Too early for carolers? We’re sure you wouldn’t mind if these guys shouted, “Nangangaroling po!” outside your door.
Admit it, you get annoyed when people go caroling at your house during Christmas. Blame it on how most of them seem to be just after your coins, singing songs as fast as they can, even if they don’t know the right lyrics or hit the notes.
But what would you do if a bunch of TV personalities come knocking, and instead of asking for barya, they give you something, for a change?
Oishi’s 40th anniversary
That’s what happened inside a classroom and at two residential units in West Kamias, Quezon City, recently when Oishi tried to pull off the surprise in celebration of its 40th anniversary in the country.
The snack brand has actually been pulling off similar surprises for two years now. In 2012, for example, funny guy Ramon Bautista did the Oishi Oblation Run at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, where he led a group of leotard-wearing guys with Oishi snacks attached to their bodies—that students could grab, of course.
And then that same year, actor/rapper Elmo Magalona gave away Oishi snacks to students of a school in Malolos, Bulacan—by throwing them from a helicopter.
This year, the members of Oishi’s Team O—Daniel Padilla, Kathryn Bernardo, Elmo Magalona, Slater Young and Ramon Bautista—surprised people by caroling earlier than usual.
Seriously, who goes caroling on a bright and sunny November afternoon?
Christmas medley
The first destination was Quezon City High School, and the moment the head-turning Jeep O arrived, the students knew something was up.
However, no one recognized Slater and the gang when they hopped out of the jeep and rushed to one of the classrooms. Imagine the students’ shock when the group entered and broke into a Christmas medley—in the middle of their class!
It didn’t take long before they recognized the people behind the fake Santa beards and the oversized shutter glasses, which resulted in a lot of screaming, hugging, and selfie-taking, especially when Daniel, Kathryn and the others removed their disguises.
Right after giving away packs of free snacks to the students, Team O left the classroom and the school, which proved to be a very challenging task, considering how the rest of the school seemed to be just outside the room—intrigued, excited and maybe a little jealous of the lucky ones inside the classroom who got an early Christmas gift.
Complete shock
The next two stops were residential units and the reactions of the tenants were no different from those of the students once the gang removed their sunglasses and fake Santa beards.
The tenants were in complete shock, clapping their hands, and jumping up and down, especially when Ramon and the guys started handing out the surprise snack packs.
It didn’t take long before the whole neighborhood rushed to watch the proceedings. As expected, everyone whipped out their phones and took snapshots of the Team O members while the lucky ones got to take selfies with them.
But if you ask the Team O members, they’re the really lucky ones. Elmo, for example, said that it’s a privilege to be able to excite, inspire and make others happy, especially when they least expect it.
Daniel, on the other hand, said that he feels good when he makes people happy and that he likes doing it because other people—fans, in particular —make him happy, too.
Most of the Team O members consider the trip to the school the most memorable among all the surprise visits because of the reaction of the students. Well, we can’t blame the students for going crazy. How would you react if today’s hottest celebs went caroling at your school and gave you packs of yummy snacks as an early Christmas gift?
The surprise visits of Team O members to Quezon City High School and a few residential units in Quezon City proved to be a big hit. They pulled off another series of surprises that definitely had people going “O, wow.”
No doubt about it: Mission accomplished.