Ads & Ends
Nanette Franco-Diyco
Renowned television director Henry Frejas said it all as he first saw the Nido Protectus 3+ storyboard of Publicis Manila: “Wow! Ang tapang! (How brave!) Very rarely will you encounter storyboards that tackle issues such as this. It’s very real and common — yet, nobody dares talk about it.”
James Arnold Ladioray, Nestlé Creative Services head, was quick to say that Nestlé had no intention of making any statement regarding issues. They merely wanted to catch the attention of the target market using a situation that is familiar to today’s society.
In other words, they were neither approving couples giving up on their marriages, nor were they giving a dissenting opinion on it.
Ladioray explains,”With the thematic material of Nido Protectus 3+, we wanted to show the changes in the current realities of Moms, situated in a more contemporary context, when she cannot always be around for her child.
“It aims to communicate that regardless of the circumstances Mom finds herself in, there are things that remain constant — her unconditional love for her child and her desire to protect him in any possible way she can. This is expressed in various ways — through her ‘bilins’ (reminders), her entrusting him in the care of people she trusts and in her choice of milk.” (How about mom’s unconditional love for her husband that should also remain constant?)
Director Henry explains his directorial style for this “courageous commercial”:
“For stories such as this, it is important to create a back story so you’ll know how your characters will react to the situation. Like for this one, the couple’s separation is very recent and fresh. And this is the first time that they’ll see each other again. So, malinaw (clear) ’yung motivation when Mom reacts to the doorbell, yung discomfort nila sa situation. Magkaharap sila (they’re right in front of each other) but they’re just talking to the kid and avoiding eye contact.”
My very personal so-called compromise here in the commercial is the little boy’s pained plea for the mom to join his dad and him — kind of hinting to make a go of being together again.
I like the ebb and flow of emotions effected by the creative team in the commercial where it begins with a good projection of the boy’s excitement, dramatizing his expectations of dinosaurs and the like, while his mom enumerates what he should be careful about.
The sound of the doorbell signals Dad’s arrival to pick up the child. Good casting here, where you have a good-looking family with similar features. Good acting, too, where Mom and Dad’s discomfort is masked by functional reminders. The revelation of the problem is met headlong with the solution that protects the child from all harm — good entry of Nido Protectus carried in Dad’s bag, casually calling attention to the importance of the product as part and parcel of the mother’s good-bye.
The directorial treatment of Director Henry, as usual, is flawless. I could only wish that the perennial wholesome imaging of Nido products, part of what you may categorize as its brand personality, could have reverted the relationship of the parents at the very end to be flawless too.
Credits. Client-company, Nestlé Philippines. Nido Advanced Protects 3+: Arlene Bantoto, Business Executive Officer for Nestlé Infant Nutrition; April Apsay and Rob Roque, Consumer Marketing Managers Lead for Nido Growing Up Milk; Jayel Ladioray, Creative Services Head; Queenie Reyes, Creative Services Management Trainee. Agency, Publicis Manila: Paolo Fabregas, Executive Creative Director; Marlen del Rosario, Business Unit Head for Milks; Carla Dado, Business Unit Director for Nutrition. Production: Gabs Santos, Producer for Slingshot Manila; Filmex, Production House; Henry Frejas, Director.
Nanette Franco-Diyco ended her 15th year advertising career as Vice-President of JWT, segueing into the world of academe, teaching communications at the Ateneo de Manila University.
