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Coming soon: Ninoy the brand

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David Dizon, abs-cbnNEWS.com | 08/22/2008 11:16 AM

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Move over, Che Guevarra. There's a new icon in Pinoy pop culture and it looks exactly like that guy on the 500-peso bill.

 

Ask any Filipino about the late Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. and you are bound to get a plethora of answers: war correspondent, peace advocate, martial law icon, father of actress Kris Aquino, husband to former President Corazon Aquino and the name of our international airport. Had he been born in medieval times, Ninoy’s remarkable life and tragic death would have been immortalized in song and poetry and passed on from one generation to the next.

 

Twenty-five years after his murder, Ninoy the man is being reinvented as a pop culture icon for a younger generation of Filipinos that grew up learning about him only through history textbooks.

 

On Thursday the Benigno S. Aquino Foundation (BSAF) and various sponsors launched the “I am Ninoy” media campaign, which seeks to raise awareness of the late senator’s ideals through a yearlong celebration of his life. A brainchild of the McCann Worldgroup, the campaign aims to make Ninoy more relevant to the 20 to 25-year-old age group who may be curious to know all about the late senator.

Rafael Lopa, BSAF executive director and the late senator’s nephew, said the iconic image of Ninoy’s signature eyeglasses in a sea of yellow is meant to remind the people of the man and what he stood for. “It’s meant to ask the question – if you were to see the country in the eyes of Ninoy, what is it that you will see? And what can you do to help the country?” Lopa said.

 

Former president Aquino said the “I am Ninoy” campaign is particularly important for young Filipinos who are searching for meaning and direction amid a lack of moral clarity in society.

 

“By proclaiming ‘I am Ninoy’, they remind themselves that the way out of this malaise is in their hands. All it would take is to be true to what they believe in and to surface the hero inside each of them,” she said in a statement during Mass at the St. John Bosco Parish in Makati.

 

Georgina Belardo, former creative director of McCann Worldgroup, said the “I am Ninoy” brand will be seen in merchandising materials, television commercials and even charity events organized by BSAF. Local companies such as Bench, Penshoppe, Team Manila and Analog Soul will also be releasing clothing lines and other merchandise using the “I am Ninoy” slogan while donating part of the proceeds to different charities.

 

She said the foundation will also launch a Website for the “I am Ninoy” campaign (www.iamninoy.com) that will feature videos and speeches of the late senator. Also in the works is a Ninoy tribute album featuring today’s hottest bands.

 

Belardo denies that plastering Ninoy’s name and face on t-shirts is a sellout of the late senator’s legacy by cashing in on the trend of putting a famous face on everyday apparel.

 

 “You have to look at it from the point of view of the whole campaign. The t-shirt is just one part of the engagement. By buying the shirt, they’re already giving to charity and doing something to help the country. They can watch documentaries on the Web site and see which charity is benefiting from the sales and maybe even get involved,” she said.

 

Belardo says engaging the young people through music or on the Internet is one way of keeping Ninoy’s legacy alive. What’s important, however, is to never lose sight of the message behind the campaign, which is to create little revolutions of heroic acts in everyday life.

 

“Any advertising or any successful brand campaign has a message and all the different media support it. We are very careful to put the substance behind this campaign. We want to make sure that the lessons Ninoy left behind are never lost,” she said.