Badong Abesamis continues to champion advertising that cuts through noise without abandoning craft. As Founding Partner of GIGIL and one of the Philippines’ most internationally awarded creative leaders, he helps shape a distinctly Filipino voice in global advertising — one that embraces humor, specificity, emotional sharpness, and cultural confidence. In 2026, he joins the D&AD Film Jury in London, where some of the world’s most rigorously judged film work is debated, dissected, and awarded.
In this adobo Exclusive interview, adobo Magazine Founder, President, and Editor-in-Chief Angel Guerrero speaks with Badong about the state of film advertising amid algorithm-driven platforms, AI anxiety, collapsing attention spans, and evolving craft standards. From why freshness dominates the jury room to why culturally rooted storytelling continues to resonate globally, Badong reflects on what still makes creative work feel deeply human — and why he believes creativity remains very much alive.
adobo Magazine: What makes a piece of film advertising impossible to skip or impossible to forget in this day and age?
Badong Abesamis: I think it’s the same thing. Pieces have to be entertaining — genuinely entertaining — for people to stay and watch until the last second. It’s just that the platforms have changed. There are new platforms, upcoming new dynamics, but what stays the same is that the work has to be entertaining.
adobo: Film craft today is often overshadowed by platform behavior, algorithmic thinking, especially in Asia. Are we losing the discipline of storytelling, or is storytelling simply evolving?
Badong: If by the question we are referring to platforms like TikTok, for example, or any other newfangled thing, I think it’s just an evolution in the way we tell stories. The same way we shifted from radio to TV, or consented from one medium to another. Storytelling and ideas are still at the heart of things, but platforms allow — or do not allow — certain ways of telling stories.
I think the advantage now is that there are new ways on TikTok to relay a story, and it’s incumbent upon us to seize that and take advantage of it.
adobo: It’s interesting because I moderated a panel on craft in direction, and when I asked if they had entries in short form under two minutes, hardly any did. In craft, they feel it’s hard to direct a film well in short form — but contrary to what people think, right?
Badong: I guess because of speed. We have to be agile on TikTok, and the bar has been pegged in a way where we can rush things, publish them, and engagement will come. So the platform standard in terms of craft is not particularly high.
Maybe that’s the challenge in terms of creating things that are really watchable, entertaining, and of good production value on TikTok, for example.
adobo: Talking about GIGIL now — your work is known for being culturally sharp and emotionally resonant. When judging, how important is culture specifically versus universal insight?
Badong: I did see a couple of spots from the Asia-Pacific region that didn’t strike me as much because they felt American. So in that sense, I think culture is very, very important. Your voice — your unique voice in the creative world — is something you must not lose. A point of view in seeing the world and telling your own story.
My Filipino culture, for example, the way I am Filipino, must not be lost in my work. That’s what will make it stand out among 650 spots. That’s something I should not lose.
And that’s only on the surface of things. The insight as well — the way I see culture, family, friends — should not be lost in the work. The more specific you become, as in all the arts, the more universal the appeal of the work becomes. A point of view is important so the work does not leave people cold and disengaged because it has no fresh take on things.
adobo: When we talk about cultural specificity, do you have an example of a spot you felt was elevated because it stayed true to its culture?
Badong: The spots that rose to the surface were the classic American advertising spots, basically because they were confident in their voice. Perhaps because, as a Filipino, I’m exposed to that kind of storytelling, those surfaced immediately.
There was another spot that was really cinema — and cinema is a universal language. So even if the story happened in New York, for example, it was something everybody in the room could relate to.
adobo: AI tools are changing the way scripts, visuals, and even performances are created. As a Film judge, what still feels undeniably human and therefore irreplaceable?
Badong: What surprised me was that, in Asia for example, I feel there’s a higher degree of acceptance toward AI. Maybe because we accept inevitabilities more in Asia — perhaps in the Philippines because we feel helpless in terms of societal pressures and dynamics.
But here, I was really surprised that the judges — short of outright saying no to the platform — really did not like AI. That was a surprise to me.
adobo: What feels undeniably human? What can AI not replace?
Badong: The point of view. The human insight. The behavior that only humans can know.
There was a spot many people in the room liked because it depicted AI and marketing made through AI. It used AI as the topic to respond to current news — even the platform now accommodating marketing. It captured something very human: the anxiety people feel when using these platforms and feeling they’re not really getting the right answers, that they’re being peddled to.
Those human anxieties, those human concerns about what’s happening in culture — AI is just a tool. In that particular spot, it was able to capture the anxiety of people being sold to in a form they trust to serve them the truth.
I don’t know if I’ve been very clear about that.
adobo: From the body of work entered into D&AD Film — arguably the most difficult category to win in — did you notice any common trends or themes among the entries?
Badong: It was basically freshness. That was the word — or the thought — on everybody’s mind around the room. They were not very warm toward things that felt familiar or things they had seen before.
Brent Anderson, our Jury President, even said during deliberations that we shouldn’t be totally closed to tropes because if we were, there would hardly be anything we could vote up. I think what he meant was that we can still make use of conventions, but add something else so they don’t stay conventional.
Freshness was something very big in the room, whether it was comedy or otherwise.
adobo: As you were voting for the Pencils, were there contentious works? What brought discussion and debate inside the jury room?
Badong: Yes. On the second and third day, discussions became a little animated, especially in terms of the rules. Where does YouTube sit, for example? Does it sit in Social or does it sit in VOD? Those are entirely different categories.
Also, what constitutes Social? Is it the size or format of the film? Is it metrics and engagement? Or is it simply that the work is shareable? D&AD was a little general in its provisions on what Social is.
adobo: Were you happy with the results?
Badong: Yes. What was very good was that Brent Anderson, our Jury President, made sure everybody would be listened to. Even if you didn’t want to speak, you were asked to speak, so you had time to really share your feelings.
It made the proceedings longer than they should have been, but in the end, I don’t think anybody left the room dissatisfied with the results. What was also key was diversity in the jury makeup. There were four women and five men, two from Asia, three from the States, one from Australia, one from France, and two from South America. The reception to certain materials could really be understood in the context of diversity.
There was a spot for SickKids in Toronto, and two of the women judges were crying. It was for the hospital’s 150th anniversary, told through the stories of children, and how every birthday is a fight for kids with cancer. I couldn’t really get it at first, but on the third or fourth viewing, I could see the vignettes — wolves eating cake, for example, as symbols of cancer, or a number six balloon versus a number seven balloon. It was a very well-thought-out commercial.
There was another spot from Mexico about journalists being killed, and the two Latin American judges and I, as a Filipino, could really relate to it. The people from more First Worlds couldn’t as much.
So diversity is very key. If the competition could offer even more diverse jury casting, I think it would only be good for the show.
adobo: What kind of film work this year felt like a clear Pencil contender — the kind of piece that tells you the industry is moving forward?
Badong: When we had to vote for Yellow, there was one film that I don’t think is new to anyone in the industry. It worked to deliver a message not just to the industry but to society at large at the particular moment it was released.
On a very personal and human level, it was exquisitely crafted — “The Final Copy of Ilon Specht.” It had already won at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, but it still had the power to move people 11 months later.
Then there was the work for Anthropic’s Claude AI. Very American, but depicting the onslaught of AI into our industry and wonderfully personifying it across the films. I liked three of the spots in particular. The acting, the scripts — really wonderful work. It was one of those pieces that was universally chosen by everyone in the room.
adobo: What do you think poses the biggest threat to our industry right now? Shrinking attention spans, shrinking budgets, platform-driven content, declining production values, AI-generated work — or something else entirely?
Badong: There are threats all around, especially if you are not open to new ways of doing things. But I guess the way forward is really keeping to the mission of entertaining people, getting to the heart of things, unearthing an insight, and creating a very entertaining story around that in service of the brand.
adobo: Do you think we can actually ride the tide?
Badong: Our forefathers in the industry did, and there’s no reason we can’t. Things change, practices change, principles remain, as Egbert said.
If we keep using the tools the way we learned from our forebears — telling stories that are deeply human — then the tools around us can help elevate storytelling even more, or help us tell stories in fresher ways.
adobo: D&AD’s theme asks, “Is Creativity Dead or Alive?” From what you’ve seen in the Film category, what’s your answer — and why?
Badong: Not dead. Not dead at all. Only around 6% of the 650 entries from around the world made it to the shortlist. So many dead pieces. I actually read D&AD now not as “D and AD,” but “dead.”
It really brought home why it’s referred to as the toughest show in the world. But having said that, there is still life in the work and in the pieces we saw. There are enough people who care about the work and care about creativity. Shows like this encourage more people to do their own thing, so our industry remains indispensable to the greater marketing category because we humanize benefits and tell product stories in ways that move people.
adobo: How do you think is Asia performing in the Film category?
Badong: I actually made a mental note to represent Asia on the panel, but that was superseded by helping the jury search for the best work because, for me, once you’re in the room, there are no agendas other than helping identify the year’s best work.
I think one piece from Thailand came close to winning a Graphite or Wood Pencil. That was probably the best-performing piece from Asia.
adobo Magazine is an official media partner of the 2026 D&AD Awards.
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