Creative Q&A: McCann Philippines' Budjette Tan

How did you get into advertising?

My friend got me into advertising because he made it sound fun and exciting. (He didn’t mention anything about doing overtime and getting rejected by clients on a daily basis.)

At my father’s wake, he was telling us all about this new commercial that he worked on and it was a really funny campaign. So, there we were, me and my friends, laughing outside the funeral parlor. He then told me that they were looking for a copywriter and that I should I try out.

Couple of months later, I was interviewed by the creative team that handled the telco account. Since I didn’t graduate from a fine arts or visual communications course, I didn’t have any advertising work to shop. When they asked to see my work, I layed out on the table some magazines where my articles and interviews saw print, a comic book which I wrote, a couple of radio scripts I did for a short-lived radio station, and one TV spot I got to work on as a freelance writer.

When they asked if I had anything else to show, I said that was it.

They asked me if I was used to working late nights. I stopped for a second and thought, “Yeah, I’m a nocturnal creature! I can work til past midnight”. So, I said, yes, (not knowing that what they meant was, you will be working late into the night and until the very next day).

When they asked if I had any more work to show, I pointed to everything on the table and said that was it.

So, they said thank you and showed me the door. I thought I didn’t get the job.

Weeks later, I got a call that said otherwise and I’ve been working here for the past 12 years.

This year, I moved from Harrison Communications (McCann’s sister agency) to McCann Worldgroup itself.

I’m now head of creatives of McCann’s digital projects and campaigns, working mostly with MRM Philippines.

What was your first ever ad?

If I remember, correctly, I think I worked on a print ad to promote a prepaid phone card.

The first TV commercial I got to work on was also for our telco client. My creative director and my art director came up with the main plot of the TVC and my CD came up with most of the dialogue, but she let me write the script. So, when I was writing it all down, I felt that one of the characters needed to say something else and I added three words to her dialogue. My CD approved the script and so did client.

So, back then, whenever that commercial went on air, I heard those three words mentioned, I just felt so thrilled that my words were being heard my millions of viewers.

What was your first ever job?

I worked for a radio station that was broadcasting using a one-kilowatt transmitter, which probably meant, a grand total of 11 people heard our shows.

What was your worst job ever?

I was part of the team that worked on a Christmas event for client. The main attraction of the event was a life-sized bullet train constructed in the middle of the mall. Well, as luck would have it, Murphy’s Law took full effect on that project and on the day of the launch, you could still smell the wet paint and sawdust in the train and just minutes before the ribbon cutting ceremony, you could still hear nails being hammered and electric saws buzzing in the background.

What does it take to impress you?

Not much. I just need to be surprised. Show me a brand new idea and it’ll impress me. (And considering there’s no such thing as an original idea these days, it’s the way you spin the idea.) What’s the twist? What’s the new way to presenting the old idea? If you can do that, then I would already be impressed.

Where do you go to be inspired?

Any place will do.

Any place with good coffee and a seat by the window.

If you can spend one day with a celebrity or historical figure, who would it be? Why?

Neil Gaiman. He’s my favorite author. Discover his work when I was in college and he was writing the comic book Sandman. I’ve been following his work ever since. I’ve been lucky enough to meet him thrice, but on all those occassions, I just got to spend a couple of minutes with him, babbling while he autographed my comic books. So, it would be great if I could hang out with the Dream King for a day – and not babble like a fanboy.

What is your guilty pleasure?

I… I don’t know… I have no idea… I’ll never tell!!!

If you have to come back as an animal, what would you be? Why?

Maybe I can come back as a dodo. No? Doh!

What is the last book you read?

I’m now reading Steve Krug’s Don’t Make Me Think

What is the first thing you do when you wake up?

Check my text messages and my Twitter.

Worst haircut you’ve ever had?

Maybe that one from when I was in high school, when I become a cadet for our Citizen’s Army Training Corps.

Describe your typical day.

My typical day used feel like an episode of 24 – always felt like there was a clock ticking somewhere, counting down the seconds, and there was always a split-screen somewhere and something was happening or something was going to happen that would just screw up the rest of our day and we’d have less than 12-hours to fix everything.

Thankfully, we don’t have 24 episodes anymore.

These days, it feels more like The Office. (No. Wait. That’s not such a great example.)

These days, my typical day feels like Aaron Sorkin’s Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, except there are no movie stars, no bright lights, no weekly musical guests, and it’s set in an ad agency.

Did I answer your question?

Can you suggest a question for our next Q&A candidate?

If you can travel back in time and meet yourself when you were in college, would you warn/ encourage him/her about working in an ad agency? What would you say?

Tell us about your memory of your first love. (Question provided by Leo Burnett’s Masato Mitsudera)

She was a geisha. Well, no… not really. According to my mother, my first crush was my classmate in kindergarten. I don’t really remember much of that time. So, all I have to remember her by is a picture during some school event where she was dressed up like a geisha.