The TBWA\SMP team of Gabie Dolor and CJ Valle will represent the Philippines at the upcoming Spikes Asia in Singapore. The announcement came following two intense rounds of this year’s Young Lions x Young Spikes competition, organized by the Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies of the Philippines’ (4As) Creative Guild, with the duo’s effort placing second among entries from a pool of 65 teams.

“We’ve always had this excitement and drive for creative work, and we want to thank all of our great mentors for helping us get here,” says Dolor. “We would always set aside time to talk about initiatives, outside the daily work, and that’s where it all began.”

A total of four teams from TBWA\SMP were counted among the 14 Finalist teams; in addition to Dolor and Valle, the young Disruptors that made the cut were Melves Maglipas and Joash Oliveros, Bee Baula and Nathan Manikan, and Jamie Carelli and Christian Domingo.

“As the head of an Agency, it’s always gratifying when our teams perform well,” said TBWA\SMP Chief Creative Officer Melvin Mangada. “But as a mentor who’s worked with many of these young Disruptors, it’s an even bigger thrill to see how each of them has grown and developed their unique creative voices.”

Open to participants from any department of any 4As agency, Finalists were selected from how well their campaign proposals answered the competition brief, with the resultant 14 teams presenting their ideas directly to the Creative Guild’s 32-member jury –the largest in local competition history– on February 9th at the IXM offices in Pasig. In the spirit of competition and transparency, Finalists were able to sit-in on each others’ presentations, while also being invited to vote for their favorite campaigns.

On presenting their work in a public forum, Dolor shared, “We’d practiced beforehand, the key points we wanted to present and, in the end, we hinged on what we believed made the idea work, and what made it different from the other groups.”

“It’s one thing to present to industry leaders,” said Valle, “And another, when you’re going up against your peers who are at the top of their game – that was a different kind of pressure!” On winning the competition in [essentially] real-time, Valle said it was an entirely different feeling from finding out via social post: “There was suspense, but being there to witness the deliberations helped us see and understand the kind of thinking that goes on in the jury’s minds.”

As the newly-minted Philippine Young Spikes prepare for the challenge ahead, they will draw from all of their experience to prove their mettle amidst teams from across Southeast Asia. The Young Spikes Competition will take place from March 6-7, with winners announced on March 12.

Congratulations, Gabie and CJ, from your Disruption family! And good luck!