DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY—Rafter Manguiat, a Filipino copywriter based in Germany, couldn’t afford going to advertising’s biggest event of the year. But he found a loophole on Google Maps and virtually placed himself along the Riviera, so creative directors and recruiters could still find him there.
The Cannes Lions is dubbed as the Oscars or Olympics of advertising. But that prestige comes with a hefty price—4465 EUR, plus 20% tax, to be exact. Most young creatives, with the most hunger and enthusiasm to create, cannot afford going. For Rafter Manguiat, a copywriter who just got laid off, it costs more than twice his monthly salary.
But he knows the benefits of being at Cannes: networking, getting noticed, or even hired on the spot. So, he really wanted to ‘be there.’ And he found a way to do it for free: He placed himself and his portfolio on Google Maps, so that CDs and recruiters could still find him.
Manguiat listed himself as a 24-hour copywriting business called ‘Rafter: The Copywriter (Not) At Cannes,’ and put case studies and projects in the listing’s media. He also inserted himself into Street View images to prove that he was, technically, there. And he did all of it, in his own words, “Under zero budget. Just guts.”
After just a week, the stunt earned 286K+ impressions, 1642% more profile views, 10K+ portfolio visits, and a ton of 5-star reviews from top creatives across the globe. Manguiat is proud of the list of reviewers: Lorenz Langgartner, Global Executive Creative Director of Serviceplan and this year’s Cannes Lions jury member; Shruthi Subramanian, Associate Creative Director of LePub in Amsterdam; Elisa Czerwenka, Creative Director of Uncommon London; and Juan Sebastián Moreno, Head of Art & Design at Lola Madrid.
As for recruitment, Manguiat says that he is currently in talks with creative directors & executive creative directors in the EU, UK, and the US. One even proposed to bring him to Cannes next year.
The Cannes stunt was inspired by the Google Job Experiment by Alec Brownstein. In 2010, Brownstein bought Google Search ads for 6 USD, so that his name pops up whenever top creative directors google themselves. The stunt landed him a job at Y&R New York and also won him awards. Manguiat says that it all began with a challenge from his LIA mentor, Jimmy Smith—a Wieden+Kennedy icon, now Chairman, CEO, and CCO of Amusement Park Entertainment, and part of this year’s Titanium Lions jury.
The stunt isn’t just self-promotion, but a result of an industry truth: Young creatives with the most hunger and energy to create are the ones who cannot afford to be in such events. But young creatives like Manguiat hustle their way around these limitations.
For Manguiat, the response has been positively overwhelming. He only imagined making rounds within the German advertising bubble. But instead, the cleverness of the idea went beyond the continent. It opened doors he didn’t even know he could reach.
Creative directors, ECDs, and CCOs who liked the stunt or this kind of thinking are encouraged to reach out to Manguiat via email or LinkedIn.
You can still find Manguiat’s ‘The Copywriter (Not) At Cannes’ listing on Google Maps.
