28 August 2026, Busan, ROK - The Philippine Embassy in Seoul and the Philippine Consulate General in Busan participated in the “Galing Pilipinas” segment of the MAD STARS 2026 held at the Signiel Busan Hotel on 28 August 2026.  The segment represented the inaugural Country in Focus portion, showcasing the Philippines, the first-ever country honored as such in MAD STARS’s 19-year history.  The conference presented the Philippines’ creativity, innovation, talent and cultural identity to an international audience.  It was organized by adobo Magazine, a leading trade publication and media platform in the Philippines that covers the advertising, marketing, design, and creative industries across the Asia-Pacific region. In attendance were MAD STARS Executive Committee Chairperson Hwanjin Choi and Chairperson Taeyoul Park.

In her welcome remarks, Angel Guerrero, President, Editor-In-Chief and Founder of adobo Magazine, highlighted the significance of the conference and encouraged the international participants to “discover the depth, imagination, ingenuity and unmistakable spirit of Filipino creativity”. 

 
Deputy Head of Mission and Consul General Edwin Gil Mendoza, in his Opening Remarks, pointed out the influence of Filipino creatives and how they have developed significantly over the years.  The Philippine creative sector contributed about 7.8% of the country’s GDP in 2025 and almost 18 percent of total employment in the same period.  He encouraged the international community to engage with Filipino creatives and together, seek out what Filipino creativity can achieve and contribute to a rising creative ecosystem that shapes culture and drives significant change.

Three prominent Filipino creative leaders shared their knowledge, insights and expertise to the participants. Unilever Philippines’ Beauty and Wellbeing Head of Marketing Dennis Perez, in his presentation "Culture-Led Marketing: Creating Meaningful Worlds", outlined that a brand needs cultural positioning, social-first marketing, and culture intelligence to succeed. He emphasized that being social-first goes beyond influencers or traditional channels, i.e., brands must authentically express themselves through how people create, consume, and experience everyday culture.  In her talk on "Why Filipino Ideas Travel” Jayme Headquarters – JHQ‘s Chairmom Merlee Jayme asserted that the best global ideas start by serving specific people rather than a global audience. She highlighted that Filipino creatives resonate internationally through key traits like observation, resourcefulness, culture, heart (puso), and authenticity.  Finally, in his presentation, "Doing more with less: The Philippine culture of resourceful creativity" BBDO Guerrero Creative Chairman David Guerrero highlighted iconic Philippine campaigns—such as Pepsi’s "Liter of Light" and Philippine Airlines’ "Safetynovela"—to demonstrate how the nation's innate ability to innovate with limited resources fuels award-winning work. He offered actionable insights to empower attendees to leverage this signature Filipino resourcefulness as inspiration for solving their own brand challenges.

In her closing remarks, adobo Magazine Editorial & Content Director Jill Tan Radovan stated that the speakers provided very important insights on how Filipino creatives think, how cultural intelligence redounds to impactful strategies; and Filipinos’ resourcefulness in solving problems by following certain steps. She said that Filipinos are very creative, talented and humane and that they could make a great impact on events such as MAD STARS 2026.
The event culminated with a cultural dance performance from the United Fil-Korean Families (UFF), an organization in Busan that supports multicultural Filipino-Korean families, students and migrant workers. END