And the puppeteer realized
He is also a puppet
Strings pulled while he pulls another
What irony!

Disappointment reeks
Awful and nauseating
A year of toil
No harvest from the soil

The gods are blind
Or they just refuse to see
The drudgery and travail
The slave gave to no avail

A few steps from Villa Caceres (where our event was held) was Clementine. A nondescript restaurant, you would think it was just a canteen along the road. But I got fascinated by the interiors and the affordable food it serves.
Clementine is a pasta shop cum novelty store cum bakeshop. Too bad we were so hungry we immediately ate the pasta and the mozzarella sticks we ordered. Their brownies were not bad too. Price range for meals (1 rice with viand) is less than Php100, pasta is less than Php 200. See other interesting items below.

Had really no time when we went to Naga last September 9. We stayed for 5 days but saw nothing. Well we were there not for pleasure but to facilitate an activity. So I might as well accept the fact.

This is just to share the few restaurants we dined in, restaurants near the event venue, mind you :P




Gasthof, where the specialty is the ribs. We ordered ribs sampler with side dish. I initially ordered mine with pasta but it was not available so I changed to ribs with garden salad. Yum! Plus extra mixed veggies on the side please. Price is about 200 to 300.




Some other interesting items below:

A product launch is always tedious. From planning to checking scripts, coordinating and planning even the littlest detail, it is almost a relief when you finally reach the night (or the day) of the launch. This time, it is a 2 months work all compressed into one final staging!

The launch was not perfect. It could have been better. First, the AVP experienced a little technical glitch, the reveal which was practiced perfectly doing rehearsals failed to deliver... and the others, which i will not mention here lest it call attention to itself.

Still I want to congratulate the team, who never left the task, who were there for the love of the job, who kept a smile despite the high emotions and the lack of sleep.... It would not be this successful if not for you - Felix, Apple, Krix, Niche, Nante, Joji, Erikka, Kim (who wrote most of the scripts!) and to Team Z (who kept the other accounts running when we were so busy with the launch - Alvin, Joan and Queen). Cheers to all of you!

After almost a month of sleepless nights, going home late, continuing work even in my dreams, finally, the silver has risen! And I am proud to be part of it!

The team working at the lobby of the hotel.

Doing marketing plans can be a breeze, if you know what to do, and if you have all the data at hand.
IMC is like summarizing the plans of all the departments in one presentation. From strategies, to creatives, to media, to PR, to event... all in your mercy, as you try to fix it all in your head how your brand should be launched.
Kaya nga integrated e. You should know how to integrate everything into one cohesive communications plan.
Sometimes you get to think... the future of the brand lies in your hands. And it is in your hands and your leadership how everything should all flow.
It is fun to do... but it doesn't discount the responsibility that you have to carry. Indeed a daunting task.
More daunting when you are working on a national holiday... :p

5 more days and counting... This Friday, September 4 is our product launch. One of the biggest brands that my team is handling is "arriving in the Philippines".
The past few weeks have been filled with a lot of stress, overtimes, meeting deadlines .... all the pressure that define ad agency life. But it has been fun I should say.
Finalizing foreign ushers and dancers, music, preparing keynotes, checking souvenirs, speeches, AVPs... I think all the different projects you can encounter in an ad life is rolled into this one big launch. From print production, to writing, editing, broadcast production -- all to be staged in just one night! Fortunately, I have an able team supporting this launch. From my CD, to my producers, and finally to my AEs that are just there. Walang reklamo
I could say I am fortunate to be in the team that gives this kind of opportunities. And this is one project that has proved it again.
I can't wait to check how it would all go on September 4.

And after that, off to Bicol to do another launch! Whew!

Another day of OT. In fact been doing that for the last couple of weeks already. No life.

But this is where this OT night differed. The three of us, who was left in the team, went to the nearby convenience store. There we bought a bottle each of Vodka mudshakes and Pinacoladas. In the parking lot, we told stories of our kalokohans. And whats more, we were able to grill the only boy in the team! Now we know his secret. Hehe.

Then back to the office and work, as if no bottle of vodkas happened :)

Another reason why I love my team! :)

We delivered the last of Cotton and Candy’s puppies today. The last 2 were the favorite. sigh.
The first one (2nd from right), was picked up by its new owner 3 weeks ago. It was alright then. We weren’t so attached to them. Besides, there were still 3.
Then the second one (4th from right) was delivered last week. It was okay, I guess. She was a handful as she was the only one smart enough to climb out of their playpen.
But the last 2, Champ (first from right) and Chacha (third from right) were our favorites. My brother Edwin likes Chacha the most, while my favorite is Champ. They had the most character.
It’s hard to let go of the puppies. But it had to be done. Besides, there are still 6 dogs in the house. Also, time to focus on the new pups from Cotton (again) and Sugar (Candy’s sister) :)