SUBIC Last weekend, TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno kicked off this year’s award season by winning 25 metals at the 2018 Kidlat Awards, the most of any agency this year. TBWA\SMP brought home four Golds, nine Silvers, twelve Bronzes, a Gold Kidlat Sinag for ‘Love Thy Neighbor’, and a Bronze Kidlat Sinag for ‘Marie’. The winning entries were reflective of the agency’s dedication to ‘Creativity for Humanity’ and, according to Jury President Melvin Mangada in an interview with adobo Magazine, possible indications of what to expect from this year’s shows.
‘Love Thy Neighbor’, created in partnership with the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP), was the big winner, garnering a Kidlat Sinag Gold, and a Gold in Film. The film was made as a tribute to the heroism of Datu Lucman and the Muslims that helped 64 Christians escape the war-torn city of Marawi during the Maute invasion last May.
Four months after the terrorist attack in Marawi, the city was liberated at a cost of hundreds of soldiers’ lives. Together with Ayala Land and the HERO Foundation, TBWA\SMP created ‘Who Will Take Care of Me?’, an animated online video to create awareness for the plight of the brave and heroic soldiers’ children. It won a Silver Craft for Best Film Animation, and a Bronze Craft for Character Design.
Consistent with their drive for “Creativity For Humanity”, TBWA\SMP’s awareness effort to educate Filipinos on the signs of sexual abuse at home, called ‘Children Stories’, won a Gold metal for Print and Publication, and a Silver for Outdoor. The campaign also won for individual executions: ‘Anna’ won Silver for Print and Publication, and a Bronze for Outdoor, while ‘Karen’ and ‘Bernard’ were awarded a Bronze metal each under the Print and Publication category.
In 2015, the Philippine Statistics Authority revealed that 12 million Filipinos were living in extreme poverty. To offer a fresh perspective in the lives of the poor and give them the help that they deserve, TBWA\SMP and Johnson and Johnson produced ‘Life Under the Bridge’. The documentary, filmed by 10-year-old Noli who lives in a poverty-stricken area in Manila, shows that despite being deprived of decent living conditions, he and his family are happy and content with their lives. The online film garnered a Gold metal for Branded CSR, Silver for Branded Film Content/Native Advertising, and another Silver for Film.
Byron Co and Carlos Quimpo, young creatives from the agency also won two Bronze Craft metals and two Silver metals for ‘Covered Raw’, their award-winning Advertising Age cover. Other notable wins include a Silver for Digital Activations and Campaigns, a Silver for PR, and a Bronze for Integrated Campaigns for Boysen’s ‘Girls and Project Headshot: World AIDS Day Exhibit’, a Bronze under the Film category for MySlim’s Mother’s Day video ‘Tummy’, and a Bronze under the Branded Film Content/Native Advertising for Bench’s OFW Tribute ‘Anak’.
Last year’s big winner, Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses to Malacañang (CARMMA) returns with two audio ads ‘Marie’ and ‘Freedom RC-Bonifacio & Marie’, which both won a Bronze metal each under the Audio category. ‘Marie’ was also awarded a Bronze Kidlat Sinag.
TBWA\SMP’s success and performance at the 2018 Kidlat Awards marks the beginning of what this multi-awarded agency wishes to be a fruitful awards season.
Organized by the 4As Philippines’ Creative Guild, Kidlat Awards is an annual creative competition that lauds the Philippines’ best and most creative advertising work.