De La Salle University-Manila’s AdCreate Society had its 10th annual advertising conference, “AdX: The Magic Unravels,” from May 27 to 28, 2022, via Zoom.
This year, the theme of the advertising conference was “Potter Core,” inspired by the popular book and movie series, Harry Potter. Organizers wanted to center on the idea of unraveling advertising beyond what meets the eye; hence, the theme of magic.
Highlights of Day 1 of the plenary session include “The Spellbook: Rewritten,” a talk given by Brandie Tan, executive creative director of Wunderman Thompson Philippines. Tan explained that his company makes campaigns that encourage consumers to create positive change. “Make the brand inspiring,” he said, emphasizing the significance of involving the entire brand in delivering the values they advocate. In “In The Now,” Third Domingo, founder and CEO of IdeasXMachina Group of Hakuhodo, enumerated seven elements to remember when creating advertising campaigns: be targeted, artful, never expected, gut felt, impossible to ignore, nanganganak or presented in different forms, and actionable. He also reminded audiences to enrich their mind (as creators) and constantly learn from their surroundings. These experiences are essential to creating magical ideas, he said.
On Day 2, Patrick Martin, founder and CEO of Lit Lab Studios, presented “How we make things LIT,” a slide show on the recipe for simple yet powerful storytelling and what goes on behind the scenes in advertising production. He also talked about the importance of “doing it anyway,” telling the audience that if they are afraid to fail, get criticized, or get lost they must continue to do it anyway, as the only way to learn is by doing. “The Focal Point” by beauty and fashion photographer Junessa Rendon discussed what it takes to be a photographer in the field of advertising. Basic client pay scale, types of clients, what to be wary of, and industry jargons were among the topics covered in the talk.
Raffle draws, icebreakers, and Q&A sessions made “AdX: The Magic Unravels” truly an event to remember.
