Independent creative duo eugene+jasper sets up in the Philippines

Eugene Cheong, former chief creative officer of Ogilvy Asia Pacific and DDB Asia, has teamed up with former GIGIL Manila associate creative director Jasper Cajilig to launch eugene+jasper (e+j), an independent creative partnership.

Positioned deliberately as something other than an agency, e+j will work directly with chief creative officers, CEOs and agency founders.

The partnership has no account teams, timesheets or process decks. Instead, e+j will be brought in directly by the people leading creative businesses, with agencies retaining the pair openly rather than using them as an undisclosed resource.

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The pair are already working with Anselmo Ramos and the GUT creative department on global brands.

For Cheong, the model is built around challenging even highly successful creative leaders to push their work further. “The agencies that hire us are the last ones that need to. And that’s the whole point,” said Cheong.

“There’s work the industry bubble loves, and then there’s work your mom, your neighbour, the person scrolling on the train actually gives a damn about. We want both,” Cajilig added.

The partnership will collaborate with creative leaders across both global networks and independent agencies, while avoiding situations where two agencies competing for the same account are involved.

Badong Abesamis, partner and CCO of GIGIL, vouched for the partnership, saying the two creatives’ contrasting strengths make the collaboration particularly compelling: Cheong brings the wisdom to distil an idea to its simplest form, while Cajilig brings the hunger to challenge and develop ideas further.

Cheong is also the author of Cowards Don’t Go to Heaven, published by Victionary in 2026, while Cajilig continues to build on a portfolio spanning art direction, writing and campaigns.

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