By Anthony Bayarong Reporter

SUBIC BAY Freeport: Climate change and corporate social responsibility will be the main topic of the 21st Advertising Congress, which formally opened on Wednesday.
Advertising presents a huge potential to inform, engage and serve the public good, 21st Philippine Advertising Congress (PAC) honorary chair and keynote speaker Fernando Zobel de Ayala said.
He explained that businesses can be harnessed for greater positive impact in society.

The 21st PAC, scheduled earlier in Baguio City, was transferred to Subic because of typhoons that hit and ravaged Northern Luzon. This also forced the committee to resolved in a new purpose “to make a difference in the lives of those worst affected by calamity.”

The theme “Ano sa Tingin Mo?” took on a deeper meaning, originally the advertising industry had first focused in battling the global economic crisis but shifted its focus on the state of the economy and society.

A highlight of the congress is the Araw Awards Night. This year, the award-giving body has raised the level of competition by introducing marketing results as one of its new component. And 100 percent of ticket sales will be donated to the Red Cross Baguio chapter for the recovery of Benguet. The launching of the Brand-Aid project organized by the AdBoard will also take place. This will be the cornerstone of the industry’s efforts to help rebuild the nation through the power of advertising and raise funds for the calamity victims.

Two heavyweights in the realm of marketing and branding will be sharing their perspectives to the advertising industry—John Naisbitt and BJ Cunningham as plenary speakers.

Naisbitt, author of the bestseller Megatrends, is considered as the world’s leading futurist. His prognosis of the future post-global meltdown should be among the most relevant highlights of the Congress.

Meanwhile branding and brand marketing expert BJ Cunningham is expected to become a favorite in this year’s ad congress. Cunningham is popular for establishing Death Cigarettes as the “honest smoke.” He used this to illustrate the power of provocation and how to flip a conservative market.

Considred the most fully loaded ad congress yet, the 21st PAC lineup of speakers are innovators and trailblazers in the advertising industry. They are: Nick Moore of Wunderman; Mike Schalit of Network BBDO; Tony Wright of LOWE Worldwide; Bernhard Glock of Global Media and Communication, P&G; John Mildenhall of Coca-Cola; Tony Fernandes of Air Asia; and Richard Fraser of Proximity Asia; among others.