Chris Cahilig, the director of the Puregold CinePanalo festival, believes that some production companies have overlooked the essence of vertical series, resulting in a loss of novelty and innovation.

"They copied one another using the same formula. And I think that's the end of it. Vertical shorts will be oversaturated next year," said Chris during an interview at the First Hakot Relay Run at Rizal Park recently.

A vertical series is a short video series filmed in portrait format, specifically designed for viewing on smartphones, similar to content on apps like TikTok and Instagram Reels.

Chris added, "Other companies want to monetize. The flow of material is exaggerated and no longer natural. The novelty is also gone. Before, it had novelty because the form was new.

"When we did vertical series, monetization was not our primary purpose. It's simply for pure entertainment. So next year, there will still be a lot of content, but only a few will succeed," Chris said.

Others are still making mistakes, he said. "If you adopt the US and Chinese formula, the No. 1 mistake would be using celebrities.

"If you do that, your production cost will increase. If you use celebrities, it will fall under a soap opera series. Some people forget the essence of vertical series: the novelty of it all, and their narrative should be innovative.

"When we watch Chinese and US vertical series, we know that the story is already stale, but there is novelty in the form, like exaggerated and over-the-top," Chris also said.

Despite the possibility of a saturated market for vertical series, Chris said Puregold is still planning to launch a new series. "In Puregold, we always want to introduce something new. We want to explore. There are many ideas we want to explore."

Chris, also the president of the creative, production, and public relations agency Insight 360 Consultancy Services, Inc., and his team were the minds behind the world's first-ever branded vertical series. “52 Weeks” was released in 2022 and was a groundbreaking collaboration between Chris and Puregold.

Starring Queenay Mercado and Jin Macapagal and directed by Lemuel Lorca, “52 Weeks” ran for 36 episodes and garnered over 34.1 million views across its run on TikTok. In 2023, it was named the Best Social Media Campaign by the Hashtag Asia Awards.

This developed as Puregold recently transformed a fun Filipino activity into a large-scale community engagement platform with the launch of the Puregold Hakot Relay Run at Burnham Green Park in Luneta.

Held on Nov. 22, the event prompted a strong turnout with participants numbering in the thousands, demonstrating the retailer’s continued focus on community-building initiatives that are aligned with its long-term brand and customer growth strategy.

Blending fitness, entertainment, and Puregold’s iconic “hakot” experience, the three-kilometer relay introduced an innovative twist to the traditional fun run format. Teams of three joined the race not for speed but for strategy, competing in a hakot segment wherein runners grabbed grocery items and filled their sling bags before tagging the next team member. The ensuing scenario was a vibrant and adrenaline-filled activity that brought families, barkadas, and communities together in a uniquely Puregold way.

Puregold also staged a Sunset Concert at the venue, where OPM and P-Pop performers such as KAIA, G22, Press Hit Play, and the duo BREKA (Brent Manalo and Mika Salamanca) filled the park with live music and turned the relay into an afternoon celebration for families and fans alike.

All participating runners were winners, taking home a Puregold Hakot Relay Finisher’s Medal, an official race singlet, and a grocery sling bag made exclusively for this inaugural event.