The World: Insider's view - The Philippines.(outsourcing in the Philippines)

Manila is fast turning into the outsourcing capital of the world. Could advertising be the next industry in its sights, David Guerrero asks.

Happy hour starts around 8am in some parts of Manila, and finishes at 12pm. Clubs are packed until 10am, with masses of places to eat at 4am. And while half of us are trying to wake up with a cappuccino, the other half are knocking themselves out with large quantities of beer.

The number of call centres in Manila has doubled in the past year, with labour costs at one-fifth of rates in the US. There is no shortage of people willing to work in a state of permanent jet lag, using their local version of American accents.

Unexpectedly, being a US colony from the 1890s to 1946 left a West coast twang in people's speech, basketball as a national sport (despite an average height of 5ft 4in) and the country among the world's top ten consumers of cola.

Manila's call centres have also spawned other business models. Your phone call to the bank is answered by someone in Manila; your taxes are added up by someone in Manila; your daily newspaper has a back office in Manila; and your kids watch cartoons made in Manila.

Some cities in the US are getting their entire Yellow Pages display ads done in Manila. See a pattern? As The Economist pointed out last week, far from having anything to fear from the developing world, the developed world, in fact, stands to make more money out of it. But in terms of ads, does the Far East pose a threat?

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