Magical realism for Nido

MAGICAL REALISM was what Joel Limchoc attained in his recent directorial work on a Nido Fortigrow TV commercial. The ad, released by Nestlé and Publicis Manila, was principally intended for the days surrounding Mothers’ Day. It’s now in social media — sans the Mother’s Day greeting — but still portrays all the sweetness of a mother determined to support her son in his creative play.

“To give it that creative push, the team thought it best to introduce the imaginary character of the astronaut — a character that represents the imaginative mind of the kid.” Director Joel explained that the astronaut acts as a reflection of the kid’s feelings in every scene, as well as a representation of his dreams and aspirations.

I wholeheartedly agree that it is the element that made the ad fresh and different.

As the director put it, “It’s meant to engage the audience to keep watching till the very end.”

And a further revelation: “Even if we were going for something magical, we still wanted to keep the core and heart of the ad authentic. Thus the reason for casting a real-life mother and son. We felt that doing this would show better chemistry and rapport between the two leads, thus making the spot more believable.”

It was by accident that I discovered from another source that the mother and son are Dolphy’s granddaughter and great-grandson respectively. Director Joel himself said, “It is interesting to note that this is the kid’s first time to act in front of the camera, and we feel that he did a spectacular job.”

Then there is the very graceful shift from child’s play to NASA’s real launch of an astronaut into space — the child’s dream come true — with mom shedding real tears over his victory. The tag at the very last frame, “For helping us reach our stars, thank you, Mom,” tugged at the heart.

The short vignette that showed the complexities of a space launch, with the American on-ground colleagues monitoring the fiery launch from Earth, gave the commercial a global look and feel.

Director Joel made special mention of the beautiful music. “Scoring played an important part in highlighting the emotions of the characters and the situation. We wanted to go for scoring similar to animated features like Toy Story and the like — music that accompanies and tells another story layer and not just for background.”

I must congratulate Nido for allowing the creative team a very soft-sell approach in product branding. The viewer only sees product usage briefly in a natural setting (the little boy sits at a breakfast table) and at the commercial’s end where a logo serves as its sign-off. This kind of client is one rare breed. Call it market leadership confidence.

Take a bow, client Nestlé Philippines, creative agency Publicis Manila, and production house Film Pabrika.

Credits. Client-company, Nestlé Philippines, Inc.: George Badaro, Business Executive Officer, Dairy Health and Nutrition Solutions; Paolo Mercado, Communications Director; Joie Macatula, Consumer Marketing Manager, Nido Fortigrow; Jayel Ladioray, Creative Services Head.

Creative Agency: Publicis Manila. Accounts: Anna Testa, Managing Director; Marlen Del Rosario, Division Head; Arvon Fernandez, Associate Business Unit Director; Thea Briones, Account Director; Kevin Pueblo, Senior Account Manager. Creatives: Paolo Fabregas, Executive Creative Director; Alan Navarra, Creative Director; Angela Mendoza, Associate Creative Director; Prach Savaitnisagon, Senior Copywriter; Aih Mendoza, Copywriter; Gideon Lanot, Art Director; Lara Rojo, Art Director; Roxanne Young, Visualizer. Planning: Malou Betco, Strategic Planning Director; Xea Kho, Strategic Planner.

Production House, Film Pabrika: Jem Lim/Roberto Seña, Broadcast Producers, Just Add Water: Joel Limchoc, Director; Marivic San Juan and Jing Lopez, Executive Producers; Christine Blando, Assistant Director; Adelina Leung, Production Designer; Leslie Garchitorena, DOP; Lei Villena, LP; Lemon Atencio, PM; Joy Orio and Sheinna Melaño, PA; Rene Milla and Paolo Torres, LM; Geneive Mercado, Caster.