
MANILA: TBWA Santiago Mangada Puno beat 13 rival agencies for the
biennial Philippine Advertising Congress account ahead of the year-end
event in Cebu.
Multinational contenders included J. Walter Thompson, Leo Burnett,
D'Arcy Jimenez, Ace Saatchi & Saatchi, DDB, Lintas and AMA-Publicis. Six
local agencies also pitched for the business.
TBWA's newest affiliate agency is looking to boost attendance targets -
from 1,800 delegates two years ago - to between 2,000 and 2,500
participants at this year's gathering. Despite the weaknesses in the
domestic economy, organisers are confident of surpassing previous
attendance targets.
DDB Philippines deputy executive creative director Roger Pei said this
year's AdCongress expects to tackle issues such as technology and its
use in developing creative advertising. Pei, who is also vice-president
for the Creative Guild of the Philippines, said the highlight of the
congress will be the awarding of the 'Ad of the Year" prize. There will
be awards in 30 other categories, including automotive, consumer
durables and corporate.