Ad industry celebrates triumph of creativity over adversity at CreativeFest 2021

The titans of Philippine advertising came together—albeit, virtually—to recognize the most outstanding, innovative, and groundbreaking creative work that has come out in the past two years through the much-awaited return of the Kidlat Awards!

The Kidlat Awards, held last November 26, is the annual creative show of the Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies of the Philippines (4As) and this year marked its return after taking a break in 2020 due to the pandemic. Because of its absence last year, this year’s Kidlat Awards honored the best work from 2019 and 2020 in one event. 

“Kidlat strikes again, and this time with more furor and more bravado,” Norman Agatep, President of the 4As and President and Managing Director of Grupo Agatep said. “After a one-year hiatus the creative show of the [4As] is back with a vengeance. After many months of ideating from homes, brainstorming via Zoom, submitting artworks through Viber, and supervising production from our dining tables, we’ve clearly demonstrated that no pandemic can cage the creative spirit, and if anything the virus has only strengthened our resolve to create solutions, to connect with people, and to be a force for good in today’s difficult world.”

“We have a power that no pandemic can touch, no lockdown can contain and that is the power of creativity. Our capacity to create, to move businesses, brands, and people, to make us feel something more than just fear and uncertainty and even with great distance, connect us all with a higher purpose,” Russel Molina, Chief Creative Officer of Seven A.D. and Committee Chairman of the Kidlat Awards furthered. 

In total, more than 600 entries were screened and judged by a veritable list of heavyweights from a variety of fields. This year, there were five main categories for the Kidlat Awards. These are: Creative Effectiveness, Creative Technology and Media, Creative Storytelling, Creative Purpose, and Craft.

This year, 85 entries received the Bronze Kidlat Award, while 41 entries took home the Silver Kidlat Award. Twenty-six entries were honored with the Gold Kidlat. 

For the first time, the most prestigious award of the night—the Grand Kidlat—went to not one but four entries as a winner was named in each category. The Grand Kidlat for Creative Technology and Media went to McClassroom by Leo Burnett Group Manila and McDonald’s Philippines. McClassroom also won the Grand Kidlat for Creative Purpose. The Grand Kidlat in Creative Storytelling was Story of Us by Leo Burnett Group Manila and McDonald’s Philippines. Gold by Arcade Film Factory and ARC Refreshments Corp. took home the Grand Kidlat in Craft. 

Filmpabrika, Inc. was named the Kidlat Film Production House of the Year. The Kidlat Audio Production House of the Year went to Soundesign Manila. 

As for the most anticipated awards of the night, the Advertiser of the Year was McDonald’s Philippines and the Agency of the Year was TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno. 

Meanwhile, three new names have been added to the venerable list of Kidlat Awards Hall of Fame Awardees. Andrew Petch, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of Petch&Partners; Biboy Royong, Executive Creative Director of Dentsu Jayme Syfu; and Trixie Diyco, Executive Creative Director of Publicis JimenezBasic, were all honored for their outstanding contributions to the local advertising industry and for their years of consistently outstanding work that has elevated creative work in the country. 

Melvin Mangada, Chairman of the 4As and Chairman and Chief Creative Officer (CCO) of TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno, was the recipient of the Kidlat Lifetime Achievement Award. He was feted by a range of local and international advertising icons, corporate leaders, co-workers, clients, and even family members, who hailed Mangada’s work as some of the most consequential in Philippine advertising. 

“Creativity is my life’s work. And for the past 30 years, I’ve found that the best work comes from a deep understanding of our humanity. If the needs of humanity are our creative fuel, then our work must be a reflection of life to be truly effective. Every day, for the sake of humanity, we invent what most people consider impossible,” Mangada said in his acceptance speech. 

The finalists in Jam for Good 2 were also announced during the Kidlat Awards. Fifteen teams are now moving forward and participating in the Google Young Creatives Incubation Program. Jam for Good 2 aims to bring the brightest young creative minds together to address one pressing social issue through ingenuity, creativity, and technology. The winning team will have the opportunity of a lifetime—being a representative of the Philippines to the Cannes Young Lions. 

This year’s CreativeFest and Kidlat Awards were made possible by Bench, JTI, and Ginebra, in partnership with Cignal, TV5, One Sports, Provill, Google Creative Works, Grupo Agatep, Adobo Magazine, Hit Productions, and Plan B. 

To know more about the Kidlat Awards, the CreativeFest, and other future activities of 4As, please visit www.4asphilippines.com, like and follow them on Facebook .