MANILA, MAY 24, 2013 – In 2009, advertising agency magnate, Ace Saatchi and Saatchi, together with their executive creative director, Andrew Petch was tapped to create a campaign for SM Prime Holdings’ new premium mall, SM Aura. During the three years that it took to complete it, the name and visual layout of the mall was formulated to signify SM’s shift to a more upscale audience.
Many names were suggested, including SM Spectrum, but at the end, SM Aura was the strongest contender. The theme behind the latter’s name was the ‘elements of living’ derived from the chemical substances Au and Ra, which means gold and radium. “When we brought it together, it was a lovely way of saying this is the gold standard of SM Aura. It created a design logo for us and it also created a lovely theme that the client could work around, which was the elements of living, elements of high style,” explained Petch.
Aside from its names, even the materials used for its construction were considered, such as metal and steel, which greatly represents its contemporary aesthetic vision. Although its imposing structure may look daunting, “SM always makes things accessible even though it’s luxury; it’s always affordable because it still has that down-to-earth humility that comes with the SM brand,” Petch remarked.
For those who haven’t visited SM Aura yet, Petch says, “It’s actually one of those malls that is absolutely worth making the extra travel distance to because it’s very unique in its own right.”
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