MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The Creative Guild of the Philippines (CGP) has successfully snapped the zombies out of young creatives from various agencies at the Kid Lotus Competition held on February 06, 2023.
A total of 108 competitors enthusiastically answered the call of Creative Guild President Greg Martin III (ECD of Ace Saatchi & Saatchi) to participate and reawaken their creativity as the search for the Young Lotus PH kicked off at the 15th Kidlat Awards. This was the Creative Guild’s biggest young creative turnout since 2020.
The Kid Lotus Competition was spearheaded by the Creative Guild Board Angie Tijam-Tohid (ECD of Havas Ortega Group & Director for Young Creatives), who was assigned as Jury Manager and Facilitator of the said event.
Before the competition proper, Octopus&Whale Co-founder & ECD Nolan Fabular led a face-to-face jam packed talk attended by rising talents of the advertising industry. He delved into the subject of “DAILY WORK vs AWARDS WORK,” and engaged the audience with a stimulating conversation about understanding creativity as a personality.
Six pairs of young creatives moved up to the Finals.
| Finalists | Idea Name | Agency |
| Richele Labayo & Bea Talens | “THE BADLY PUT GENERATOR” | DDB MNL |
| Eden Sarmiento & Jhazel Mendoza | “TAO PO” | PROPEL MANILA |
| Ma. Angeline Santos & Trishia Anne Vilarmino | “THE STOLEN SIGNATURES’ | WUNDERMAN THOMPSON |
| Marion Esquillo & Deux Lopez | “CO-PARENT AI” | HAVAS ORTEGA GROUP |
| Sam Dedel & Greg Hernandez | “A.I.C.C.O” | OGILVY |
| Tim Cruz & Jen Mandia | “TEACH ME” | DENTSU CREATIVE PHILIPPINES |
The entries were reviewed by jury members Propel Manila Chief Creative Raymund Sison, GIGIL Associate Creative Director Soleil Badenhop, Ace Saatchi & Saatchi Creative Director & Head of Brand Visual Design Reg Lota, Publicis Jimenez Basic Group Creative Director Bia Fernandez, McCann WorldGroup ECD Sid Samodio and Saatchi Singapore Senior Creative Valerie Villaflor.
The Bronze award was given to Tim Cruz and Jen Mandia, talents from DENTSU CREATIVE PHILIPPINES, for their work “TEACH ME” and the Silver recognition went to WUNDERMAN THOMPSON partners Ma. Angeline Santos and Trishia Anne Vilarmino for “THE STOLEN SIGNATURES.”
Meanwhile, Eden Sarmiento and Jhazel Mendoza bagged gold for “TAO PO,” an idea based on the insight that AI l could never replicate the emotion that human feelings elicit in art.
The winning duo from Propel Manila are set to represent the Philippines in the upcoming Adfest Young Lotus, the most awaited regional creative festival in Asia happening in Pattaya, Thailand from March 23 to 25, 2023.
