Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Do you remember your first love?

Now, before I sound too nostalgic or corny--and just to take a break from the crazy world--here's a wonderful TV advertisement about the giant fast food company McDonald's (I'm not much of a McDonald's fan by the way). Got this first from ABC-5 reporter Jove Francisco who shared this uploaded video from Facebook user Lester Obice--who seems to be part of the team that created the ad--with his Facebook network. (Ooh, I hope they don't mind my posting their Facebook accounts here.)

I looked for a copy of the video on Youtube and here it is below (from Youtube user argemv):



According to Obice, here's the creative team behind the ad:

GADC : Margot Torres / Christina Lao / Mel Montemayor
Creatives : Teeny Gonzales / Argem Vinuya
Accounts : Tey San Diego / Wella Balagtas / Lester Obice
Producer : Irene Chingcuangco
Director : Stephen Ngo
Prod House : Provill / Sound Design
Caster : Enrich Munchua
Musical Work : "Ang Huling El Bimbo" by Ely Buendia

Already, the ad, released just a few days ago, has generated a lot of positive feedback online.

One positive feedback came from blogger Misteryosa, who wrote a good summary of the ad's plot:

McDonald’s New TV Ad: First Love

Basically, the story goes like this: There’s this bespectacled guy who remembers every moment of the first time he met his first love, whom I’ve codenamed pretty girl, whenever he goes to McDonald’s. Their mothers, complete with the 80’s big hairdo, were old friends and crossed paths again on that certain McDo branch. He felt that pretty girl and he had known each other a long time, having the same favorites (dipping the fries on the hot fudge sundae, which, as I side note, I have to admit I’ve been doing for a long time, hehe). So anyway, bespectacled guy fell in love with pretty girl, and this love never died.

Fast-forward to many years later, pretty girl drags him to meet her family, and you just have to see the expression on the bespectacled guy’s face to know how he feels. You know, when your steps falter and your heart suddenly takes a nosedive? It becomes a little bit hard to breathe, your palm gets sweaty, you try to smile but the ends of your mouth pulls down into a frown?

The ad ends with, “At kahit hindi rin naging kami sa huli, siya pa rin ang first love ko.” (Transliteration: And even if we didn’t end up together, she still is my first love.)....

Cute, huh? Doesn’t help that the song used is arguably one of the greatest Filipino songs of all time.

Have you noticed the pretty girl’s expression when the bespectacled guy dipped his fries into the sundae? Sort of, like, a mixture of nostalgia and a little bit of regret? Or maybe I’m putting color into how touched she seems?

Read Misteryosa's full post here.

Some have even compared this ad to another classic McDonald's commercial showing a girl named "Karen" (who became a teen celebrity after the ad became famous) and her grandfather at McDonald's. For those who cannot understand Tagalog or those too young or too old to remember, the story is about "Karen" who brings along her grandfather--who presumably has Alzheimer's disease--to a McDonald's branch. Much to Karen's dismay, her grandfather kept calling her Gina--presumably another granddaughter of his.

A few seconds later and much to Karen's surprise, her grandfather sliced his burger in half, saying: "Ito... para sa paborito kong apo, si Karen (This... is for my favorite grand child, Karen.)"

From Youtube user ADman1909:



For me, there is no need to compare which ad is better. Both ads are ingeniously created, tugging at our emotions and memories without going overboard. Like the "Karen" ad, there's no doubt that this latest one from McDonald's is going to be another classic.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

I heard about this ad from my sister, she said it's really cute. Then one of my friends in multiply posted it together with a US version in 1989. I searched it in youtube and found that Heinz ketchup and iphone also have the same concept: first love. They all used kids in the ads, too. But, yeah, this one's different because of the Pinoy approach. I love it. Haha.

I missed this blog, and my blogger page, too! Haha. =P

Hector Bryant L. Macale said...

@ arci

Glad to see you here again! I also saw the US version earlier. I don't know, but I felt that the Pinoy version is better in terms of the plot and the message.

Can I replace your old link here with your Multiply one?

Cheers,
Brye

Anonymous said...

1. ice-cream coated fries - gross!

2. so is the bf/husband (sorry, no hay tagalog!) on his way out?

proud to say i've been McD-free for six months and counting,
Siew Eng

Anonymous said...

Ang galing na ng bagong ad ng McDo! Nalungkot ako nung napanood ko... awww..

Musta na Kuya Bry? :)

Hector Bryant L. Macale said...

Siew Eng,

Actually I'm thinking whether to try dipping fries on a McDonald's sundae. What do you think? Hahahaha.

And good for you to stay away from McDonalds! Hahahaha.

Hector Bryant L. Macale said...

@ Venus

Hehe. May kurot ba sa puso? Hehehe. Pagkapanood ko nga niyan parang gusto kong pumunta sa mga usual places natin sa Timog. Hehehe.

Musta ka na? Ano nang balita sa iyo? Kita naman tayo. :P

Anonymous said...

I think the ad is funny. I love looking at wacky ads myself and my best is the Greek Nova Donkey Ad.

Hector Bryant L. Macale said...

@ gagay

Thanks for the blog hop!


@ green not mean


Haha! The Greek Nova Donkey ad sounds already funny to me! Definitely a must-see on Youtube! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

yeh i love that mcDaddy commercial. for me it's very filipino.

and yes, i do agree when you said that the lady expressed a bit of regret in her face. hahaha.

Hector Bryant L. Macale said...

@ paoruiz

love the ad too. No doubt it would be a Filipino ad classic.

The observation that the girl expressed some regret came from Misteryosa, Pao. :)

Anonymous said...

I love your blog so you just won the Lemonade award..

huggles

http://greennotmean.today.com/2009/01/17/i-won-the-lemonate-award-yayayay/

Anonymous said...

Nah. I didn't see any regret from the girl's face at all. :)

GagayMD said...

whew! happy tuesday! hopping me here again! take care!

gagay

GagayMD said...

Good day!

huhuhu!i am needing now your opinion!

how to deal with long distance relationship?


gagay

Hector Bryant L. Macale said...

@ Jenai

Thanks!

@ Angeli

Maybe it's just wishful thinking on our part? :P

@ Gagay

Thanks for visiting!

Anonymous said...

Armageddon Thru To You

If you've been wondering why it seems like the world around us is unraveling, it's because the last days as foretold in the bible are now upon us. Just as it was 2000 years ago, many were unable to discern the signs of Jesus Christ's first coming (Mat 16:3), as will many concerning his second coming, which will occur very soon. Yes many have proclaimed a similar sentiment many times in the past, but their errors have no bearing on today other than to lull you into spiritual apathy, and that too was prophesied to occur in the last days.


If you're not a believer in Jesus Christ because you're an atheist, consider that the underlying impetus for your disbelief is most likely borne of pride and here's why:

When we die, if you as an atheist were right, then there is no upside or downside for anyone regarding the afterlife. We will all simply cease to exist

However if we Christians were right about our belief in the afterlife, then we will be given eternal life and you as an atheist will receive eternal damnation

Given the choices, the position held by an atheist is a fools bet any way you look at it because the atheist has everything to lose and nothing to gain. It is tantamount to accepting a “heads I win, tails you lose” coin toss proposition from someone. And that someone by the way is Satan (see Ephesians 6:12).

The only way to explain the attitude held by an atheist is pride, pure and simple. The intellectually dishonest and/or tortured reasoning used by atheists to try and disprove the existence of God is nothing more than attempts to posture themselves as superior (a symptom of pride). And as anyone who has read their bible knows, this is precisely the character flaw that befell Lucifer, God's formerly most high angel. (Isaiah 14:12-15). Is it any wonder then why the bible is so replete with references to pride as the cause of mankind's downfall?

Pride permeates our lives and burdens us in ways that most of us seldom recognize. Ironically, pride is the one thing that can blind someone to things even the unsighted can see. And sadly pride will blind many with an otherwise good heart, to accepting the offer of eternal salvation that Christ bought and paid for with his life.


In any event, if you're an atheist, I wish you only the best for every day of the rest of your life because for you, this life is as close to heaven as you'll ever get, but for believers in Christ, this life is as close to hell as we'll ever get.





If you're not a believer and follower of Jesus Christ because you are of another faith, please take the time to very carefully compare your faith to Christianity and ask yourself, why is the bible the only religious book with both hundreds of proven prophecies already fulfilled as well as those being fulfilled today? No other religion can claim anything remotely close to this fact. Many Christians who are serious students of bible prophecy are already aware of the role and significance of bible prophecy in foretelling end time events. God gave us prophecy as evidence of his divine holiness to know the begining from the end (Isa 46:10). God also believed prophecy to be so important that to those willing to read the most prophetic book in the bible, the Book of Revelation, he promised a special blessing (see Rev 1:3), and this is the only book in the bible that God gives its reader a special blessing for reading. Something to think about.


Don't risk losing Christ's offer of eternal life by not accepting him as your savior and by thinking that the bible is nothing more than a compilation of unrelated and scattered stories about people who lived 2,000 plus years ago. If you take the time to study (not just read) the bible, you will literally be shocked to learn things you would have never imagined would be revealed in it. Did you know that like parables, God also uses particular months and days in the Jewish calendar, Jewish Feasts and customs, solar and lunar phases, celestial alignments, gematria (Hebrew numerology) early bible events and more as patterns and models to foretell future events?


Consider the following interesting facts about the bible that testify to its God-inspired authorship:

Did you know that in Gen 12:2, God said he would bless Israel?. How else can you explain the grossly disproportionate level of success achieved by Jewish people as a tiny minority in the world, especially after all they have gone through? And how can you explain the success achieved by the tiny nation of Israel, surrounded by enemies outnumbering them 100 to 1 and yet still they remain victorious in all their wars?


Did you know that as evidence to indicate that Israel is the epicenter of the world from God's point of view is the fact that languages to the west of Israel are written and read from left to right as if pointing to Israel, and languages from countries to the east of Israel are written and read from right to left, again as though pointing to Israel. Just a coincidence, you say? I think not.


Did you know that the six days of creation and seventh day of rest in Genesis is a model for the six thousand years of this age (ending very soon), that is to be followed by a 1,000 year millennial reign by Christ (see 2 Peter 3:8)? Adam was born sometime prior to 4000 B.C., therefore our 6000 years are almost up.


Did you kow that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is hidden in the meaning of the Hebrew names listed in the genealogy of the book of Genesis (Research it online)? To deny this was God-inspired, one has to instead believe that a group of Jewish rabbis conspired to hide the Christian Gospel right inside a genealogy of their venerated Torah, which is not a very plausible explanation.


Did you know that solar eclipses, which the bible describes as the sun being black as sackcloth, and lunar eclipses, which the bible refers to as blood red moons, have prophetic meaning? Research it online. God showed Adam (and us) his plan for man's redemption through the use of celestial alignments. (research Mazzaroth online)

Did you know that much of the symbolism in the book of revelation refers to planetary alignments that will occur when certain events occur as prophesied? These planetary alignments also explained the birth of Christ, just search out The Bethlehem Star movie on the Internet.

Did you know that the references in Eze 39:4-17 and Rev 19:17-21 in the battle of Gog/Magog and Armageddon respectively, in which birds of prey will eat the flesh of the dead in battle from two enormous wars is based on fact? The largest bird migration in the world consisting of bilions of birds (34 species of raptors and various carrion birds) from several continents converge and fly over Israel every spring and fall. Coincidence? I think not.

Did you know that Hebrew numerology, also known as Gematria, and the numbers with biblical and prophetic significance are hidden in the Star of David? Google the video called "Seal of Jesus Christ"

Did you know that the seven Churches mentioned at the beginning of the Book of Revelation describe the seven stages the Church will go through?

There are literally hundreds of hidden messages in the bible like these that testify to the fact that the bible was God inspired, and statistically speaking, are all exponentially beyond the likelihood of any coincidence. You can find them yourselves if you only take the time to look into it. Remember Proverbs 25:2 "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings".


And finally, if you are Catholic, or one who subscribes to the emergent Church or seeker-friendly Church movement, please compare the doctrine taught, advocated or accepted by your Church, with the actual bible, notwithstanding some new-age version of the bible. And remember that although the bible is often referred to as the living bible, the word "living" was never intended to imply in any way that the bible "evolves" over time to meet, or be consistent with, the standards of man. It's just the opposite.


Well, am I getting through to you? If not, the answer might be explained in the response given by Jesus Christ in his Olivet discourse when he was asked by his disciples why he spoke the way he did (in parables, etc.) in the book of Matthew 13:10-16. What Jesus said could have easily been paraphrased more clearly as "so that the damned won't get it". Why did Christ respond the way he did when asked why he spoke this way? Is there something about pride (the bible says there is) that closes one's heart to seeing or hearing the messages supernaturally hidden in bible parables, models, typologies, and similes, etc.? That should give you something to think about, but don't take too long. Time is now very short.


If it sometimes seems like there are powers at work behind the powers we know, remember what it says in Ephesians 6:12 "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." If you study the bible, it will become clearer.


And by the way, if you are a scoffer, this too was prophesied to occur in the last days. See 2 Peter 3:3.


Thank you and God Bless you!
Armageddon.thru.to.you (at) gmail.com

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