Globe Telecom’s Rogue One Ad Wins at Brand Film Festival New York (Viral Video Bags Best Short Form Award)

Globe Telecom’s advertisement for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, entitled “Mask”, bagged the award for Best Short Form in the recently held 2017 Brand Film Festival New York. Globe Telecom is the first Philippine brand to be part of the film fest’s roster as well as the sole winner for Asia this year.  

The winning ad was part of the company’s #CreateCourage campaign about people fighting battles that others might not immediately see – and how even a fragile child can demonstrate immense strength in the face of adversity.  The campaign was done in partnership with Disney as part of a multi-year alliance with the entertainment giant. 

The Brand Film Festival New York showcased 2016’s most artistic, creative and effective branded content films – from YouTube videos to long-form documentaries. Held annually, it is a unique gathering that honors a new generation of marketing storytellers while rewarding the brands, agencies, and craftspeople leading the way in their fields. 

Entries were open to any organization within the U.S., Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Categories included sports, branded program, brand documentary, and virtual reality, among others. Submissions came from various brands, agencies, production companies and more. The jury comprised of top creatives from the worlds of PR, advertising, digital, production, film and media. This year’s jury chair was Judy John, Leo Burnett’s CEO Canada & Chief Creative Officer in North America. 

The Globe advertisement told the story of Alex, a young Star Wars fan who hides her sickness behind a Stormtrooper mask, and whose mask helps her to be bold even when facing others. The #CreateCourage campaign encouraged people to change their social media profile pictures to creative photos of them wearing Stormtrooper helmets and to complete the caption “#CreateCourage to ____.” The most inspiring posts won special prizes – from movie passes to limited edition Rogue One gift packs, as well as a trip to the Orlando Star Wars Celebration held last April. 

Going beyond the online engagement was also the company’s use of the material to call for donations for the rehabilitation of the pediatric cancer clinic of the Philippine General Hospital that Disney also supported. 

“Creating societal value is important to us in any campaign that we take on. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story had very inspiring values that allowed us to come up with the story for the ad. We are humbled with the opportunity to give children a voice through this ad, shedding light on their resilience despite challenges. Being recognized by an institution such as the Brand Film Festival New York is truly an honor for all of us at Globe,” said Albert de Larrazabal, Chief Commercial Officer, Globe Telecom. 

The #CreateCourage ad also received a citation in the Best Corporate category at the Brand Film Festival awards alongside Nutella® Originals Presents: Spread the Happy Series, Season 1 and CableLabs and Ivory Worldwide for ‘The NearFuture’. It also garnered a silver award at Asian Ad Fest. 

“Mask” also led in the Philippines’ Kidlat Awards which is an annual creative competition celebrating the country’s best and most creative advertising work. Globe brought home the coveted Grand Kidlat award in the Film category as well as Gold awards for Best Direction and Best Editing. 

When it was launched in December 2016, the ad hit viral status in a matter of days, reaching 45 Million views from around the world.  In the first two days of the campaign, the ad received 3.9 million views, 88,000 shares, and 144,000 reactions on the Globe Facebook page. It was also the only Filipino ad to be featured in CNN International’s article on 2016 Holiday Videos, a selection of ads which highlighted tolerance and togetherness; this despite the fact it was not a Christmas-themed story. It has also been featured in international websites such as The Huffington Post, Adweek, and Mashable to name a few.