MANILA – November 11, 2013 – 5 days. 14 speakers.
In a place as wildly entertaining as Las Vegas, it’s easy to get distracted with all the different things going on around you. But not for us.
Not for the 68 twenty-something delegates of LIA Creative Conversations 2013.
We were all too intently focused on the opportunity to pick the brains of advertising’s greatest minds, listen to the candid yet enlightening comments during judging, and marvel at the eloquence and ease in giving awe-inspiring talks that can only be backed by genius and years of experience.
During the weeklong convention, we can’t help but notice that there seemed to be a recurring theme that speakers kept pointing out to us. That being a creative now, meant more. We are not just in the ad business anymore. We are now in the business of making things relevant.
And if there is one thing that they unanimously advised and inspired us to do, it is to CREATE VALUE. To make something that adds real value to people’s lives. To think of new ways to make things a little better, or more understandable for people around us. To help incite change, no matter how little it may seem at one point. That creativity has the power to make people act.
It is refreshing to see that the discipline being reinforced to us wasn’t built on just cleverness and accumulating awards. The talks and judging sessions made us aim for something arguably higher, albeit more difficult to achieve. But being young creatives, we welcome a good challenge.
When we got back from our trip, friends would ask us the usual Las Vegas questions. What shows we watched, how much we won in the casino. Truth be told, we only had time to see one show. We never gambled, not even a few dollars. But just by being part of this incredible experience, made possible by the generosity of the powers that be, it already felt like we won big.
Copywriter Donna Dimayuga of BBDO Guerrero and art director Drea Dizon of JWT Manila flew to Las Vegas to attend LIA Creative Conversations 2013, after winning the ‘Advertising. More fun in the Philippines.’ adobo magazine and London International Awards Poster Contest.
For more updates on LIA 2013, visit the adobo magazine LIA microsite.
