MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The LGTBQ+ community is one of the most under-represented sectors in advertising. Every year, during Pride Month, there is an uptick in representation; but how well do these ads actually fare in telling LGBTQ+ stories successfully?
Over the years, Philippines-based agencies have shown that it’s possible to make ads with LGTBQ+ representation that are genuinely inclusive, heartwarming, and just plain good.
Here are some of adobo Magazine’s top picks to prime the industry, and all of us, for Pride Month:
BENCH Amoy Kita by TBWA/Santiago Mangada Puno
Who doesn’t remember this iconic ad? Retail brand Bench told an emotional, relatable story about their popular body mist “So In Love” and how it’s used everyday by JR who gets noticed by his crush because of how he smells. His father kids around and says he smells like he has a girl. On the day that his favorite scent runs out, he finds a brand new one in his room with a note from his dad: “Nak, amoy kita. Love you!”
SMART Accepted by Dentsu Jayme Syfu (Dentsu DIGIT)
Following the theme of coming out to one’s parents, “Accepted” tells the story of a guy who holds out on accepting his father’s friend request on social media — knowing that he has private photos of him and his boyfriend that his father might see. Finally, he sends a text to his father, “Dad inaccept na kita,” to which he replied, “Anak ako din.”
This ad won Gold at the 2017 Boomerang Awards and a Bronze Spike at Spikes Asia 2016.
LAZADA Sorry by Publicis JimenezBasic
#UberSTORIES: Kilig by Dentsu Jayme Syfu
. No frills with this one—just a delightful story about a boy with a crush, and the ease it comes with was refreshing.
While this series explores unconventional kinds of love, one of the films features real-life couple Joey Mead and Angie King. “Free to Love” breaks the typical commercial format and goes for a sit-down straight-to-cam Q&A instead; the ad is also one of the early longform videos on YouTube.