The Araw Values Advertising (AVA) Awards 2014 culminated on November 20 at ABS-CBN’s Dolphy Theater, where the industry’s most compelling values advertising campaigns were awarded in a live show, titled “Let Filipino Values Shine”.
With 387 contenders, the ninth season of AVA Awards received the highest number of entries since it was created in1998, signifying a victory for advertising and marketing communications even before judging commenced and the awarding ceremony. There were a total of 126 winners out of all entries.
“I think more and more people are starting to gravitate toward brands that have advocacies in real life,” says AVA Awards 2014 Co-Chairman and Monde Nissin Corp. Head of Regional Market Development (Asia Pacific) Randy Aquino.
“This is not purely a commercial endeavor, brands are starting to become more responsible. They are starting to think about their participation in community building and their responsibilities toward the environment and sustainability.”
The AVA Awards is organized by the Ad Foundation of the Philippines to uphold traditional and positive Filipino values in the industry and promote responsible advertising. It is based on the Ad Foundation’s “7 Cornerstone Values”: (1) love of God and respect for all religious beliefs; (2) commitment to truth, honesty and integrity; (3) love of country and respect for national customs and traditions; (4) reverence for family unit or marriage or responsible parenthood; (5) respect and care for human life, dignity and the rights of all; (6) respect for law and authority and the promotion of self-discipline; and (7) concern for and preservation of environment.
Almost 20 years after the first AVA Awards, the Philippines has grown as a country. Asia is seeing the dawn of a new era—the rise of the Asian tigers or the middle class of Asia—and the Philippines is one of the countries in the region enjoying this growth. By 2020 a Nielsen study projects the Filipino middle class would expand by 72 percent. This growing middle class is the force that will define the future of the market.
The AVA Awards reminds the industry and the people with whom brands communicate of the values we must hold dear if we are to rise one day into a truly developed nation. It is a proud moment for advertising that this 2014 garnered the highest number of entries in AVA Awards history.
“I like the fact that when you see the materials, it’s nice to know and heartwarming, that people are talking about values already, even if it’s in the context of commercial enterprise, brands, brand building and brand advocacy,” Aquino says.
The AVA Awards is the first and only one of its kind in the industry in the Philippines and in the world. The Ad Foundation and the awards organizing body has dedicated almost 20 years to ensure industry values formation and advocacy to be the priority of the awards show.
“Usually in creative competitions, it’s patting ourselves in the back, but in this, you have civil society actually taking part,” Aquino says, adding that competition jurors include representatives from the government, academe, private sector and non-governmental organizations.
“Hopefully, as we continue in our efforts to do value formation, as we promote Filipino values, hopefully, the future—a more affluent Philippines—will show a character that is still rooted in the values that we espouse as a country—the values of love for country, for God, for family, and respect for others, for authority, the environment and so forth.”
ABS-CBN is the official media partner of the Ad Foundation in the Araw Values Advertising Awards. The awards show will be aired in a two-hour nationwide TV special via ABS-CBN. Catch Araw ng Pagsikat on December 7.
(By Ivy Ong)