501. PLATINUM AWARD, 12th Philippine Advertising Congress, COCOBANK “Origami” TVC, 1990

COCOBANK "Origami" TVC PHOTOBOARD, 1990

First United Bank Phils. , founded in 1963 was the forerunner of United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB), more popularly known as COCOBANK. It was meant to cater to the needs of the coconut industry, especially its planters/farmers who need credit, but it also served a wide-ranging clientele.

COCOBANK grew to become one of the biggest banks in the country, and along with other top banks, formed MegaLink, one of the three main interbank networks in the Philippines. COCOBANK was one of the earliest banks to institute ATM services in the 1980s. It invested heavily in advertising, tapping Ace-Saatchi & Saatchi to handle its product and corporate promotions.

One such well-known campaign was conceived in 1989 promoting the simplicity of its banking processes. The project was assigned to the creative team of veteran art director Mario Monteagudo and young copywriter Merlee Jayme.

Merlee Jayme, who rose to found her own agency and become the only woman in the 20 top creative directors in Asia, recalls the conception of that campaign after being briefed by the account person of the bank’s proposition—“banking made simpler”.

"PIGGYBANK" Print Ad, Part of the COCOBANK "Banking Made Simpler" Campaign

“Mario in our brainstorming came up with the “Piggybank” TV  and print execution”, she said. “. I was soooo pressured and stressed out when he asked me to come up with another one. It had to be a visualization connected to banking of course. Then it hit me-- being part Japanese, I love origami…I tried folding one hundred peso bills into a caterpillar and turtle—perfect symbols to show slowness”

“Then I drew the board and showed it to Mario the next day. He smiled and that was my reward”.

 When the storyboard was presented to the COCOBANK clients, it was met with approval despite the unexpected visuals –origami insects, of all things!-- that were not readily bank-associated. “They were amused and curious how we will pull this off”, Merlee continued. “Remember back in the 80s we didn’t have innovative ways of shooting these kinds of boards.  Just a simple stop motion technique was used to shoot the COCOBANK ad”.

WATCH COCOBANK "Origami" TVC 30s HERE:

The creative team’s biggest reward though was at the 1991 Philippine Advertising Congress when the COCOBANK “Origami” TVC scored the biggest victory at the Araw Awards night. “That was my very first TVC ever --- and it won the Platinum  Award at the Phil Ad Congress!” she enthused.

 COCOBANK enjoyed many more decades of further success. In 2020, the government increased its ownership of the bank to 97%, thus resulting to more control. In 1 March 2022, COCOBANK  merged with Land Bank of the Phils,, its name becoming defunct.

CREDITS:

AGENCY: ACE-SAATCHI & SAATCHI ADVERTISING

ART DIRECTOR: Mario Monteagudo

COPYWRITER: Merlee Jayme

ACCOUNT; Jonjie Arnobit-delos Reyes

 CLIENT: United Coconut Planters Bank

 SOURCES:

UCPB, Wikipedia

UCPB-Cocobank Origami TVC, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_4OK-H-ZfQ, uploaded by Merlee Jayme

FB communication, with Chairmom Merlee Jayme

482. . SHARP (PHILS.) CORP. "Very Sharp, Very First" Print Campaign, 1989

By the end of the 80s, SHARP (Phils) Corp. entrusted to Ace-Saatchi & Saatchi its corporate advertising, as they entered a new decade with plans to launch more products and expand its robust business.

The project was assigned to Ace-Saatchi’s winning-est Concept Team, Mario Monteagudo (AD) and Robert Labayen (Writer). Just 2 years before, the duo had won a 1987 Print Ad of the Year award for their Visine Eye Drops print ad for client Pfizer. 

The result was a stunning Print Ad series that focused on the amazing pedigree of success that the company enjoyed over the course of 4 decade, through pioneering inventions, trailblazing products and state-of-the art innovation. 

“Our generation grew up with Sony”, recalls Robert Labayen when asked about the SHARP campaign background. “So, Mario and I were excited when we learned that our account, SHARP, scored many firsts in the history of the world’s tv technology. 

The brief came from our account person Timmy Jayme. We used illustrations that looked like Japanese characters to present SHARP as THE name behind Japanese TV technology.

 I made the illustrations because that was the time that I was into doodling. Mario came up with the line “Very Sharp. Very First.” That was another instance when Mario and I exchanged roles.”

The Print series delighted SHARP clients and marketing man, Mon Bermeo so much that the client not only ran the complete series in regular dailies, but also appeared in Visitacion dela Torre’s history book about Philippine advertising.

 Mario and Robert would go on to enjoy a 3-year Print AOY award-winning streak from 1991 to 1993, earning Creative Guild nods for  British Airways, Philippine National Bank and Petron. After their sterling career with Ace, Mario formed his own agency, while Robert joined ABS-CBN to become its VP-Head of Creative Communication in 2004.

CREDITS:

Many thanks for Robert Labayen for his recollections about making this SHARP Ad series; likewise to Mario Monteagudo, for his inputes.