Is it all about the taking the sheer fun and excitement out of watching a live production and cheering for the ladies to the top of your lungs?
Photo by FOX via Getty Images
Is it all about coming up with more creative methods in executing the different parts of the competition, however less engaging they may come out to be?
Is it all about doing the entire pageant itself a la quarantine with everything captured online from various parts of the Philippines and cradling the approach as #togetherapart for a more heartfelt spin?
Is it all about an endless streaming of videos with the resolution inconsistent from one candidate to the next?
Is it all about judging the preliminaries via Zoom cloud meetings and becoming a constantly worried (read: irritated) viewer once the connection lags and jumps frequently like tadpoles in the swamp?
Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images
Is it all about the candidates wearing protective masks if an actual pageant with a minimized number of spectators will be held? And in the process, remove them temporarily while facing the judges?
Is it all about physical distancing where the blocking maximizes the space of the stage such that all candidates (and eventual finalists) will be at least six feet apart from each other from the opening number all the way to the announcement of winners?
Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray is a perfect example of using social media way beyond what other successful pageant winners have utilized it for.
Is it all about pushing the envelope as far as social media presence is concerned and requiring the candidates to go beyond encouraging supporters to vote for them as Miss Popularity and trek the extra mile to involve fans and supporters in spreading and being part of their authentic advocacy/ies?
Honestly, I believe it could be bits and pieces of all of the above – plus more – if fresher strategies can be implemented to insure the safety of everyone, pageant media included. Sure, paranoia will be in play if you want to think of it that way. But if the end goal is to come up with the most ground-breaking take on how to conduct national or international beauty pageants according to standards of the “New Normal”, then enter all think tanks so they can share innovations brewing inside their heads.
Some changes might look weird initially. But just like challenging a foreigner to eat “balut” or “dinuguan” for the first time, the “acquired taste” part is inevitable. Resistance is expected. As in any new order of things, you get used to it after awhile.
And it’s going to take a lot of hard work and patience from both the organization and candidates. Not much comfort zones here. At. all.
What I really want is for pageants to evolve beyond physical beauty so we can all focus on the more authentic qualities that we do not traditionally put significant weight on. Miss Universe Philippines 2020 has already started going to that direction. And will hopefully do so every step of the way. Swimsuits and gowns can stay – tweaked with tasteful innovations – but put them in the company of inner character, long-term ambition and relevance. If we start looking at potential winners as Queens who can do so much more than fulfill a year’s reign or grab the country’s fifth Miss Universe or second Miss World wins, then maybe, the essence of it all will not get lost in transition.
As far as binding contracts go, any winner can look at the agreements as probationary periods of employment. If she passes with flying colors, then the title becomes permanently etched to her name no matter when and where future successes may be. It is undeniably a platform which can be wisely utilized even during afterglow. They just need to learn from the masters and use the achievement long after shelf life expires.
Pageantry is not going to be a priority anytime within the year or next. But if it still finds its way to be successfully mounted in front of our eyes without compromising more than half of the entertainment value it promises to viewers and/or spectators, then I doff my hat to the brave ones who will cross the line between the old and the new.
Mr. Tinio, I apologize I was unable to stay for long on the QPP video chat. Ran out of bandwidth, here. 🙂
Doubtless there will be (some) more such online discussions, including those on the emotional-mental toll the lock-down has taken on the pageant community-at-large.
I just wanted to add to the whole testing thing…. I’ll place it here because my FB atm is erratic.
It is straightforward enough for MUP. They have TMC as their official health services provider. But this mass testing might be out of reach for municipal-level pageants, and may be unnecessary burden for them. At present anyway, majority of new/pending SARS-Cov-2 cases are (still) in “melting pots/hubs” like NCR, and even then are largely restricted/confined to now-identified hot-spots. My point : require testing only for provincial/regional level pageants and above (all the way to international).
As long as ALL participants (candidates, supporters, contractors, organizers, media) are from WITHIN the municipality therefore assuming ABSOLUTELY NO “adopted candidates” and “conteseras” from adjacent towns trying their luck, then the “Lakambini ng Muntingbayan” can proceed ONLY when Muntingbayan has no case (zero) for AT LEAST A MONTH after “(modified) GCQ” has been officially lifted. The thesis here is that the municipality as a whole can already be considered “reasonably safe” for mass gathering with some social distancing sans face masks. Kindly discuss feasibility with your pageant co-experts.
Hedonist, here….. Kamundohan is ALL. 🙂
Blogger San said so himself. He is IRRITATED whenever the connection (WIFI, in my case) falters. Likewise (and we have seen such comment before), the candidates will almost surely provide videos or images of INCONSISTENT resolution as to render a level playing field virtually impossible. In other words, a fully-online business paradigm will NOT suit judges and certainly not fans.
ONLY means an ACTUAL pageant should happen. Besides, if I were a sponsor, I want to see everything unfold in real time and in the flesh.
FIRST OF ALL, TEST ALL CANDIDATES AND CREW PRIOR. This might have to be done several times for the duration of the pageant as the first one – a few days before commencement of the contest – might fail to “catch the bug”, so to speak.This way, they are assured none of them are asymptomatic carriers. Definitely, we will have to wait for “modified GCQ” status, but I think this is realistic by September to October 2020. The China tradition has a term for it – “End of Heat” – which corresponds to the end of High Summer/Ghost Month and the onset of Fall. But this also happens to be typhoon/hurricane season for us, so this also must be factored in.
WE MIGHT NOT YET HAVE A VACCINE. BUT WE CAN TEST.
MGIndonesia, for example, pushed through with it as a “hotel quarantine edition” reality show, manned by Ivan Gunawan, right? One of the contestants looked like Rachel Peters. Hope she won….
Norman Dude, why did you bring up the contract obligation/bind thing? May issue ba among AP’s?
@ scorg Points taken. But, just consider MG Philippines, a major sponsor of MUP. What deep emotional connection or brand value would they look for? At the very least, it can be as simple as hiring a car show girl for their next product launch (something like Steffi Aberrasturi’s case). Do adjectives like “comfort”, “fuel efficiency”, or “safety” easily translate to a beauty queen? Maybe if she knows how to drive in the first place, she can relate… But as it is, NONE of the candidates Mr. Tinio featured so far seem capable behind a steering wheel. Just driving a point home and yes, pun intended. LOLZ. Enjoy your lock down. Wherever you may be.
Car owners have strong feelings and emotional attachments to their vehicles. Even during the buying process, a consumer considers how a new car will reflect his personality. Some will even overspend to ensure that their new vehicle reflects their perceived self-image, boosting their confidence and ego. The love for cars is so much that they converse with them, name them, adorn them with trinkets, and involve them in some of life’s most significant and personal moments and decisions. It is no surprise that international car awards includes categories such as “Most Respected—Luxury”, Most Sex Appeal—Sports Car”, “ Most Resourceful—Sport Utility Vehicle”, “Most Athletic—Pick-up Truck”, “Most Dependable—Sedan”, Most Versatile—Crossover”, “Most Spirited—Entry Level”, etcetera. Pageantry is one platform where car brands can hit key elements in the human psyche, triggering joy, belongingness, trust, endearment, and excitement that easily resonate with target consumers.
Remember Toyota’s “Start Your Impossible” global marketing campaign this year? And Nike’s “Just Do It” slogan? Don’t they demonstrate emotional triggers of enduring passion and cultural leadership? Aren’t they congruent with perceptual images of phenomenal women? Marketers know this old expression by heart: “people buy emotionally, then justify logically”.
@ scorg Well-said!
In my worldly parlance, “tits, tots, & tears sell”.
🙂
Btw, I am SO entry-level, you will not believe….
“Spirited” pala turing sa tulad ko. May sapi. A-HAHAAHH….
Flor, you know why people in this blog like you? You are spontaneous, candid, fun, and humble to admit mistakes and limitations. Yes, you are spirited– not because you are the White Lady of UP Diliman, but because you are the daily source of smile (and smirk?) on many commenters’ lips.
The only available blueprint of a new normal in pageantry has been released recently by MUP. Obviously, it is a deconstruction of the traditional business model with more weight on the since been overlooked dimensions of beauty. I think the evolution beyond physical beauty is a business decision. The attempt to pull out pageantry from the dustbin of archaic hedonistic concepts is to attract corporate sponsors whose brands are in search of meaningful and deep emotional connection to consumers. Now more than ever, pageantry’s platform for various advocacies provides an excellent showcase of positive brand values that corporate sponsors can associate their brands with. In the only available media allowed by this restrictive circumstance, the online channels, an event without a platform for causes will hardly attract business partners who want to convey their social responsibilities to the public.