production for Asian Development Bank, and “Nestlé Kasambuhay Habambuhay: Tingala sa Ibaba” by Filmex (best direction).

A YouTube post of “Tingala sa Ibaba” portrays two children on opposite sides of the economic divide, playing together on a seesaw in a school playground while touching and unraveling the complexities of human relations. All actors were amateurs who performed so naturally.

Funny and sad

For best cinematography, “School” was again cited along with “Good Fight,” which Revolver Studios Inc. produced for Ayala Center.

“Perfect Breasts,” a funny and sad short film about a man who developed overgrown breasts, won for best editing. It was produced by Revolver Studios and PostManila Inc. for Andoks Litson Corp.

For best casting, “Nestlé Kasambuhay Habambuhay: The Howl and the Fussyket,” which Straight Shooters Media Inc. created for Nestlé Philippines, was chosen. Top-billed by Eugene Domingo and Dennis Padilla, the funny and light short film tells of a boy with a speech defect, pronouncing “p” as “f” and vowels with “h,” but obsessed with being a declaimer. In the end, the boy finally found his place in Filipino declamation pieces.

For best use of music in film, Hit Productions grabbed the gold with “Winner” for Resorts World Manila and “Home” for Nestlé Philippines. The same outfit won for best sound design in film for its work on PepsiCo International’s “Action.”

The award for best vocal performance in radio went to Dentsu Philippines with its “Man on Bike” creation for Panasonic Philippines.

“Vaseline Road Trip of a Lifetime” won for media excellence in strategy. Created by Media Contacts for Unilever Philippines, it also won for media excellence in idea.

For best use of screens, Publicis Manila and ZenithOptimedia Phils shared the trophy for the “Nestlé Kasambuhay Habambuhay” film anthology.

“Living Billboard,” which provides environmental information, received the award for best use of outdoor, ambient and pop. Created by McCann WorldGroup for Coca-Cola Export Corp., it also won for excellence in idea.

A cowinner in the category is “Limestone,”  which DM9 Jaymesyfu made for the Department of Tourism and Smart Communications.

Violence against women

“Bruise,” which illustrates Gabriela’s advocacy against violence against women, was awarded for media excellence in promo and activations. Produced by DM9 Jaymesyfu, it also won a trophy for promo activations.

For outdoor, ambient and pop, two groups were declared winners—BBDO Guerrero for “Butcher” and “Carpenter,” which it made for Bayer Philippines, and “Living Billboard” by McCann WorldGroup.

The Araw Gold for direct went to “Fluorescent Candle,” Leo Burnett Manila’s work for World Wide Fund Philippines, and for digital to BBDO Guerrero for “Sa Akin Ang Pilipinas,” which it did for PepsiCo International.

For film, the award was bagged by Lowe Inc. with “Selecta Cornetto Bouncer” for Unilever RFM.

Jayme said the Araw Awards involved different disciplines, such as clients, advertising agencies, production houses and media agencies.

Judging was done in two parts with entries initially reviewed online by 60 of the industry’s best minds. The final phase took place on site with 53 judges gathering at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel to decide which of the surviving entries changed the game enough to win the bronze, silver and gold trophies in 17 categories.

This year’s award sponsors were DentsuIndio, Hinge Inquirer Digital, Hit Productions, Nuworks, Punongbayan and Araullo, and Underground Logic.