Oh! Pa Ra Sa Ta U Wa Yeah!

It’s just recently that I’ve watched Nestle Philippines’ Kasambuhay Habambuhay Short Film Anthology. I know it’s been almost a month since it premiered, but it’s just recently that I found time to watch them. As with my previous Nestea Commercial entries, this short film deserves to be viewed with respect to the previous TVCs as a continuation of the whole Nicos-Mattina story arc. Actually I was expecting a continuation of their story upon first hearing about Nestle’s short film of their products, and guess what, I was right. The plot already has a background story with a significant cult following, and this just what those fans need.

In the short film, more is revealed about the family, the most noticeable is that their surnames are finally revealed, they are the Clemente family. The siblings, Nicos is the eldest, who is madly in love with Matinna. Ashia(?) is the only girl and seems like a typical teenage girl and Gio, the youngest is like the geeky type. The names of the father and mother are not explicitly said in the short film, but according to the film credits they are Daddy Emil and Mommy Sandy. This time, the father had more lines and screen time than usual plus a chance to showcase his singing prowess with a bit of slang (“…Bawat titik ay iyong isa-puso…“), and now I’m sure his fan base will increase a bit.

The short film is themed like a musical. With majority of the screen time dedicated to the singing and a little dance performance of the cast. The main theme of the song is an alphabet song (Abakada) about how to make a girl fall in love with you. The song reminds me of a folk song performed by the Philippine artist, Florante entitled Abakada. I feel the song is a little bit leaning on the corny and campy side, but nonetheless entertaining. The climax was a bit predictable, but it’s the running gag of the story.

Also there are little inconsistencies with the short film that contradicts with few minor details of the plot. One of them is the vehicle that they are using. In the short film, they are riding a Type 2 Volkswagen van, whereas in an earlier commercial, they have an SUV parked on their garage. I’m sure this was unintentional since the directors of the film and the TVC are different persons. Anyway, check this short film and treat it as a continuation of the previous TV Commercials.

“Charina”: A PS Bank TVC

I’m really enthralled by this commercial of PS Bank Home Loan, which has been airing for about a month now. I’m not sure about the title of this TVC, so far I have found only one video on the net, and I haven’t found any info about this commercial. The only video on YouTube is titled “Charina”, so I guess I’ll go with it. I’m really interested on the TVCs made by the advertising agency of PS Bank. They break the fourth wall and deviate from the traditional flowery words and marketing that other banks have made and are still making. I like how they emphasize Simplicity from their TVCs. But this time, it doesn’t just dwell there, it also shown, at least to me, innocence which is kinda cute. Here is the TV Commercial that I’m talking about:

Nestea TVC – “Insider”

The summer installment of the Nestea TVC series has been finally released. With the usual cast of characters, Nicos, Mattina and family, we got a sneak peak at Mattina’s family and let us know that she has a younger sister named Bettina, played by the rising child star, Jillian Ward. According to Nicos’ insider, Bettina, her sister currently has 3 possible suitors, the English-speaking, the Japanese-Brazilian and the person she met in Boracay. I’m sure you’re not surprised by the number of suitors of Mattina, but what I’m really surprised is Nicos’ self-confidence. I wonder where he’s getting it from? huh?

Looking carefully at the TV commercial, we see a glimpse of their house outside. I’m 80% sure it was the same house all through-out, it just seems that the atmosphere inside and outside are a bit different. The color of the outside shots are relatively brighter and much more vibrant than the shots from the inside of the house which seems a bit gloomier but without (or less) the gloomy feeling.

Quality-wise, the TVC raised the bars higher than the previous ones, but due to the trend that sequels won’t be better than the first, I believe it still doesn’t surpass the quirkiness and the brilliance of the first one. I believe that the series is just riding the popularity set by the debut commercial and would never be better.

The True Story of Manny Pacquiao

After Manny Pacquiao's previous fight and before his upcoming fight with Mayweather, he amuses me with what other things he can do aside from boxing. It's been a known fact that Pacman is one of the most sought after product endorser. So, don't be surprised if you will see two or three TVCs in one commercial break while watching a local television channel. As of present, the most noteworthy TVC he's ever made is the Datu Puti Commercial that features the "True Story" of Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao. It was really amusing and I found it very entertaining compared to the latest Nestea TVC that is slowly losing its touch. Personally, I think that the selling point of this commercial is the inclusion of Coach Freddie Roach, which is given a prominent role in the plot.

Whether or not this TVC will dethrone the commercial fad and fame of Nestea will depend on the iced tea ad company to produce a much better summer-themed advertisement.

Nestea TVC: 214

I know that this commercial has been running for weeks now. I actually wanted to post this 8 hours 30 minutes and 2 seconds before Valentine's Day, but I guess I didn't. Seems like Nestea is still on a roll with its new commercial entitled "214." The whole cast still reprised their role on the commercial series, albeit I don't think the sister appeared on the previous commercial. In my opinion, the plot and story is still cool and fresh and can still tickle the funny bones of the new generation, although it lacks the artistic side and "cinematography" of the first TVC of the series.