From ‘Torete’ to AI: Herbert Hernandez celebrates Moonstar88’s hit, Gigil’s 25 years

— Twenty-five years ago, Herbert Hernandez and his band, Moonstar88, were all set for their demo. When suddenly, Herbert’s brother squeezed in a last-minute track.

That last-minute addition later turned up not only as the lead single from their 2000 debut album, “Popcorn,” but into one of the band’s biggest hits to date, “Torete.”

“Ang interesting trivia sa Torete, parang inihabol lang s’ya kasi tapos na ‘yung demo namin. Nag-dedemo na kami nu’ng hinabol s’ya ng brother ko kaya sobrang interesting na s’ya ‘yung nagustuhan ng label at naging single… Ganu’n din ‘yung ‘Migraine,’ ako naman nagsulat nu’n. Inihabol ko lang then pumatok s’ya…” Hernandez recalled.

“Interesting fact, kaya kami nag-meet ng asawa ko kasi sa ‘Torete.’ Dahil daw sa ‘Torete,’ kapag kinakanta sa karaoke, feeling daw nila ang ganda ng boses nila,” he shared.

“Torete was born out of raw, unfiltered emotion—and maybe that’s why people keep coming back to it. I think every generation has felt that kind of vulnerability and intense love at least once in their lives. It’s a song na hindi nagpapanggap, and that honesty keeps it alive,” he added in a statement.

Hernandez helped pen “Migraine,” one of the most-streamed Filipino songs of all time, amassing over 100 million plays. 

According to him, the “power of simplicity” in “Migraine” makes it a hit, alongside being “ahead of its time” as it tackles the grey area of a relationship.

Around the same time as “Torete,” in 2017, Herbert started a new advertising agency together with an ad agency boss.

He originally wanted their company to be named after them, but after many studies and choices, they settled with a name they think is unique in the industry: Gigil.

Initially, a team member vetoed the name because it could be double-meaning, but like Hernandez’s favorite basketball players, what sets the ordinary from the MVP (most valuable player) is the “grit” or “gigil.”

“Marami kasing magaling pero ilan lang ang may gigil,” Hernandez enthused, implying that their company’s name also stands for their vision to do everything to achieve anything.

“What makes Gigil unique is the consistency. Sa lahat ng ginagawa namin sa Gigil, we do our best. Lahat – from visuals to copies and campaigns – well-aligned.”

Despite challenges like some technologies being not locally available, Gigil has stood the test of time by recording its learnings and if one of its projects goes viral goes beyond the target market, they established a sensitivity council for check and balance.

As creative partner from the start, Hernandez has earned many recognitions together with Gigil, including wins at Cannes Lions, APAC Effies, and ADFEST. The agency was also named Campaign Brief Asia’s Independent Agency of the Year in 2024. His contributions to the field earned him a spot on Campaign Magazine’s prestigious “40 Under 40” list, recognizing rising stars in Asia-Pacific’s marketing and media landscape.

Among their many projects, he is proudest of the likes of Grab because he uses the app and has seen the campaigns they made as instrumental to Grab’s visible growth and business impact. 

He is also grateful of how their agency’s “Squid Game” campaign for Netflix did not only meet the global streaming platform’s high standards, but also was reportedly the most viral among the campaigns for the show worldwide.

“Nakakatuwa na kaya ng Pinoy na maging global,” Hernandez affirmed, taking pride in local brands like RC Cola and Orocan being able to compete with global ones in terms of ad campaigns.

“’Yung anak ko, ‘yung classmate n’ya, nagpapapirma sa’kin. Akala ko sa Moonstar 88. ‘Yun pala sa RC Cola… ‘Yun ‘yung isa sa pinaka-proud ako kasi naging pop culture s’ya, umabot sa mga classmates ng mga anak ko,” he shared.

“Definitely, bound na maging global tayo kasi English-speaking tayo eh at saka ang daming creatives dito.”

For both Moonstar88 and Gigil, Hernandez’s vision is to go global, with the band set for an upcoming US tour together with Hernandez’s other band, 6cyclemind, which he joined in 2010.

“Ang future talaga na nakikita ko is going global – nand’un tayo sa mga magiging top na creative countries,” he forecasted. 

“Ang dami kasi nating influences parang buong mundo, nahaluan tayo.”

Even Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become “a part of lifestyle” for Hernandez both in Gigil and Moonstar88. 

“Marami s’yang nagagawa sa’tin to make things faster,” he said of AI as a “tool” to approximate things, likening it to a sledgehammer that reinforces hammer and nail if ethically and responsibly used.

From being a lead guitarist and co-founder of Moonstar88 in college at the University of Santo Tomas, Hernandez soldiers on in the local music landscape.

“Never namin kasi kinompare ‘yung sarili namin sa ibang banda. So sa tingin ko, in general, kahit saan, mapa sa banda o sa Gigil, ang key talaga ay you compete with no one but yourself,” he affirmed.

“Kami, tuloy-tuloy lang. Ang mas importante sa’min, mula sa huli naming ginawa, mas gumaling ba kami?”