Life·ver·tis·ing
/ līf-vər-tīzing /
Great things in life outside of advertising that are worth advertising
2024
THIS IS LUCKY ME
GOING VIRAL ON LINKEDIN WITH C.VISA AND FINALLY GET AN INTERNSHIP AT MY DREAM AGENCY GUT MIAMI OUT OF THAT!
THIS IS
MY UNLUCKY AD PARTNER - SANDY URPIS BUT WE
WENT THE EXTRA MILE TO GET HIM THAT EXTRA STAMP AT MCCANN TORONTO ANYWAY!
2023
It's the Vietnamese tradition to invite a "special guest" to enter your home after Lunar New Year's Eve to bless you with good luck for the year to come, as we call it "First-footing" (or Lunar Housewarming).
And because study-abroad me and my friends don't have a home right now, we decide to move our home online, on Google Slides, and invite you all to come in, first-foot, celebrate Lunar New Year, and spare us some luck! 🏮🏮🏮
Our address is here: https://bit.ly/deckwarming
We're open 24/7 so please visit (with your laptop) at any time! And if possible, please leave us with a "Wish comment" on Slide 29!
ABOUT MY 7-POUND MATH TEXTBOOK TURNED ADVERTISING MEMOIR
It was my last day working at Dentsu Redder Vietnam and I really wanted to make it last. Then as I was dressing up, I glanced over my childhood shelves and found my 7-pound 1120-page Math Textbook that I have studied my ass off for years as a math majored student. That was the norm for smart Vietnamese kids like me, until I found Advertising.
But as painful as it might recall, I can’t never get rid of the book. Good or bad, in there was just so many teenage years and memories of mine. So now, as I’ve moved on with advertising and stopped learning all these Math lessons and principles, why don’t I let my creative colleagues and mentors rewrite, bless, and teach me with new ones 🤔
STEAL AT APPLE
It’s not everyday you get to present at Apple, so I used that opportunity from the Marcus Graham Project this summer,
To steal from 'em!
Stealing inspirations
Stealing creativity
Taking over stages, captivating hearts
And stealing mentors, dance partners (watch till the end), and smiles :'))))
My heart now goes out to all the victims and their families at Apple, because we all now have become part of the fam!
They said that "Burglars never hit the same house twice." But for this host, I would definitely find my way to return, for more!
Until then, keep stealing!
EDIT TILL YOU MAKE IT
Two ad nerds saw this meme on 9GAG one weekend, and one of them just needed a good excuse to skip his leg day 🦵
Insight: They know Planet Fitness would never judge 😤😅
2022
BUSY NEW YEAR 2023
It was New Year Eve 2023, and because young, aspiring creatives like Sandy & I wouldn’t be around Times Square counting down, but rather working on our next student spec work, we create this “face reflective shot” deck to make it quick and easy for us all to have a moment to celebrate & post on our Insta in the New Year before getting back to work.
ONE IDEA SPARKS THE NEXT
"Don't just learn from Vietnam advertising, we're only 25 years old. Learn from the world's best out there instead, it's so free!" my Creative Director told me this on the first day of my internship at TBWA \ Vietnam while passing me Austin Kleon's Steal Like An Artist.
And so I tried to learn, steal, and copy so much that I failed and found my own voice.
12.11.20 Self-confessed. Being an Anime weeb :D
10.17.21 Admitted. Watching Dota World Final
EXPOSING MY CREATIVE DIRECTOR’S LIFE OUTSIDE OF ADVERTISING,
for his birthday.
Thanh Ngo is my boss, the #2 hottest Vietnam creative, idol/ mentor of many young ones. He always tells us to live life outside of advertising, to make great advertising, ironically, it’s him the one who made his colleagues and juniors think that he doesn’t have a life outside of work. It’s always about the work, the industry, or… the future of Vietnam Advertising during work-break-and-bar hours.
So for his 28th birthday, I teamed up with other mentees of him to collect and create an Exposed Case of moments of him living outside of advertising to wish he would enjoy more of those moments in his new age!
This is a money tree with real money flower we made last Lunar New Year
It’s Dad’s Birthday
I earned the drive to better myself through my mom and earned the crafting to do creative stuff from my dad.
That’s why every year, I try to make some of these creative present for his birthday ~
ISA Sonadata
For my favorite Information System & Analytics teacher, the Mozart of IT, the source code’s conductor, Dr. Skip Benamati.
2021
Cheers to the 9 years of Redder
I used to walk into DR office every morning with Bobba Tea, now walked out with 2 beers.
This was Dentsu Redder’s 9-year anniversary, so to make it as fire and heart-warming as possible, we crafted our own chilly beers and sent them to all of our partners and friends to cheer with us!
Toy Identities
Back in Redder, I was the tallest guy and the youngest child, standing among Giants. And don’t get me wrong, Giants here ain’t no grown-ups, but rather kids who are curious enough to cross the Gulliver’s Creative Tunnel.
With that, to celebrate Children’s Day, I made our Copy Team transfer ourselves into toys that reflected our identities the most.
Btw, here’s a lit brainstorm session between our ECD and his colleague (again, not his son)
CHEERS TO THE BEST PARTNERS,
FOR LIFE!
Role: Concepting, Editing, Digging, Wishing
It was my cousin’s engagement party for a 10-year-long friendship turning lifelong partners… but I couldn’t make it. So I dug social posts of the two from way back and wrapped them in a story of a friendship that lasts a lifetime
An S Fake, Love Replica, Wannabe Droga5 Production
2020
"MEOW" BOOK
For chị Lien Dinh
A bunch of cats, all having flashback
About their time at the \ company
While one departed
From TBWA\ to Mi Dom at ease…
My first boss had the same age as my mom. But she won’t let me call her auntie, just sis.
3 months into my internship, she left the advertising world behind…
Behind her “Meow” book of legacy, memories, and lovely people that I was honored to concept and copywrite.
Time flies…
Get to know my sister
a little better
Role: Directing, Being a good brother
Studying abroad all by myself made me realize how shallow I’ve lived for the last 20 years. So shallow that even my sister is only 2 years younger than me, I have never actually got to know her that well. So I’m glad that I had this experience of helping her with the art direction/ production for her spoken word poem video series - Whisper
Proudly Sacrificed In Vietnam
Role: Concepting, Designing, Honoring unsung heroes
Covid-19 hit and I had to fly back to Vietnam and spend 2 weeks at the Quarantine camp upon arrival. And those 2 weeks were some of the most memorable and heartwarming ones when I really got to know very dearly about the incredible contribution of doctors, nurses, and volunteers there at the front line.
So moved by their heart and care, I took on Biti’s Hunter concept and redesign one that was dedicated to honoring their sacrifices
"Quarantine! Where Do We Being?"
Summer was coming, and the first thing I thought of was Phineas & Ferb and their endless songs of inspiration. As a fan of P&F, everyone wishes to write their own song someday, me included. But as we all knew, the summer of 2020 hit differently, especially for young people.
Having decided to take a gap year in Vietnam, super grateful for the safety of me and my family, I was motivated to do something for good. And with positivity as my drive, my quarantined room as my studio, and P&F’s opening song as my flow, “I know what I’m gonna do today!”
And so I turned my story of coming back to Vietnam, self-quarantine for 14 days, self-assigning myself projects to keep me creative,… into a song of encouragement.