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.