THE PHILIPPINES, SEPTEMBER 6, 2012 – Classes at The Creative Guild’s Raw School resumed Thursday night at Hit Productions in Makati City, with the first order of business delivered by the "Queen of Radio Advertising" Ompong Remigio, executive creative director at Campaigns and Grey.
Remigio, who believes that "bad meter, bad rhyme can win fabulously", has won over 150 radio awards for big multinational brands and in 2005 earned her place in the Creative Guild’s Hall of Fame. But the mentor did not come to lord it over her students. That night, she presented to the hungry crowd an opportunity to be, well, "pirated".
The challenge was to give Simon and Garfunkel’s 1966 hit "The Sound of Silence" a different meaning by changing the lyrics of the song. Some performed in duets, some in groups and some rode solo. They sung of deadlines and overtime, secret admiration, making amends with old lovers, loneliness and "manong, the chauffer".
"Anyone can make great radio," said the queen. In fact, the winning performance of the evening was by two art directors, not copywriters, from Lowe and Partners Worldwide. It was honesty that their new fans loved about Martin Flordeliza and Aion Bato’s rendition: "Ano ba naman ito / Bakit pinagsulat ng ganito".
Remigio wanted to stress that it is melody not words that make great radio.
Image by: Vic Icasas
DDB executive creative director Joey Ong was there to show his support, saying that when he gets around experts like Ompong, he gets “transported back to junior creative.”
There couldn’t have been any better way to close the evening than when Hit Productions chairman Salito Malca said: "Only great stars have one name: Sting, Madonna… Ompong."
