MANILA, MAY 9, 2013 – Ace Saatchi & Saatchi’s triumph at last week’s Clio Awards was made all the more sweeter because the work that won nearly didn’t get made had it not been for the agency’s persistence.
‘Tiger Energy Playground’ brought home the country’s third-ever Clio Gold after making history the year before as the first-ever entry from the Philippines to make the shortlist of the Cannes Lions Titanium competition, a category that rewards ground-breaking thinking.
Saatchi had conceived the work for Kraft’s (now Modelez) annual ‘One Million Project’, which challenges its roster agency to show how far they can take the company’s brands without worrying about the usual constraints of pre-booked media and preset notions about the brands. The selected agency wins one million pesos to bring its project to life.
Saatchi won the shootout but a two-month timeframe coupled with the project’s considerable logistical requirements to ensure a flawless execution grounded the initiative.
But executive creative director Andrew Petch was unwilling to give up on the project to outfit the see-saw and merry-go-round in a playground to transform the action of using the equipment into energy or electricity that would be stored in batteries to power the surrounding community.
The agency kept the group working on the project, building and testing the turbines and alternators for the equipment while waiting for the opportunity to resurrect the venture.
The following year, Saatchi re-pitched the concept of “physical energy creating electrical energy” to demonstrate the brand’s energy benefit for kids in a compelling manner.
“Because we had the time to work everything out, the client – by that time with a new team in place – said, ‘Let’s roll with it’ but let’s take it one step further,” recounted Petch.
The decision was then made to site the playground in one in one of the country’s oldest orphanages. “So, not only did we give it to kids who needed free play equipment, we also gave it to a community that needed free electricity,” said Petch.
“This idea demonstrated the benefit of giving kids more energy in a way that we never could have achieved through traditional advertising.”
