What the hell did he know 'bout advertising (or writing for magazines, for that matter)?

A look at Vicente-Ignacio's educational background would instantly tell you his professors didn't train him for the world of advertising or even commercial publishing. He dropped out of a painting course at the Fine Arts college in the University of the Philippines (Diliman, Quezon City campus) in 1985 to later on become a creative writing fellow at Silliman University's Program In Creative Writing, in Dumaguete City from 1988 to 1989. What was he doing in the latter institution? Writing, what, useless poems and short stories about Philippine life!
     Worse, he took creative writing seriously. This after becoming a summer-writing-workshop fellow to the 26th Silliman University National Summer Writers Workshop (1987), and then—haha!—after he became poetry writing fellow to the 16th UP National Summer Writers Workshop at UP Diliman in 1988. And, finally, when he became one among the first batch of writing fellows to the 1st Silliman University Semestral Seminars-Workshop of the SU Program in Creative Writing, from 1988-89.
     Fortunately, "literary" writing for the white page was not his sole obsession. For one, he's still crazy about screenwriting, a frustration borne out of attending the Goethe Institut/UP Film Center Seminar on Experimental Film at UP Diliman way back in October 1984, and then from working as a student assistant at the UP Film Center (and painting Gauguin reproductions for Tikoy Aguiluz' Boatman). A screenplay he wrote for college-mate and now film director Raymond Red remains in the latter's wife's study awaiting the busy megman's and his producers' review.
     And he's into rock songwriting! Two cassette tapes of his rock songs in English have also ceased preparing themselves for even a new generation of performers who might, haha! . . . take a curiouser interest. :-) But wait, a young Tacloban-based band that aimed to hit it out with the Manila scene hired him in 2005 to write their lyrics. Our hero happily took the job, even contributing his own music into the fray. :-) He also functioned as the band's backup vocalist and percussionist and vocal harmonies arranger for their recording (tracks soon available for purchase online here), and then as quasi-manager. Check out the band's tribute site here.
     But, in closing, Vicente-Ignacio is really actually just the sort of urban poet that has nothing more than eyes open to the quirkiness of his fellow Filipinos' minds and taste, eyes that in one way or another somehow proved themselves valuable stuff to the useful psychology of business marketing, advertising, and publishing, as attested to by this, his digital resume cum ad-industry portfolio qua modest record.