It was a different Hans Lopez-Vito I got to meet yesterday.  No longer was he in a hurry to catch a meeting or get back to his computer.  You could feel the spring in Hans' step as he walked down De La Costa Street.

I guess Hans was enjoying the freedom of not being employed (at least for a few days until next week). 

In one of Hans' lectures to college students whereby he debunks the myths of having a career in advertising, Hans has this presentation slide which shows how Hollywood has played up and perhaps stereotyped the modern day advertising executive.  Overworked, harrassed, heftily paid yet ironically undercompensated given the enormous work demands.  The movies came with different storylines: "Sweet November", "What Women Want", plus a few others.  Amidst the diversity, all of these spoke of one thing - an imaginary line to cross which marks a major turning point in the career.

For some, crossing the line could mean total abandonment of the frenetic activity in the ad world.  National artists Cesar Legaspi and Malang did just that.  Giving up being art directors for a home-based career in painting.  For others, it could just mean a few tweakings, continuing in advertising but, taking things at their dictated terms.  I for one have realized that in as much as I would like to spend the days painting at home, I can hardly escape the trappings of Out-Of-Home media.

Hans shall still continue in marketing and advertising, this time though, he takes his skills to the regional level as he moves to Shanghai. 

While descending in GT Tower's elevator, I couldn't help but ask Hans in our native tongue, "Pila ka na Hans?" (How old are you now?).  "35 na `ko", was the reply. 

"Te, amo naman gid na ang edad nga kinanglan mag-desisyon.  My last day in the agency was the day before I turned 37".

Maayo lang nga paglakat pare!






Todos los Ilonggos de McCann (part 1)