Advertising, in general, is a service not just for corporations but for consumers. It is a way to inform consumers, in any form of media, the choices that they have in this highly cluttered market. It is created in a language that they can easily understand and more importantly, is relevant to them.

6 years into advertising and it still amazes me how advertising materials can affect people's choice in a medium set within 30 seconds or less.

But more than creating languages that consumers will remember for decades, I often wondered if any of the ads I've made have actually evolved into action. Have the ads I helped create moved people beyond mere purchase?

More than a month ago, the new ad agency i'm working at gave me the chance to work on my very first pro-bono campaign. "For the love of..." and "Good training" were the key words given to me. It was a 360 campaign. I was new. I accepted.

The next couple of weeks were grueling. I was juggling real work with an entire campaign that wasn't giving our BU any profit. I almost died. Just "almost". While our CSD was there to help me out, I was almost running it in advertising side alone. My PR counterpart felt the same way. Oh wait, there were 2 of them. Daya.

"We're doing it for the kids" is what we kept chanting every time we'd do alignment meetings. "We'll go to heaven!"

Then came the presentation. I've made our client shed a tear. "Congratulations", they said.
Last week during the launch, Bro. Armin looked me in the eye, shook my hand and said the same thing. "Great job."

10 pesos made all the difference. A campaign that revolved around the value of such a nominal thing. 10 pesos, everyday for 10 months to help build 10,000 classrooms. I'm helping make an entire nation move to help make a better future for children, and consequently the future of our country. For that I am grateful.

www.tenmoves.org







- Live like there's no tomorrow. Love like it's your last.

Jinky finally realized she could drag me to impromptu gimiks as well... So on a lovely, steady, Sunday morning I ended up getting dragged all the way to Ateneo to watch her brother and boyfriend play football... habang tanghaling-tapat. "Daming boys." said Jinky. 'Yun na.

On the way, I just kept on thinking "S.R. Thai! S.R. Thai!". YEEEEEBA!
............
.....
...

Eh, nag-close na pala. O_o

So I ended up just asking one of the tricycle drivers in Katipunan where it was ok to eat.
"KEN Afford ma'am". 'Yun na.

Despite the renovations downstairs, Jinky and I were still able to find a table on the 2nd floor. (ang sosyal na talaga ng KEN Afford). I shared with her that this was one of the places me and my blockmates would have lunch at and how we used to eat there when "we had money".

Looking at our bill after ordering Garlic Kangkong with Chicken, Sisig with egg, Sweet and Sour fish, 2 cups of rice and 2 orders of Gulaman... I wondered why we thought it was expensive in the first place. Php395 lang. 'Yun na.

Erm. And yeah, we finished everything. 'Yun talaga.

- Live like there's no tomorrow. Love like it's your last.

I'm tired. I'm just really tired.
Do what you want already but just keep me out of it.

- Live like there's no tomorrow. Love like it's your last.

Despite the stress from work in my new office, good vibes kept on going my way!

1. When I thought I couldn't get a slot from the Aloha Boardsport and Travel Factor Surf & Music Festival in Baler, I get an email confirmation that I did! For only Php3,200, I get a roundtrip transfer, 3 days 2 nights accommodation with a Surf and Music Festival pass and some BBQ lunch and breakfast (which I will probably never get to use). STOKED!

2. I finally got confirmation... It's her not me! Weeeeee.

3. Last but finally not the least, I feel glad I'm doing my very first CSR campaign. :)

- Live like there's no tomorrow. Love like it's your last.

I often wondered how marriage will look like... say, 40 or 50 years after. Will it still have that spark, or semblance of romance as you look at each others wrinkley face? Will one look at the other in awe and still be able to say "i love you more now than the first time we met"?

Every Sunday, in mass, I always see this old couple together. I mean ancient old. It's obvious that the woman is younger than her husband. He can hardly sit-up straight and has a surgical mask on every time. They have a nurse that sits behind them too. The woman is pretty much active in mass-- kneeling, praying, reading. But in between verses and prayers she tends to her husband. She fixes his shirt, holds his hands while she prays and even whispers to him if he's 'ok'. There's so much devotion in her eyes and love as they clasp their hands together.

It saddens me though to see how frailer the old man gets every week. Like I said, I see this old couple every Sunday. A few weeks back, he still could stand up (assisted by the woman). Now, he could hardly sit upright. I saw his nurse hold his shoulders at one point. It looked as if he dozed off for a while. Phew.

"How devastating...", I thought. Imagine choosing to love someone for that long and then... So fragile. One can only imagine what could happen in the next weeks. I dread the day I see the woman alone in mass.

But that got me thinking, 'How lucky still'. To have actually met that person you can spend the rest of your life with. I've heard all the vows in all of my friends weddings but I never really quite understood "til death do us part" until I saw that old couple again today. Still very much in love as the first time I saw them in church.

I pray I can be so lucky.

- Live like there's no tomorrow. Love like it's your last.