Ogilvy teams across Asia-Pacific had a strong performance at this year’s London International Awards, securing a total of 20 trophies, including 4 Gold, 8 Silver and 8 Bronze, alongside 7 Finalists.

Ogilvy Manila won its first international Gold award this year for “Maya — The Hit Song That Was Actually a Bank”, recognized in the Branded Content & Entertainment category.

Maya was an outdated digital payment in the Philippines. It was also losing relevance with the young Gen Z market. To get Gen Z interested in banking again, Maya disguised itself as an unbranded hit song. With the help of the “Kendrick Lamar of the country”, Shanti Dope, our team created a hip hop song about this generation’s hustle culture. It was released with an epic music video that fueled people’s passion for earning and saving money. Soon after, the bank behind the song was revealed through a hidden cash code treasure hunt. Whenever you spotted a code hidden within the video, you could convert it into actual cash, which could be redeemed through the Maya app. The result? More than 1 million accounts were newly opened, turning Maya into the country’s top bank.

Another top performer was VML Ogilvy Japan’s “Milk Manga” campaign for Seki Milk. The work was Japan’s most awarded at LIA this year, collecting 2 Gold, 4 Silver and 2 Bronze in categories ranging from Health & Wellness to Package Design.

Kids in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, weren’t finishing their daily milk. So, leveraging kids’ love for manga (Japanese comics), Seki Milk bottles were painted with four framed illustrations in white ink, revealing more of the story as the kids drank up. The entertaining manga, gradually exposed, led the kids to finish the manga, the milk and all the nutrition within.  

Huge congratulations to the 6 offices that contributed to our tally: Ogilvy Manila, Ogilvy Mumbai, Ogilvy Sydney, VML Ogilvy Japan, Ogilvy Taipei and Ogilvy Hong Kong. The full list of Ogilvy’s winners in APAC can be viewed here.