Breaking Boundaries with Merlee Jayme

m25 the global premium network proudly presents our Global Creative Series, to highlight international creativity and the impact of local cultures and technological advancements on creative production throughout the region. This series features interviews with key and exceptional regional creatives, illustrating how individual endeavours, when combined with cultural understanding and team building, shape successful advertising campaigns and real purpose.

In this first edition, we're privileged to feature Merlee Jayme, who is the first Filipino to be named Campaign Asia Pacific’s Women Leading Change and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Champion, ADFEST Lotus Legend awardee, and Tambuli Asia Pacific Agency Leader of the Year. As creative chairmom® and founder of The Misfits Camp and Jayme Headquarters, she’s created the world’s first pathways for neurodivergent creatives. Formerly CCO APAC at Dentsu and global president of Dentsu McGarryBowen, she led the Philippines’ only Cannes Lions Grand Prix, ranked among The Drum’s Top 100 CCOs, and serves as a jury president, international speaker, four-time author, and mom of four.

There’s a great responsibility that comes with being creative.

It’s a gift and I’ve always felt a deep need to do something meaningful with it.
There’s a responsibility that comes with creativity, it's a gift I’ve always needed to use meaningfully. Genuine creativity and relentless restlessness fuelled me from childhood drawing comics to hating boredom. Fearful of being useless, I ran away at thirteen and spent three years in a convent living ora et labora before realising I craved action and impact beyond prayer.

My search led me into advertising, where creativity’s true power to solve problems, build brands, and improve lives revealed itself. I went on to found an agency, advocate for women, champion diversity and inclusion, and lead on the global creative stage, yet deep down I knew I was meant to give even more back to the craft.

Then I met my nephew, a fourteen-year-old autism-diagnosed gaming prodigy. Here was proof that brilliant, differently wired minds are too often overlooked. I resolved to hunt for neurodivergent talent and open our industry’s doors wide because creativity at its most powerful is inclusive.

As technologies, tools, and audiences evolve, I stay relevant by immersing myself in trends, watching movies with my daughters and keeping pace with Gen Alpha. Platforms may shift, but the power of a meaningful idea never fades. Today, creativity is not just for selling, it’s a force for solving societal issues ending violence against women, shifting LGBTQ+ acceptance in a deeply Catholic country, or supporting communities in crisis like McDonald’s did during the pandemic. This decade has taught us to balance brand building with purpose and commercial goals with cultural impact. The most effective campaigns now move both markets and hearts.

The Philippines is claiming its space on the global advertising stage with heart, creativity, and a perspective uniquely its own.

Years of stretching third-world budgets into first-world thinking have taught us to make big ideas with less. Our rich, layered culture once overlooked is now a well for bold, authentic stories that resonate worldwide. Winning the country’s only Cannes Lions Grand Prix for Smart TXTBKS proved that resilience and ingenuity can solve real problems on any scale.

At home, we’re redefining norms. A younger generation of creatives is questioning deeply conservative, taboo-filled traditions telling stories about LGBTQ+ lives, cohabitation, separation and divorce that were once off-limits. Social media has given these narratives room to breathe, showing that true brand connection demands honesty, even when it’s uncomfortable.

Technology and AI are reshaping our process at a remarkable clip. Filipino teams adopt these tools not just to keep pace but to amplify imagination faster turnarounds, sharper writing and art directors experimenting in new formats. Yet without clear regulations, we must wield AI with integrity, ensuring it boosts human insight and cultural nuances rather than replacing them.

Social media has become the centrepiece of advertising strategies in the Philippines but not without its own set of growing pains.

Today, many Filipino agencies proudly position themselves as "digital-first." Coming back into the local scene after my global stint, I was honestly surprised by what “digital” now often means in practice. Clients ask for low-budget output still images with basic animations reminiscent of what used to be our quick-and-rough pitch mockups. Yet these make their way to YouTube or social platforms as final digital spots.
And then there’s the curious case of the KV or key visual.

Once a tool used for internal alignment or brand books, the KV has somehow evolved (or devolved) into a major client deliverable, often treated as if it were the final creative product itself. It’s as if the strategy deck was turned into a poster and called an ad. This shift has sometimes diluted the storytelling and craft that traditional advertising upheld, replacing it with static, templated content trying to pass for communication.

That said, I’ve also seen flashes of brilliant, clever, timely, and culturally sharp social media content that cuts through and truly connects. These moments remind us that the real challenge is not just going digital, but using each platform creatively and intentionally.

To keep up with global trends, our strategies must move beyond volume and speed. We need to bring back the depth crafting content that’s not just present in the feed, but actually meaningful in people’s lives. The platforms may be short-form and fast, but the thinking behind them must still be big.

The real challenge for agencies in the Philippines isn’t expansion, it's evolution.

More than growing in size or numbers, agencies today need to grow in relevance. That means truly understanding the current landscape, hiring smartly, building the right expertise, and most importantly carving out a positioning that’s distinctive and future-facing.

This is exactly the philosophy behind my comeback agency, Jayme Headquarters. When I first opened DM9 Jayme Syfu in 2005 with my partner Alex Syfu, the industry looked very different. Back then, success meant pushing creative boundaries in a more traditional, media-driven world. Today, it’s about agility, digital savviness, and social relevance.
Trying to restart the same way would’ve been a mistake.

My global and APAC experience taught me to listen to "feel" the real needs of the market and the brands. To identify the voids and fill them not just with good work, but with creative solutions that matter.

And what drives me and my team forward? Our deeper purpose. Jayme Headquarters is a social enterprise built to support The Misfits Camp, a non-profit dedicated to upskilling and empowering neurodivergent creatives. This mission gives our agency not just a reason to grow but a reason to evolve with impact.

In the next five to 10 years, I see the Philippine advertising industry being shaped by bold storytelling, technological discovery, and global recognition of Filipino talent.

To every young creative in the Philippines and beyond: stay restless in your curiosity, relentless in creating value and committed to purpose-doing until you reach purpose-being. Innovation here isn’t driven by the flashiest tools or fat budgets it’s born of constraints, simple ideas and deeply human insight. From Pepsi’s Liter of Light to Smart TXTBKS and Stripes Fit Check, our strength lies in making small things matter.