Now there's an idea

My current notebook pretty much reflects my goal at work.

Hopefully, I can fill my notebook with these types of ideas - lots of them - very soon.

Bowled over again!

At work, we only play bowling once-a-year. But it's amazing how we can come up with pretty decent scores despite being occasional bowlers.

Needless to say, the other team was bowled over by our scores.

That kind of a Monday

It's always nice to start the week with positivity. And you don't get any more positive and feel good than this music video. It's aligned with my personal philosophy that a little act of kindness goes a long, long way.



Here's to an awesome and kindness-filled week!

Not Adam-ant about it

The Adam Lippes x Target collection is finally on-line!

To shop or not to shop. That is the question.

Loop the loop

Even as a kid, I was already drawn to commercials. It's a fascination that continues to this very moment, which is why I ended up in advertising.

Most people would think I'd be jaded, but I'm not. Whenever I see an awesome commercial, my giddiness comes out and I'll end up looping the material to watch it over and over again.

And here's the latest commercial that's on loop for me.



Great copy. Awesome visuals. Beautiful message.

Well played, H&M. Maybe I'll go to your store and shop to show my gratitude.

FMM: Freedom!

Since today is a holiday, let me play an uber appropriate Friday Magic Madness song from the 90s:



It's a free day! Woohoo!

To bee's or not to bee's

They're finally opening Applebee's in BGC this month. Woot!

Applebee's reminds me of those trips to the U.S. and Mexico. For me, it was always a comfort food place that served big, diner-style dishes which I love. So I'm hoping they have that here, too.

Unlike Ihop which was quite a flop, I hope AppleBee's lives up to its image and quality in the U.S.

Eats free!

Whenever we have production meetings, there's usually a lot of food. That also means there's usually a lot of food left over.

What I usually do with it is leave it in our pantry with a very encouraging note:

It works everytime!

Le smokin'

Uniqlo is on a roll.

Now, they released the look book for the Carine Roitfeld collaboration.

My eyes automatically went to this smoking jacket. It's so sharp and chic!

Fingers crossed that this collection will be available here, too.

Qloser and Qloser

Now here's some good news!

The Lemaire x Uniqlo collection will be available in Manila! Can I get a woot, woot?

It's going to be available starting next Friday. And I hope the sweater I like will be part of the collection that they'll sell here.

Lemaire, here we come!

D' Kids are all right

This is one of the highlights of last night's birthday bash. Seeing Audrey, Becca and Lucas baking!

Yup, D' Kids are really taking after their parents, titos and titas.

An evening with D' Frendz

It's been a while since we were able to gather this many Frendz in one place. We're still not complete, though, since Mark and Rick weren't here last Saturday night.

As expected, it was an evening filled with good food, fun stories and laughter all around. Which makes me realize - once again - that we need to do this more often.

FMM: Jets Setting

The Jet's are coming to Manila this November!

This calls for a Friday Magic Madness song.



Admittedly, this concert has "D' Frendz" written all over it.

Lippes service

Everyone's talking about the upcoming Balmain x H&M and Lemaire x Uniqlo collaborations. That's quite obvious in the blogosphere.

There's so much hype about these 2 collections that another upcoming collaboration suddenly found itself under the radar.

It's the Adam Lippes x Target collaboration.

Unlike the earlier Target collaborations like 3.1 Phillip Lim, Jason Wu, Joseph Altuzarra and Lilly Pulitzer, this one isn't getting as much press. Which might be good. That means there are less people to contend with for his pretty, plaid-themed ensembles.

I'm liking his take on layering. There are 3 different plaid patterns, but since they're all in black and white, they don't clash. In fact, it makes the ensemble even richer.

 Here's another masterful take on layering. Two dresses and a vest, all bundled into one chic ensemble!

The first time I heard of Adam Lippes was when he did a capsule collection for Mango back in 2008. I was immediately drawn to his sense of femininity. And I'm glad to see the same qualities in his new collection for Target.

Let the stalking begin.

Care to join the army?

As November continues to draw closer, more and more people are scampering to find images from the Balmain x H&M collaboration. Particularly, people who are keen on joining the "army."

Yup, for Olivier Rousteing, the women who wear his clothes are part of the "Balmain army." Or better yet, the #balmainarmy.

I've seen some of the items from the collection, and they're very much like his main line. I think he found inspiration in the Lanvin x H&M collaboration where Alber Elbaz took some of his best pieces and made them a bit more mass market.

I've seen this dress worn by Gigi Hadid, and it looks so ornate and elaborate.

Based on what I've seen on-line, his collection is very opulent. That's where the problem lies. Pretty much like the Alexander Wang x H&M collaboration, this has the potential to be too niche. The clothes are too party for my liking. And I think my sisters will, too.

I guess we won't be enlisting then.

Interning next week!

One more week and "The Intern" is finally hitting the screens in Manila!



This seems like a very D' Frendz kind of flick. After all, it's about old-ish people in a young environment. Harhar.

Maybe we can all watch this and relate to it.

Skin is in (for now)

For the past year or so, I've been desperately trying to find a bottle of Clean Cotton T-Shirt perfume. 

The one that I got from Mona in 2012 is almost used up. Yes, I've been rationing it to ensure that I get the most out of the bottle. So, it's actually an achievement to have a 60ml bottle last for almost 3 years.

Not to say I haven't been trying to look for it. I've tried searching for the brand in Sephora in SG several times. I've tried searching for it in Japan. And of course, I've tried Rustan's since they officially carry Clean in the Philippines.

Alas, the search is for naught.

But during my last swing by Rustan's, the sales clerk suggested another Clean variant called Clean Skin. She said it was one of the latest additions to the line, and it has the same non-descript scent that Clean Cotton T-Shirt has.

After trying it, I must say that the scent is also quite nice. It's a very quiet scent which gives you that "fresh out of the shower" feeling that Clean is known for.

I might consider buying this variant while I'm holding out for Cotton T-shirt.

But I won't give up the search for that elusive perfume.

The Money shot

Presenting my favorite shot from our trip to Taal yesterday.

This was a very accidental shot, and I'm glad to see how it turned out.

Back in Batangas

Once again, I'm at the heritage town of Taal, Batangas with my class.

I really like going back to this part of Batangas. It feels like a place that's trapped in the past, and everything's so laid back and chill.

I'm going to drag Mark and D' Frendz here sometime soon.

FMM: Talk about it

One thing I enjoy doing the most is sharing my knowledge with the next generation of advertising and marketing practitioners.

Thanks to my former student and now-client, I had the opportunity to do that again. She asked me to give a talk about Experiential Marketing at San Beda College. Incidentally, this is our sister school, which made it even more exciting.

The talk was fun, and it seemed like it was well-received. There were a lot of questions during the open forum, and the challenge was that most of them were directed to me.

And because of that talk, I'm bringing back one of my favorite 90s songs for today's Friday Magic Madness. Cue in Bonnie Rait's "Something to talk about."



Yes, it's really fun to talk about marketing.

Soba, So familiar

After our color grading session last night, we had dinner at a Japanese restaurant called Nihonbashitei. That restaurant has been there for ages, but this was the first time I stepped in the premises.

Majority of those eating there were Japanese, which means it must be legit. Heck, the menu even had Japanese and English names, which means they're doubly legit. And when i found out that they had my favorite cold soba, they were triple legit!

And the Ten Zaru Soba was awesome! The twist was that the noodles were on a bed of ice to make it even colder. But the rest of the plate - from the dipping sauce to the shallots and wasabi - they all brought me back to Tokyo.

Mark and I should eat here the next time he's home.

Carmaggedon

I've heard of that term a lot. But last night was the first time I experienced it.

Yes, I'm one of the thousands of people who were stuck in traffic. I was supposed to attend a print shoot in Fairview, and I ended up spending around 7 hours on the road - both in the car, in a bus, and walking.

This is something I never, never, never, NEVER want to experience again.

They've really got it all for you.

This pleasant scene greeted me at the SM Megamall chapel for Mama Mary's birthday mass.

The choir for that mass was composed of sales people of SM Department Store. Although it was a bit jarring because I'm not used to seeing them out of their "natural habitat," it was nice to see them doing something aside from their work.

And I must say, they're a very good choir.

See, SM has it all. Even singing sales people.

One skirt, two ways

When I saw this ivory colored ponte skirt from the Banana Republic website, I had the urge to check out the haunts in case they had some overruns of this item. Luckily, they had it as Surplus Shop, and I bought the skirts for the Ates.

It's a very versatile skirt that can easily transition from corporate to casual. That makes it a must have in my sisters' closets.

For the corporate look, I paired the skirt with a black, button down shirt from Uniqlo.

This combination is chic and classic, which makes for an awesome work ensemble.

For an easy, breezy weekend look, all you need to do is swap the black shirt with a white, lace trimmed crop top.

The white-on-white look makes it a great ensemble to wear to a Sunday brunch or a family gathering.

By the way, since this skirt is from Surplus Shop, I got it at an uber affordable price. Given how versatile it is, that amount is definitely a steal!

Color me interested

The first time I saw these crayon-looking bottles from afar, my first question was: "What the heck are those?"

Upon closer inspection, I found out that they're colored catsup!

Ate Bullet got them from her friend, and she gave them to Javier.

I haven't tried it yet, but if it tastes like the usual UFC banana catsup, then I know it's good.

Now this is sure to make meals a bit more colorful.

Zalora Saturdays

The Zalora pop-up store has been in Shangrila Mall for a few months now. Strangely, though, I never felt the need to go inside to check their stuff out.

First of all, the clothes they had on display weren't really interesting enough. Secondly, I read that while you can check out the clothes, you can't buy them on the spot.  You'd still have to go on-line and purchase it on the net, then it'll be delivered to your doorstep. It was a bit too tedious for me.

Last week, though, they had an interesting dress on the window. It was a digitally printed dress with side cut-outs. Very chic. So, I decided to finally go inside the Zalora store and check it out up close, as well as find out how much the dress was.

My impression of Zalora has always been that it's a pricey place to purchase clothes. After all, they're an international brand and they have TV ads on primetime. Methinks that with that kind of investment, they have to mark-up their clothes.

I was pleasantly shocked when I saw the price of the dress. It was very affordable! I mean, it's cheaper than Plains and Prints and other Filipino fast fashion brands. Most of their price points were in the P1,500 below range.

Eventually, I decided to explore the pop-up store and found out that Zalora had a lot of fashionable and affordable dresses. The fabrics and quality were really top notch, and it made me think "why didn't I check this place out before?"

The dress I saw on the window display was as pretty up close, so I decided to buy it. With the help of one of the Zalora girls, I went to the computer terminal and found a few other covetable pieces. After a few minutes - and more discounts - there were 3 dresses on their way to the house.

And now, a few days after, two of the dresses are finally here!

I'm impressed by Zalora's attention to detail. From the personalized bags to the note, it added to the feeling of luxury and style. At least they're true to their brand intent to be an affordable luxury item.

Plus, their dresses are all individually packaged in neat little bags. Cool beans!

Something tells me this won't be the last time I'll be buying something at Zalora.

FMM: Fly like a (Night)bird

After a hectic week, it's nice to just kick back and listen to very, very relaxing music.

Back in the 90s, that type of music would call for Kalapana. This group from Hawaii was best known for their soothing tunes, and it was our constant OT companion back in Adformatix.

It's been a while since I last listened to Kalapana. Since it's Friday, I think it's about time to bring back "Nightbird" to start the weekend on a relaxing note.

Drape expectations

A week ago, I was talking about how the "Old Tyler" compared to the "New Tyler."

The thing is, the "Old Tyler" didn't really go away. It became "Harlan and Holden."

Yup, that nice clothing store in Shangrila Mall was the Tyler of old. When the Tyler brand was purchased by a fashion group, they old owners decided to still make clothes but under a new name. But even if the name was new, the clothing they made was the same. It still had impeccable tailoring, unique details and attention to fabrics and fabrication.

Just like this stunning draped dress, from Harlan and Holden, of course.

I'd like to see this dress in person. It looks like a winner from all angles.

Spread it!

After 3 months, the commercial we did for Goya Spreads is finally out!



One down, four to go!

It's time!

It's the first day of September. And it's the first day of Christmas in the Philippines!

And what better way to welcome it than this Gunter Kallman Choir classic.



Let the holiday season begin!