AI has quickly become the industry’s default creative tool. It is fast, accessible, and increasingly capable. But as more people, including clients, use the same systems, the output has begun to look the same.
This is the tension behind this year’s adoboLIA Young Creative Competition, developed in partnership with the Design Center of the Philippines as its official client, and carrying the theme “YOU CAN WHAT AI CAN’T.”
Rather than reject AI, the campaign reframes it, using it as a starting point, not the end product. GIGIL approached this by going back to analog.
A short sequence video was first generated with AI, then broken down into 24 individual frames. Instead of using the output as is, each frame was painstakingly redrawn by hand using traditional methods by GIGIL Senior Art Directors Seph Asentista and Quatro Los Baños, together with Head of Art Ronchris Cosme. Each of the 24 frames takes on a distinct art style, interpreted by the three artists.
When assembled, the 24 drawings form a kinetic composition that plays as an analog animation. In motion, the sequence reveals a person violently destroying a laptop. Each piece carries the line “YOU CAN WHAT AI CAN’T.”
For GIGIL, the process itself is the point.
“While AI can generate, it cannot replace the human ability to interpret, decide, and create with intent,” said Ronchris Cosme, Head of Art at GIGIL, pointing to a future of advertising that remains analog. He adds, “This is where craft becomes the differentiator.”
“When everyone has access to the same tools, everything starts to look the same. The differentiator is no longer speed. It is craft,” added Badong Abesamis, Founding Partner of GIGIL and this year’s Jury President.
CREDITS
Companies: adobo Magazine and the London International Awards
adobo Magazine Founder, President, and Editor-in-Chief: Angel Guerrero
Creative LIAisons Program Global Director: Laurissa Levy
LIA Awards Director: Christina Shaw
adobo LIA Young Creative Competition Manager: Jubhiekate Maala
Client: The Design Center of the Philippines
Executive Director: Rhea Matute
Agency: GIGIL Manila
Chief Creative Officer: Herbert Hernandez
Chief Creative Officer: Badong Abesamis
Head of Art: Ronchris Cosme
Senior Art Director: Quatro Los Baños
Senior Art Director: Seph Asentista
Senior Copywriter: Sam Mateo
llustrators: Ronchris Cosme, Quatro Los Baños, Seph Asentista
