Ofelia Jackson-Vargas (and other laughs)

This is one of the reasons majora why Adformatix was a wonderful place to work in.






The friends I made during my stint in this agency were friends for keeps. Even if it's been more than a decade since we've worked together, and despite the fact that we're in different countries, we're still together and still as quirky as ever. When we had lunch and dinner last Friday in honor of Xtine's visit to Manila, it felt as if we just came from Republic Glass after work and got together for a hearty meal.

As writers, art directors, account executives and research heads, we were inseparable at, and even after work. Brainstorming with the team was always a joy and we'd come up with all these crazy advertising ideas - and even crazier non-advertising ones. In the company of Erwin, Shash and Xtine, we did a lot of fun campaigns at the office. Campaigns like AsianBank's "What has your bank done for you lately" campaign, Nivea's big launch featuring a then-recently-discovered Amanda Griffin, (we gave her that first big break) Cook's Chicken's "Lahing malaman, Lahing masarap", and Texas Chicken's big launch in the Philippines.

Then there was the mother lode of insanity that we'd come up with at the drop of a hat. Like watching the MAC clock strike 5:55:55 then we'd all clap and hoot before walking away as if nothing happened. Or how we'd take famous acronyms and give them new meaning. (U.C.L.A. = Unperturbed Coconuts Languishing Aimlessly) Then there was giving our team mates new names, like Ofelia Jackson-Vargas for Ofel. Of course there was the hybrid of the last two: taking a colleague's name and turning it into an acronym. (GLENDA = Gorgeous Lady Entertainer Nightly Dancing Appalachicola.)

Back then, we'd laugh like wild hyenas whenever we'd come up with these things. Now, more than 10 years after Adformatix, we still laugh about it the exact same way. It's amazing how we've transferred advertising agencies, moved countries, changed our status, but still we feel and look like the same people we were when Optima was THE team to be in. (We won the Christmas decor contest 3 years in a row! Howzat?)

Just goes to show that campaigns, tag lines, endorsers and strategies may change, but true friendship never does.