The Pearly Truth To It

I'm old enough to say: Remember back when...

When I was 16, I had the license to say those words backed up with the memories I have collected over the years. (But only when the occasion called for it.) I would be reminiscing on 90s songs, favorite cartoon characters and grade school teachers. Repeating those words more than what my fingers could count would make me sound older than my age. (And so I learned to lessen it) However, 4 years make so much difference. It seems like I built tons of memories in a short span of time. I am 20 now and I wonder, how come I would say "Remember back when..." more frequently? Is it because I paid more attention? Or is it that my brain bank absorbed more information like Bradley Cooper in Limitless?

Let's cut to the chase. My blog entry officially starts here.

Remember back when pearl shakes were so popular? Let's name them, shall we? So there was Zagu, there was Shago, there was Orbitz and there was Quickly. This nationwide trend back in the early 2000 spread like wildfire. The pearl shake drink was all the rave -- and more "me-too" brands mushroomed in all corners of the Metro. In the 5 stages of the product life cycle, this pearl shake drink plummeted in terms of Growth quickly. However today that doesn't seem to be the case. Apparently, some of these brands are still around but from the way I see them, they've been in a coma for a long time. Except for Zagu, based from observation, they're doing pretty okay in terms of sales. But would a brand just settle for something that is just okay? This type of product is getting less and less interesting by the day -- sooner or later, more customers would realize that too. What they need is some serious re-branding.

What's funny is that, I predict the same story for the milk tea craze not unless they do something about it. As we can see, we are all hyped with milk tea and businessmen would not waste that opportunity of satisfying customers' demands. Today, we've got brands like BubbleTea, Kozui, Happy Lemon, Serenitea, ZenTea heck... even Chowking has milk tea! I see this product as an evolution of the pearl shake drink since it still retains those "pearls" in it minus the shaved ice. I'm not condemning this product to its grave soon, but I strongly suggest that other soon-to-be milk tea brands should challenge themselves in to bringing something new to the table and not just shamelessly imitate the other brands. We see milk tea brands being franchised here from Japan and Korea, it is completely fine since we get to experience something foreign. But is it all that we're going to do? Just franchise? Just imitate? Just be mere copycats?
If the "milk tea industry" would like to have a happy long life, it would do some good if each milk tea brand highlights a benefit that is unique from all the others. This, in return, would not just make a unique brand positioning but it would keep the customers interested. All the more, the hype would be retained. Then it wouldn't have to see a pearl shake drink deja vu.

Is this movie worth my 200 bucks?

One thing I learned this past week: Don't use the excuse "I need inspiration" in order to write. Enough said.

I watched a total of three movies this past week -- Scream 4, Fast 5 and In the Name of Love. I am no movie critic; but as an ordinary audience, I should have my fair share of opinions, right? I will try to keep this short and sweet -- just like a short Caramel Macchiatto.



The latest installation of the Scream franchise was so far the best. However, as a horror film fanatic, it did not make me jump off my seat. So I could fearlessly say that this one, just like all the other Scream movies, is just another killing spree. I commend the film for putting an unexpected twist to it. But because it was so unexpected -- you could not grasp its unpredictability. It would leave you scratching your scalp asking "Ano raw?" (Or maybe it's just my occasional 'dumb blonde' moments.) Moreover, the whole franchise insists the Scream's to be cult classics -- but it tries too hard to be. One thing I really appreciate from this, however, is the awesome soundtrack! The film starts off with a great track from The Sounds -- one of the best girl rock bands ever. <3



I'm guessing this next one was probably the most popular film last week. Another sequel film this season is Fast and the Furious 5. I've only seen the second one of this series, thus setting limits to my opinions. But I'll just work on with what I saw.
A STAR-STUDDED FILM. "I wonder how much they spent on it" were the words that constantly played in my head. At this moment, it is pretty hard for me to extract facts from the film because I was enamoured by the raging testosterone levels of the actors and the plot (even though I can't fully explain what it is) that made the film an ultimate dude movie. Take note: not 'man' movie and not a 'boy' movie, it is a 'dude' movie -- I'll probably explain those differences some other time.

Filipino films do not usually excite me thus does not make me line up to get tickets for them. This, however, I thank my mom for dragging me into this specific movie theatre to watch a film that brings me hands down for its one-of-a-kind story and its cinematography. What's interesting about this film is the truth behind it -- the well-thought of setting and situation of the story brings Filipino love films to new heights. Olivia Lamasan, the director, sets the standards high because usually, when you come across another "love-team-of-the-moment" film, they are usually disappointing because of its run-of-the-mill storyline. This, I believe should be the peg for Filipino films because it stays true to the culture that we know of.

Bakit Ba Masarap ang Bawal?

Flashback to March in one of my core subjects in IMC, the course that I'm taking in my university -- our batch was lucky enough to learn Creatives 101 with the ingenious and hip CEO of DM9JaymeSyfu herself, Ms. Merlee Jayme. Along with her enlightening tips of "not sticking to one" or "don't fall in love" in her lecture, (just in terms of creatives, of course) she gave us a heads up on one of the agency's upcoming TV ads with one of their new clients.

The comical Lourd de Veyra leads Tanduay Ice's premier commercial in which its theme revolves around the question... "Bakit Ba Masarap ang Bawal?" On a general note, it was a commercial that definitely caught my attention because of a certain element of peculiarity but maintaining the "AHA!-I-could-relate" factor. Having him as the lead brought the laid-back, off-color humor and indie feel to the product in which I believe, not all products in that particular frame of reference could be likened to. As I mentioned earlier, the commercial made me understand that this product is different but I can relate to its difference. Futhermore, I praise the creativity of the 30-second clip. It extracted a universal truth about Filipinos wanting & craving to taste, feel or experience anything that's "bad" for us. We simply like the excitement out of it that is why we find it "masarap." Having that big idea, the commercial expressed masarap pero bawal instances creatively such as indulging ourselves in ridiculously cholesterol-packed food, forbidden love and rules that we know we should abide to -- but we don't just because we choose not to.

Just a disclaimer: I am not really the best person to be asked when it comes to alcoholic beverages. And so I asked a good friend of mine, Carlos Mendoza, who has a discriminating taste for alcohol on how this Tanduay Ice tastes like. Apparently, this drink isn't like beer at all because it's almost like a softdrink but with a certain kick to it that simple words could not even decipher. This consumer insight stays true to the testimonial that De Veyra says in the TV ad. Lastly, the point of difference portrayed in the commercial was its "Extremely Addicting" warning. If you take notice of the other alcohol ads -- they just say blatantly "Warning: Drink Moderately." But with this product, they turn the tables instead and insinuate that the end consumer may find it so darn good that he could end up so addicted to it. Thus, still retaining "masarap pero bawal" element.

It kind of played with my head -- it leaves a question, it leaves an after taste.
It's an alcoholic beverage. Hindi siya bawal, or... bawal nga ba?

What are we having today?

We've heard it so many times -- "I will write a blog." A blog about what?

In today's world, everything is possible with the internet, we send e-mails, we chat, we stalk (and get stalked at), and heck, we say anything we want to say when we want to say it. Basically, anybody and everybody can just say and post what they think the world wants to see. But, have we stopped and thought about actually filtering these so-called thoughts we have in mind? Are we brain farting excessively? I mean, do our friends really care if we're eating Koko Krunch or not?

For the readers out there who think otherwise, guys, I feel you.. sometimes, we just want to share and impart a side of ourselves in the world wide web. Moving on to what I'm really trying to say... blogging may sound a me-centered thing, but for the writers who really care, they blog because they do it for the readers. No bullshit. Honest to goodness blogging is not about brain farts, it's about being heard and being listened to on things that really matter.

Commpuccino is the title of my blog that I coined to express my love for coffee and communication. Seems like a pretty odd mix, huh? Think again. Coffee, for me, is a writer's partner -- coffee and I produce all the serotonin we could for a damn good write-up. How do we describe coffee anyway? On a more personal note, I like my coffee dark and rich, and I don't want it heavily creamed. But for the sake of this blog, we'll have it how most people want it -- short in size, non-fat and frothy. Cappuccino!
Communication on the other hand, speaks of anything that can deliver a message. May it be an ad, a product and its packaging, a brand's service, music, fashion and the list goes on! Let's face it.

Communication is everywhere. And with the help of the internet, communication has reached degrees of power we never dared to imagine. So here it is, Commpuccino. This blog will either praise, scrutinize, spite or talk about anything that our generation deals with. It may it be an ad I found offensive, a packaging that piqued my interest or even a movie that spoke of world peace! Communication has the power to move and change people everyday, every hour and every minute -- the media does it all the time. Now, let's talk about what they have been feeding us through blogging, one blog post at a time.