The heat is on and it just got hotter with the arrival of Bench’s newest endorser, Pietro Boselli. Known in social media as “the world’s hottest math teacher,” Pietro has a PhD in Engineering at University College London and has a body like Mr. Universe.
This Italian combination of brains and brawn became an internet sensation after a candid photo from one of his lectures went viral. He appeared on the last day of Bench Fashion Week (BFW) and was presented to fans at Glorietta in Ayala Mall.
After his guest appearance at BFW, Pietro also did a series of fan meets in Manila and Davao. The Bench team, along with boss Ben Chan, donated supplies to schoolchildren in Marilog, Davao, where Pietro gladly shared his blessings. Can he be God’s perfect creature?
BFW was a three-day showcase of the latest collections from some of the country’s most recognized brands. It consisted of casual wear favorites Bench, Human and Kashieca, and included three of Bench’s global partner brands: American Eagle Outfitters, Cotton On and Vero Moda.
The Spring-Summer 2017 show also featured today’s most successful local designers. Sassa Jimenez is a young designer who has become known for her sleek, sexy approach to womenswear.
The dynamic design duo behind Proudrace, Rik Rasos and Pat Bondoc, are recognized for their streetwear.
Ziggy Savella is a menswear designer known primarily for his sharp suits and pajama-inspired pieces.
Malasimbo festival
Seen among the crowd at BFW were bloggers David Guison and Vina Guerrero, who came straight from the Malasimbo Music and Arts Festival in Mindoro.
The #MalasimboMagic was kept alive as the annual event staged three festive days of music and art appreciation on a mountaintop in picture-perfect Puerto Galera.
From March 10-12, fun-loving friends and families of different nationalities filled the Malasimbo Amphitheater to watch some of the best performers in music and the arts. I was lucky to attend Malasimbo, thanks to Air Juan, which flew us in for the weekend.
The Malasimbo stage welcomed international greats in music, including Jordan Rakei, Alfredo Rodriguez, Lefto, Tennyson, and Filipino-American June Marieezy, who called her performance at Malasimbo her last as she goes into a musical “transformation.” Among the local acts were Apartel, Kristian Hernandez, Jeck Pilpil & Peacepipe, Brass Pas Pas Pas Pas, Similar Objects, crwn, Curtismith, RH Xanders, sKarm, Moophs and Microphone Mechanics.
Malasimbo has been produced by the D’Aboville Foundation for the past seven years, all for the benefit of Mindoro’s ethnic Mangyan community. Aside from music, the festival features local artists who install their pieces all over the hillside amphitheater. Among the artists this year were Agnes Arellano, Wawi Navarroza, Ling Quisumbing Ramilo and Olivia d’Aboville, plus first-timers Lena Cobangbang, Cristina Escario, Keith Ann Garcia, and group Venus Mar, Expi Perez and Raha Rodriguez.
Assisting the D’Aboville Foundation to produce Malasimbo is Volume Unit Entertainment, an event producer, music and audio consultant, booking agent and music promoter.
Watsons’ successful campaign
Five year ago, Watsons launched its “Switch & Save” campaign, an educational effort on how smart shoppers can save on their personal-care essentials in order to afford more of the things they really want. All they had to do was shift from the leading brand to the Watsons brand.
The simple idea has proved a smashing success. Watsons customers across the country have made the switch, changing out their toothbrushes, tissues, lotions and more for the affordable, high-quality Watsons alternative. With such great momentum behind the movement, they decided to expand the campaign to the pharmacy area.
Launching Watsons Generics in 2014, Watsons brought the same promise of affordable quality to Filipinos everywhere. Improving the state of the nation’s healthcare was a huge win.
Eight out of 10 shoppers now choose the Watsons label product over the leading branded counterpart, an amazing testament to Watsons quality. But the surprises don’t end there. When informed of the savings they can get with the Watsons label, the remaining shoppers, who initially chose the leading brands, were also convinced to make the switch.
With such results, the Watsons team knew that they were on to something big. Their new challenges include how to bring the same experience to more people.
Recently, Watsons gathered six celebrity endorsers, Christian Bautista, Iya Villania-Arellano, Kylie Padilla, Lorna Tolentino, Edu Manzano and me, to put us through the Switch Test. Watsons ran us through the same blind test they use for all consumers in their stores.
Indeed, when we were faced with the key question, “What’s the difference between these two products,” our answers were, “None!”
Not even the most discerning of the Watsons endorsers could tell the difference between the Watsons products’ quality and the leading brands’. But one big change we noted was the 80-percent savings by choosing the Watsons label.
Switch & Save will be launching a new TV commercial soon. Catch it to see how we celebrity endorsers did on our blind tests.
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