Manny Villar

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My Bottom 3 Least-Liked Political Ads on TV + 1

Posted by Norman on May 2, 2010
Posted in: 2 Shout-out-Looks, 5 TV Tales. Tagged: , , , , .

Just as I blogged about my favorite political infomercials on TV during this election season in the Philippines, I’d also like to share the ones which turn me off everytime I catch their airing on the boob tube. I have nothing personal against these politicians, but their TV ads suck. Instead of coming up with something more polished or well thought-of, the ad agency ended up with mediocre outputs wanting of originality and/or creativity.

#1: Manong Johnny TVC


video courtesy of YouTube/gameshowsful64

Sen. Juan Ponce-Enrile must have been happy with this infomercial that’s why he greenlighted its airing on TV. I am not happy at all. And I think I’m not alone in this sentiment. It looks like a commercial made by amateur high-school students who are submitting the same to get a passing grade in one subject. Calling it corny or cheesy would be an understatement. It is downright embarrassing to watch. If it’s any consolation to the good senator, his catchline – “Gusto ko happy ka!” is one of the more effective phrases used in campaigning this year.

#2: Jamby Madrigal for President TVC


video courtesy of YouTube/Jamby2010

I ‘m getting Jamby Madrigal’s message here. What I don’t get is why the cast members are shown constantly walking in circles, while one of them is speaking upfront. Nothing terribly wrong with that, except that they were not in proper coordination such that you get the feeling that their only instruction from the director is to just walk round and round and round up until he shouts ‘cut!’ And the chains around the neck is an age-old symbolic representation of oppression that ad agencies could have been more imaginative than that (how about using a glass ceiling approach which depicts the poor workers seeing what the rich are constantly enjoying on top of them).

#3: Joseph ‘Erap’ Estrada for president TVC


video courtesy of YouTube/bitchycat

Former President Joseph Estrada is at his most rehearsed, most conscious and most play-acted self in this TV ad. And that is where my gripe is coming from. He was just too fake in his delivery of lines here. He registers and convinces better when speaking spontaneously and from the heart. ‘Nuff said.

Special Mention: Manny Villar’s “Nakaligo ka na ba sa ilog ng basura?” TVC


video courtesy of YouTube/angelanderson07

Among Sen. Manny Villar’s multitude of political TV ads, this one takes the cake for number of airings. The whole thing is literally coming out of my ears and I automatically switch channels everytime it airs. It’s not badly made, but it just pisses me to even give him the smallest of chances to be considered worthy of a vote. This is a classic example of over-sell because this concept was even evolved to another TVC promoting one of the many party-lists he is supporting. I wonder how much talent fee was given to these kids. Was it even enough to cover three solid meals/day in a month?

Some people might not agree with my least-like choices above, but everybody is entitled to his/her own opinion. These TV ads just happen to be the cellar-dwellers in my list after seeing all the infomercials of different candidates. I’m glad the elections will be happening soon so that we can all go back to regular programming, i.e., without all these political campaigning forcing TV audiences to endure their desperate pitches for power.

My Top 3 favorite political TV ads + 1

Posted by Norman on May 1, 2010
Posted in: 2 Shout-out-Looks, 5 TV Tales. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

The heavy political campaigning for the national elections this coming May 10, 2010 is nearing the homestretch. So I thought it best to share the more appealing TV ads from among the endless infomercials that flooded the small screen since January. I would consider these my favorites not because I’m endorsing them but due to the fact that I liked how they were conceptualized and presented.

#1 – Bongbong Marcos’ Asikasong Bongbong/Tuloy Pa Rin Ako TVC


video courtesy of YouTube/boojocular

The updated version:

video courtesy of YouTube/gabbyshoe08

Hands-down, this is the most refreshing, most technically well-made and least hard-sell among them all. I haven’t really considered giving my vote to Bongbong Marcos for Senator, but I’m this close to including him in my short list. I really like the low-key but tasteful approach to his campaign without losing the drive for popularity along the rocky road of Philippine politics. You should also watch the updated version of the same (released just last week) right after which is quicker-paced and more engaging (apologies for the poorer quality because it is just a direct transfer from tv.)

#2 – Manny Villar’s Scroll TVC


video courtesy of YouTube/zhangwuvids

Among the gazillion of Manny Villar’s ads, this one is the more creative in the sense that it used a scroll that reads forwards and backwards and making sense in both – much like the palindrome “Madam, I’m Adam” which can be read the same from either direction -start or end. I wouldn’t go far in saying that it’s the most original because it was adapted by TBWA/Philippines from the “Truth (Upside Down)” political ad of Argentinian candidate Lopez Murphy in 2006. Short of sounding defensive, though, let me state that I am not backing Villar’s presidential bid. Orange I am not. You can call me a lemon….or a dalanghita but never a kahel.

#3 – Noynoy Aquino’s MTV-style/Rap Ad


video courtesy of YouTube/noytv

This is Noynoy Aquino’s most enjoyable TVC. Never mind that he showed his laughable rapping skills, but he drives the message more effectively than his other opponents, especially the youth which is the main target of this ad. Add to that the quick cameo of his nephew Baby James Yap and he’s all set to conquer Malacanang.

Special Mention: Adel Tamano TVC/Ogie Alcasid endorsement


video courtesy of YouTube/asteriskec

I want to give a consolation prize to Adel Tamano’s TV ad which shows singer/comedian Ogie Alcasid endorsing his senatorial bid. There’s nothing extraordinary about the same, but I’m a sucker for infomercials that are clean and polished and straight to the point – never tiring to the eyes and the ears at all. It’s a pity they don’t show the ad as often as they want to. Airtime costs must have really jacked up to high numbers because of the elections.

There you are. My Top 3 favorite political ads plus one special mention. If you’re in the Philippines right now, you will definitely feel the election fever going on. And since tomorrow – Sunday, May 2 – will be the last day of political campaigning nationwide, I expect all the Presidential candidates to go on a full-blast, no-holds-barred and crowd-filled last hurrah to win more votes.

By the way, this is going to be another long weekend after Malacanang announced that Monday, May 3, will be a non-working special holiday in observance of the Holiday economics that come with May 1, Labor Day, falling on a Saturday.

Enjoy the hot and humid weekend, guys!!! 😉

Want to watch the latest TV commercials of the Presidentiables?

Posted by Norman on February 4, 2010
Posted in: 2 Shout-out-Looks. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

Spin doctors (and advertising agencies) in the Philippines are having a heyday competing with each other in presenting the most novel, most inspiring, most eye-catching, most convincing and most effective TV commercials for the Philippine Presidential bets for the national elections come May, 2010. Here are the latest batch of them and see how the contenders have slowly evolved from the start of their respective campaigns up to now.

Here is Sen. Noynoy Aquino doing rap with the youth, common masses and nephew Baby James (Yap).


video courtesy of YouTube/botohan2010

Here is Administration bet Gibo Teodoro doing a Top Gun in his “Lipad” TVC.


video courtesy of YouTube/giboteodoro

Here is Sen. Richard “Dick” Gordon’s “Sleepless” TVC.


video courtesy of YouTube/PINASWATCHER4

Here is Sen. Manny Villar’s TVC with Comedy King Dolphy as his biggest endorser (as if!)


video courtesy of YouTube/mannyvillarvideos

Here is Bro. Eddie Villanueva’s MTV pitch to the youth (c/o rapper Gloc 9)…very yellow and very catchy!


video courtesy of YouTube/micgen01

Personally, all of the above are effective commercials and it just depends on who you are supporting right now. I have never been secretive about holding on to Sen. Noynoy for the Presidency, but I doff my hat to the four others for coming up with truly solid TV campaigns.

And the battle (for your votes) continues!!!

Based on these clips alone, who would you pick?

Posted by Norman on January 12, 2010
Posted in: 2 Shout-out-Looks. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

The race for the Philippine Presidency is starting to heat up pretty well. Actually, the candidates’ initial salvos were fired during the last quarter of 2009 with Presidentiables Manny Villar, Noynoy Aquino, Erap Estrada and Gilbert Teodoro separately pitching in the start of their courtship of votes from the close to 50 million Filipino voters.

By now, they have entered the 2nd phase of their tri-media electoral campaigns. Below are the latest TV advertisements of the candidates haggling for airtime during both daytime and primetime shows.

Senator Noynoy Aquino, still the leader in all the social weather polls, opted to enter into a covenant with the Filipinos using the effective catchphrase “Hindi ako magnanakaw.” (I will not steal) Truth be told, he is the only one among the four who can believably use this line.


video courtesy of YouTube/reymelsylvester

On the other hand, Senator Manny Villar shared his vision for the Philippines of a country that thrives in wealth and family togetherness and the absence of corruption in government (yeah, right) In all honesty, I’m so tired of all his commercials on TV (and now even on radio) and can just imagine how much more money he will spend in the next few months to insure a victory in the elections.


video courtesy of YouTube/botohan2010

Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro – the third wheel, if you will – started airing his latest commercial that stresses on the word “Posible” (Possible) where he adheres to the belief that anything is possible if there is unity among the Filipinos – simple dreams of a simple but comfortable life for everyone. This follows his Galing at Talino campaign.


video courtesy of YouTube/burogski

The tail-ender in surveys, Senator Dick Gordon, sees himself as a “Transformer” together with his running mate, Bayani Fernando. Among the four, he is obviously the most hands-on in terms of track record in performing executive and administrative position. I don’t know how far this will take him in the campaigns (and on election day itself) but he deserves an ‘A’ for effort.


video courtesy of YouTube/teamdickgordon2010

I no longer included the TVC of former President Erap Estrada because he has not released a new one alongside the four above.

Top of your mind now, who would you pick as your President based on these clips alone?

My Grown-Up Christmas (Wish) List for the 2010 Pinoy Presidentiables Part 2

Posted by Norman on December 23, 2009
Posted in: 2 Shout-out-Looks. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

Here is the second part of my blog featuring the Presidentiables in the Philippine National Elections come May of next year. Please don’t get me wrong. I did not stack the remaining aspirants in the bottom four just because they are not as popular as the first group. It’s just that my thoughts about Noynoy Aquino, Manny Villar, Gibo Teodoro and Erap Estrada came very quick.

Without further ado, I shall continue with my Christmas (wish) list for the rest…


Will Senator Richard “Dick” Gordon make a good President? Well, only time will tell if he has it written in the stars. In the group of 8, he is actually the no-nonsense speed talker who can spew speeches, comments, tirades and what-have-you at the wink of an eye. His style and image tends to border on the dictatorial but with how he transformed Olongapo (and Subic for that matter) into the fully-developed province it is right now, there must be something right in how he ruled his provincemates with the proverbial iron – albeit hands-on- fist. Without a doubt, he is a cinch to eclipse the rest of the Predientiables in his territory, but combined with the rest of the country, it looks to be an uphill battle. My wish for him is to project a more likeable personality to the majority of Filipino voters and possibly a little more media visibility as a Presidential candidate on TV and Print to further widen his reach. Indeed, he is an intense and dedicated individual. But being intense and dedicated do not a victory in the Presidential elections make.


The only rose among the thorns, Senator Jamby Madrigal is running for the Presidency as an Independent. And that is where she will face the toughest and most expensive campaign battle ever. Without a political party and machinery to lean on, she is practically left defenseless when it comes to organizing rallies and caucuses plus the actual and very crucial tallying of votes come election day. This lady senator has a mind of her own, I will give her that. But to actually survive the gruel and cruel journey to the Presidency – regardless of the results – I doff my hat to her strong will and determination. That is thinking ahead of the story, though. There’s still a lot of surprises between now and May 2010 so we’ll see what aces she still has up her sleeves. My only wish is that she becomes friendlier in the truest sense of the word and have less of the bad temper she’s been known to have. There is no need to run for Miss Congeniality. Just plain warmth and openness to the Filipino people who matter most.


I remember the last time Bro. Eddie Villanueva made his first attempt to run for the Presidency years back and a slew of celebrities outed themselves in support of him. I actually saw him as the dark horse to win the race. His platform generated mass appeal and thought that he might give GMA a good fight. But that was then and this is now. The political landscape has evolved and it’s just not enough to serve the people while espousing the moral and religious regeneration of the Filipino masses. But who knows what the latter actually thinks right now? There’s a big difference between throwing support to one candidate during social weather surveys and which name each voter will finally mark on the ballot come election day. Therefore, my wish for Bro. Eddie is to push harder to make his presence felt the second time around. You see, some sectors see him as crowding the field instead of really pulling in significant votes in his favor. At the rate things are happening at the moment, the envisioned three-cornered fight for the highest post in the land might not include him in the troika of strong contenders.


And then there’s JC delos Reyes. Wait, JC who? For his supporters, please don’t take offense. I know very little of the guy except that he belongs to the “Ang Kapatiran” party. On top of that, I am aware that he is an Olongapo City Councilor. Is Dick Gordon even aware that one of his own is running against him? But all things being equal, this clean-cut family man has one good thing going for him, i.e., the good old-fashioned desire to serve the people. Not that the 7 others have less of the desire. It’s just that I can’t think of any other noteworthy reason to give some weight to his bid for the Presidency. Let’s be honest, he is part of the group to make a stand and create awareness. Anything beyond that is subject to a lot of doubts. In this time and age where political popularity is measured by loads of money for ads or strong party affiliations or celebrity endorsements or – quite simply – being the son of Ninoy & Cory, he is sadly out of category. Still, I give JC the credit for having the guts to fight and be taken seriously for doing so. And my wish for him? Relish the whole election and campaigning experience and use it as the foundation to build a more solid track record and sustain a consistently positive image in preparation for another run in 4 years’ time.

So there, what say you, my dear readers?

My Grown-Up Christmas (Wish) List for the 2010 Pinoy Presidentiables Part 1

Posted by Norman on December 22, 2009
Posted in: 2 Shout-out-Looks. Tagged: , , , , , .

The circus will be coming to town by early 2010 in the Philippines. The Presidential elections, plus those for VP, Senators, Congressmen, and all remaining local positions will be held May of next year. In fact, the advance party for the caravan has already arrived and all tri-media outlets are practically spilling in advertisements of supposed “friends” of the candidates.

So in time for the Christmas celebrations a few days from now, I am blogging about my “grown-up wish list” for the 8 Presidentiables who all want to take control of governing the country after President Arroyo steps down.

Here goes the first four of the group….


For Senator Noynoy Aquino, my wish is for him to actually win and make a miracle of eradicating graft and corruption in the country. I have long wanted to ask him how far down the line he will be in control of people working in the government. I know in my heart that he (and his four sisters) can never be faulted for monetary indiscretions and that among all the wannabes, he comes off as the most honest. Perhaps, I just need to be given some sort of assurance that his governance will be spread out on all levels, and not totally rely on people within and outside the fringes of his inner circle to be as “clean” as he is. On the side, I also wish him not to be pressured into marrying his current girlfriend (Rep. Shalani Soledad) in time for the elections. His sisters can very well be symbolic “first ladies” for the Philippines and that would be a real first if I’m not mistaken.


For Senator Manny Villar, my wish for him is to go a bit easy with the heavy advertisements on TV, on radio and print. Ad agencies have already tagged him as one of the Top 10 heaviest airtime buyers this year alone. And that leads me to thinking….with the hundreds in millions of pesos spent in commercials alone, how will he get a return in investment should he win the elections? True, he is a rags-to-riches story and his claim to lift the poor Filipinos out of their misery holds some water. But won’t he be tempted to rewrite his own story into a “rags-to-riches-to-more-riches” biography?


Secretary Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro is clearly the most good-looking among the lot. His wife, Rep. Nikki Prieto-Teodoro, should also make a ravishing First Lady if ever he wins. But enough of the superficials. His pedigree and academic excellence should take care of his “Galing at Talino” ad campaigns. I also see him as a sharp strategist and analyst. But being the administration candidate, he suffers a lot from comparisons with President Arroyo. It also doesn’t help his cause that the recent Maguindanao Massacre is taking a toll on his popularity since he is the National Defense Head. He is also seen by most as an elitist (aside from being part of the old rich clans in Tarlac) who may think twice about literally reaching out to the poor. All these things aside, my wish for him is to step out of the shadows of the current President, and fast. Otherwise, he will find difficulty erasing the impression that he might just end up being a puppet of GMA.


Again? He is running again? Hasn’t he had enough of the Presidency which brought him shame? And haven’t we Filipinos had enough of him? He is proof that power is truly intoxicating (pun intended) and a second stab at the country’s highest post is giving him the fire to reclaim what he thought was rightfully his. Let’s scale down things to the basics. Isn’t it time to elect somebody else? I don’t mean to discriminate his age or infamous womanizing ways, but let’s shift our gaze on someone who will perform the demanding (and punishing) duties of a President with selflessness, utmost sincerity and a big heart. My bottomline wish for former President Erap Estrada is to let go and move on. He was already given the chance to serve before and he should let another (more deserving) opponent take the reins of power.

Watch out for my next blog which will feature my Christmas (wish) list for the rest of the 2010 Presidentiables…