Ads & Ends — Nanette Franco-Diyco
EXPRESSIONS OF love, affection, and goodwill — hugs and kisses are exchanged throughout the holidays, leaving both the sender and the receiver in varying degrees of joy. How is this for timeliness, to feature an advertising campaign on hugs for the first Weekender of the New Year?
Two years ago, advertising agency Blackpencil produced a full campaign for Universal Robina’s Presto Creams consisting of a TV commercial, digital activation, and a series of seasonal jingles for radio, calling it the Hugs campaign.
That 30-seconder was also directed by Henry Frejas, who, during the holidays, came up with the second of the series, another Hugs campaign. Whereas the first campaign featured several vignettes showing different duos in varying situations, Blackpencil simplified this new campaign, striking the viewers with greater emotional depth.
He directed one group of college students going through the ups and downs of college life as close friends. He calls it “barkadahan”. They share the same experiences, and hugs are spontaneously given, all in the name of friendship. Joys are heightened; sadness feels less sad with comforting hugs. Director Henry stressed that no love angle is allowed to enter frame. It is simply a barkada or group that is informally formed by experiences within the very same environment day in and day out.
Good casting and Director Henry should be lauded for achieving palpable chemistry between and among talents. They come out as real buddies, the closest of friends, with no trace of romantic attachments indeed.
Of course a product window explains all these hugs. It is clever for Blackpencil’s creative team to connect the imagery of a hug with the Presto Creams product — “two cookies hugging delicious cream.”
Kat Gomez-Limchoc, executive creative director of Blackpencil, specifically explained it as “capturing the joy and comfort of biting into what has long been everyone’s favorite cookie brand.”
The commercial ends with an emotional hug of a statement: “Kay sarap ng feeling pag ikaw ay kapiling” (What a delicious feeling, to embrace you)! Then is added the all-important “my Presto Creams”!
Call it a good blend of creativity in advertising and effective marketing.
Let’s all have the happiest, healthiest, holiest New Year!
CREDITS: Client-company, Universal Robina Corporation; Product: Presto Creams. Marketing team: Patricia Go, Chris Alexy T. Fernandez, and Roselle C. Gan.
Ad Agency, Blackpencil Manila. Executive creative Director, Kat Gomez-Limchoc. Team heads: Paolo Salcedo, Roz Patiño, and Nico Zapanta. VP-account management director, Sue Ann Malig-Nolido; account director, Grace Consolacion-Marfori; account executive, Nicole Sacdalan; producers: Steve Vesagas and Gabs Santos.
Production House, Filmex. Director, Henry Frejas, director of photography, Dindo Martinez; production design, Omar Mendoza; casting director, Enric Munchua; offline editor, Wacky Tirona.
Post-production house: Optima Digital.
Audio Production House: Loudbox. Musical Arrangers: IJ Garcia and Gino Cruz.
NANETTE FRANCO-DIYCO ended her 15th year advertising career as Vice-President of JWT, segueing into the world of academe, currently teaching communications at the Ateneo de Manila University.
nanettediyco131@gmail.com
