BAYO's Advertising Blunder

        Bayo’s “What’s Your Mix?” ad campaign has generated a lot of criticisms, to such an extent that the clothing company had to apologize for it. But no amount of acts of contrition can simmer down the condemnations that it received, for dents have already been inflicted on the ego of most Filipinos. The first time that the ads came out, a designer friend of mine asked me to write something about it. I knew right away that it would be a good material or topic for my blog. Unfortunately, I had to step back since I don’t want to write anything about racism, as respect for my friends and other people whom I know who have foreign blood running through their veins. But nonetheless, here is my take on those infamous ads. To make this blog entry as personal and as original as possible, I shunned reading opinions and articles about Bayo’s advertising mishap.

What went wrong

Based on a simple research that I have done, Bayo’s latest ads aim to promote and highlight the Filipino lineage as a sure fire formula for “success”. However, the ads talk not of one hundred percent Filipino lineage, but of Filipino lineage that is interlaced with “other” lineage. Now this is the part that bruised the racial pride of most Filipinos. Bayo’s ads featured models who are a percent of Filipino lineage, and a parcel of another. But in my opinion, what Bayo wanted to convey to its market and to the public in general, is that a foreigner with Filipino lineage has a greater chance at success. Thus, it magnifies the importance of having Filipino blood or ancestry.  However, Bayo failed to foretell that Filipinos might interpret it inversely, that a Filipino with foreign lineage will have a greater chance of becoming successful. Can you see the difference? Filipinos looked at those ads not from the vantage point that Bayo views them. 

Western concept of beauty

Filipinos have this salivating penchant for anything that is “imported”. We take pride in acquiring things that are made, for example, in the US of A. Admit it or not, imported products have become our trophies or most prized possessions. Now, this mentality has become communicable and has infected our concept of beauty as well. The kind of beauty that we patronize is a perfect combination of fair skin and an upright nose, which are physical qualities that Americans and Europeans possess. The slightest deviation from this formula will make you “not beautiful enough.” It is important to note though, that the concept of beauty has been altered in the recent decades by the prominence of “colored” models, beauty queens, singers, and actors. But still, at the end of the day, no amount of Beyonces can edge out those with creamy white complexion. We prefer dark, but only if it is chocolate.

Influx of foreign models

The Philippine Modeling Association of the Philippines created quite a stir when it made a pronouncement that Filipino models were losing job assignments to the so called “Brapanese” models. Perhaps, there is a degree of truth to it. Almost all billboards scattered all over the metropolis, almost all fashion spreads in newspapers, glossy magazines and catalogues, and almost all fashion runways are being dominated by foreign-looking models, if not by completely foreign models. Filipino clothing retail giants have even gone to the extent of having Hollywood celebrities as models and endorsers, to capitalize on Filipinos’ very Western concept of beauty.  What do all these mean? Brown color does not sell.

Phylbert Pagestrom a.k.a. Bea Alonzo

Not their fault

We cannot deny the fact that Filipinos of mixed lineage do look good. Their foreign genes must have done wonders to give them finer features, and thus, conform to our Western concept of beauty. But it is not their fault if they look good. You are insane to surmise that they must have handpicked their parents prior to their birth. Hence, it is not their fault if either their Mom or Dad is non-Filipino.  Perhaps, we are just envious of them, since we are not as tall as them, not as fair complexioned as them, and our noses do not even come close to their almost perfect ones. It just so happened that in the biological lottery, they won the top prizes, and we went home with the consolation ones. 

Conclusion

           Filipinos' Western concept of beauty is clearly a by-product of our country being dominated before by Western colonizers. For many decades, our country served as an annex to mighty countries such as Spain and America. During such periods, Filipinos lost their identity, most especially the Filipino elites who chose to be assimilated into the colonial system to avoid persecution and to preserve their wealth. Little by little, the colonizers inculcated into the minds of the natives that they, the colonizers, belong to a superior race. Little by little also, our own ethnic culture, values, and beliefs, were displaced by those of the colonizers. Hence, the Western orientation of many generations of Filipinos. 

             Bayo's "What's your mix?" ads, obviously, are remnants of those colonial ruins. Same with our concept of beauty. Bayo is a well established clothing brand. Hopefully, the advertising blunder that it committed, and all the flak that it received, will not in any way affect its future sales and its reputation. Anyway, Filipinos have a very forgiving nature, and are usually prone to amnesia.

What I learned from Manny's Defeat

        This is the second time that I am writing something about Manny Pacquiao. The first time was after his controversial win over Marquez. And now, after his equally controversial loss to Timothy Bradley. I must admit that I was heartbroken when Pacquiao lost last Sunday. How can I go on with the rest of the day? Just kidding. 

    For this new blog post, I have enumerated five lessons that I have learned from the Pacquiao-Bradley fight, wherein the latter prevailed over our Pambansang Kamao, much to the disappointment of every Pacquiao fan.

 In any game, there is only one winner…

We all know this for sure. One need not be a molecular biologist to understand this. However, this is something that is difficult to digest when our team lost the match, or our favorite athlete was defeated by the opponent. Manny’s fans, most especially Filipinos, were stunned to hear a different name being proclaimed as winner last Sunday. Our ears, for so many years already, have been accustomed to hearing Manny’s name being announced as winner after several boxing rounds. However, this was not the case last Sunday. We heard a different name this time, which was not music to our ears. But at the end of the day, when the dust has settled, we all have to accept the fact that in any game or competition, there is only one winner, and it was Bradley who won.

Opportunity could present itself to us in a form of defeat…

In the career of any athlete, there will always be ups and downs, wins and losses. Any athlete cannot expect himself or herself to be winning every point, every game, and every match, all the time. What do we do then with losses? Manny’s defeat could serve as a motivation for him to do better next time, should he agree to the rematch between him and Bradley on November. I am quite sure that Manny will not take his controversial loss sitting down. Hopefully, it will give him a fresher perspective as far as his boxing career is concerned, and further beef himself up for the fight. This could pave the way for Manny to end his career on a high note. This could be his last dance, and his last chance at greatness. His recent loss could jumpstart the necessary fine tunings that he needs to do.

We are not forever young…

Though Manny’s loss could ignite the spark in him that has led him to greatness, he has to be reminded that he is not getting any younger. Being an athlete has a limited shelf life. Manny, and other athletes for this matter, will not forever be energetic and youthful. All the wear and tear will manifest either sooner or later. I personally believe that Manny is still strong as a boxer, having survived 12 rounds with Marquez before, and just very recently with Bradley. If ever the November rematch will push through, that should be Manny’s last and final gladiator stance inside the ring. You are not getting any younger Manny.

A plateful of food is difficult to finish…

Manny has a lot of things on his plate right now. Apart from being an athlete, he is also a congressman, TV host, endorser, businessman, and what have you. If you will read in between the lines, the message is lucidly clear that any person in Manny’s situation could lack focus with the many things that have to be attended to. It is very remarkable though, to see how dedicated Manny was in his trainings months prior to his match against Bradley. I think it is only Manny who can do such feat. Plain logic, however, will tell us that if we will just focus on one thing, then the more that we will become successful since there no “obstructions’ and “distractions” along the way.

Graciousness in defeat…

Manny painted a face of disbelief when he was not declared as the victor after twelve grueling rounds. But shortly after, he was able to regroup, and appeared to be calm and collected. He did not act like a spoiled brat who was robbed of his toy. Such is the composure of a true champion and we all take our hats off to Manny. He accepted his fate immediately, and showed humility and graciousness even in defeat. He did not try to question the judges, and even ruled out the possibility of making a protest or having the result investigated. He accepted his defeat with all positivity. His newly found religious advocacy, must have contributed significantly to his current disposition in life, and may he remain this way for the rest of his life. With his exemplary behavior even in defeat, it is very obvious as to who emerged as the real champion that fateful day.

 Congratulations Manny!

Selected Quotations from Paolo Coehlo

        I have known Paulo Coelho since the time that almost every book lover would mention his name and his works. Sadly though, I never got the chance to read not even one of his masterpieces since I am not really into fictional literature, save for Sidney Sheldon’s novels which I devoured literally and figuratively, back in high school.

      But a few days back, I stumbled upon a little book entitled Life, a collection of selected quotations from his novels, and was quite glued to it since the first time I opened it. Now I have a topic for my blog I told myself. So here are some quotations which I carefully selected from the book. I zeroed in on those that are not too long, not to mention that I was too lazy to read the long and winding ones! But seriously, with my selection of Coehlo’s quotes, I want to emphasize the thought that even a few words or phrases can really create an impact on our being.......