Eugene Cheong's creative tough love lands with a bruising new book launch

A new campaign from GIGIL and Arcade is bringing an unusually physical interpretation to creative learning, launching advertising veteran Eugene Cheong's latest book with a film that literally slaps its readers into action.

The campaign supports the release of Cowards Don't Go To Heaven, the new publication from Cheong, widely regarded as one of the architects of Asia's creative advertising movement. The former chief creative officer of Ogilvy APAC and DDB Asia is also recognised as one of the most awarded creative leaders from the region.

Rather than positioning the book as a conventional industry read, the campaign uses humour and physical comedy to dramatise the hard-hitting lessons contained within its pages. Created by GIGIL and directed by Marius Talampas of Arcade, the film follows an exhausted young creative who turns to a large red book in search of guidance, only to be met with an immediate slap across the face.

Don't miss: Asurion turns Cebu launch into immersive 'career glow-up' experience with GIGIL

As he continues reading, each page delivers another blow, transforming the familiar experience of receiving tough creative feedback into a slapstick visual metaphor. The punishment escalates throughout the film, culminating in a cameo appearance by Anselmo Ramos, creative chairman of GUT, who is seen nursing his bruised face with an ice pack as he recovers from his own reading session.

The humorous execution reflects the spirit of Cowards Don't Go To Heaven, which condenses four decades of Cheong's experience into 13,000 handwritten words accompanied by 71 illustrations by Simon Spilsbury.

Cheong himself joked that the final campaign concept emerged from a more daring alternative.

"It was between the Slap idea and an OnlyFans idea requiring me to go full nude with the line: 'Eugene Cheong bares it all.' I guess I chickened out."

The film made its official debut on 9 June at D&AD headquarters in London during an exclusive launch event hosted by Cheong and Spilsbury. Ahead of the unveiling, the book had been heavily teased across LinkedIn and other social media platforms, generating discussion and endorsements from creative leaders around the world.

Published by Victionary, Cowards Don't Go To Heaven is now available globally.

Step into PR Asia Philippines 2026 on 9 September in Manila, where communications leaders will unpack the realities of trust, nationalism, misinformation, and polarisation shaping the country’s evolving narrative landscape.

Related articles:
RC Cola turns 'zero' into a full-blown surreal world in GIGIL-led campaign
GIGIL Metama wakes up Digicon with AI coffee machine that brews based on eye bags
GrabMart turns a Filipino expression into a cartwheeling campaign for 24/7 convenience