McDonald’s Philippines

“First Love” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VdG8eCxors

This TV commercial left a mark to many Filipinos. Childhood, friendship, and young love can be
considered as its themes. The story of this advertisement revolves around the main character
reminiscing how he met his “first love”. This was when their mothers unexpectedly met at
McDonalds and decided to hang out. That is where he met the daughter of his mother’s friend
and started to feel infatuated towards her. Later on, when they were already adults, it was
revealed that they did not end up together because the girl already had a family. Despite that,
they remained friends and he still consider her as his first love.
Childhood is one of its themes because based on the story they met when they were still young,
but it also portrays how Mcdo is a place for children specially during that time when it still had
playgrounds and a more kiddie touch to it. In this commercial it also featured the fries and sundae
combination wherein it played as a symbol of their friendship and served as their “thing”. The
dipping of fries to a hot fudge sundae is an unusual thing to do so this commercial made people
curious and wanted to try it. Lastly, the advertisement connected to its audience through
emotional appeal. The whole video was accompanied by the iconic track of Eraserheads “Ang
Huling El Bimbo”. Aside from the story itself, the perfect song choice added a nostalgic and more
heart wrenching feels to it making it more relevant and widely accepted by the audience.
It made its impact to the consumers when it introduced a new way to enjoy their products (fries
and sundae) that later became a trend. This commercial generally reflects how Mcdo became a
part of the lives of Filipinos from childhood to adults and just like the main characters, we also
had our own experiences of friendship or even love in this place. By using a storytelling approach,
it made people more hooked and engaged with the brand. Aside from this particular
advertisement, other ads with same approach have always been a hit to the Filipino masses. It
reflects the love of Filipinos to dramatic effects especially if it portrays a love story. Overall, this
advertisement proves that emotional connection to the audience can greatly make them
attached and remember the brand more.
Lucky Me! “The most
disturbing dinner”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0w4aJJ9-BA

The themes of this advertisement are family and parenting. Lucky Me! strongly advocates
“Kainang Pamilya Mahalaga” which relays the message about the importance of a family eating
and talking together in the hapag-kainan. As a part of their campaign, this particular
advertisement shows a scenario at a dinner table wherein the father acts aggressive and harsh
towards his son for coming home late. Every word he shouts, the table gets longer pushing their
son away from them. It showed an alternative scene where the father calmly talks to his son
while giving him food. The message it wanted to relay was simple yet powerful. It showed how
important is communication to a family. Without proper communication, there will be more
misunderstanding and more chances of family members not opening up to each other. Families
can develop this by bonding over family meals. It also brings a strong message to parents about
their critical roles in making the family connected to each other. That as parents, they must be
the one to initiate the bonding and promote a healthy communication within the family.
The data showed in the commercial states that 3 out of 4 teens ayaw kumaing madalas kasama
ang pamilya is very noticeable in our society. The ad specifically reflects the authoritarian
disciplining of most Filipino parents to their children leaving them afraid or unable to explain.
Again, it is the parents’ role to promote healthy conversations with their children. That having a
loud voice does not mean you are right. Generally, it reflects how much better a child could cope
to social problems and easily communicate with family members if the parents are actively
involved in their lives and attentively listens to them.