‘What’s your mix?’

The Good Life with Eli F.J. Tajanlangit

It was a campaign that was meant to celebrate Pinoy diversity and how our race has been taking in foreign genes. At first glance, it was really a sleek campaign, featuring a beautiful Fil-Aussie model in casuals, in a casual, relaxed pose. “50 percent Australian. 50 percent Filipino,” the headline said and it was on its way to become part of the usually classy, soft-sell ads Bayo has been noted for.

Except that this one backfired.There were loud protestations, especially in social networking media, saying the ad campaign was “demeaning,” and “racist,” even “insulting.” The critics’ main beef was the subliminal meaning of the campaign – it heralds mixed-race Pinoys as world-class and beautiful, superior, and therefore the rest of us are inferiors.

To read about the perorations about being “pure Filipinos”in the ensuing word war over the advertisement would seem like there really is such a thing. Come on, except for our indigenous peoples now, I don’t think there are too many Filipinos who do not have “foreign” genes in their blood. The mixing might have happened a few generations ago, and it may no longer be obvious now, but most of us are really products of mixed race unions. It’s just now, with our spread all over the world, that we are seeing many out-of-the-ordinary examples of half-Pinoys. We are not called the melting pot for nothing.

It is a wonder though why there was all this fuss over the Bayo campaign, when we celebrate half-Pinoys all the time. The movie industry is dominated by faces half-breeds. Ditto our sports department. Why, our Philippone Azkals, which just had a game in Bacolod, is predominantly composed of players with foreign blood.

So where did the Bayo ads go wrong? It’s in the headline. While there was nothing dishonest there, it did sound a little odious. It sounded like it was all there is to being a global Pinoy, that to be an outstanding Pinoy, one had to have foreign blood. It was in the unwritten subtext that the trouble started.

The headline in fact inspired some of the more hilarious versions that spread rapidly in the Net.It immediately became a peg for political jokes. “President Aquino: 50 percent Roxas and 50 percent Binay. Vice President Binay: 50 percent Erap and 50 percent Noynoy. Sen. Franklin Drilon: 100 percent Ramos 100 percent Erap 100 percent GMA 100 percent Noynoy (Overweight). Cong. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo: 50percent Woman. Senate President Enrile: 50 percent Politics and 50 percent Paleolithic.. Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago: 50 percent Lecture and 50 percent Public Humiliation. Atty. Serafin Cuevas: 50 percent Explanation and 50 percent Objection. Sen. Ralph Recto: 88 percent Lipeño (Lipa City) and 12 percent EVATeño;

Former Cong. Prospero Pichay: 50 percent Human and 50 percent Vegetable. Cong. Niel Tupas: 50 percent Ilonggo and 50 percent Ilong. Executive Sec. Paquito Ochoa: 50 percent Workaholic and 50 percent Alcoholic;

Cong. Manny Pacquiao: 50 percent Boxer and 50 percent Preacher. Sen. Jinggoy Estrada: 50 percent Fat and 50 percent Air. Atty. Midas Marquez: 50 percent Korte Suprema and 50 percent Renato Corona. Jinkee Pacquiao: 50 percent Filipina and 50 percent Siyensya. Toni Gonzaga: 50 percent Lady and 50 percent Gaga. Sharon Cuneta: 50 percent Singing and 50 percent Breathing Kris Aquino: 25 percent Acting and 75 percent Screaming.

There is another thought in this regard. The controversy over the ads showed how powerful the print medium still is. While we are celebrating half-breeds everyday, it took just one print ad to raise a ruckus over it.

While it is true that the controversy bubbled over in cyberspace, forcing the company to pull the ads out,at its heart was still something that was written down and sent out in print.*

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