In 2004, Napoleon Brandy ran an ad campaign with the line "Nakatikim ka na ba ng 15 anyos?"
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines and militant women's groups lost no time to demand for the pull out of the commercial in TV, radio and billboard. The double meaning, according to them, undermines the dignity of women and insults every family. The ad was eventually pulled out.
The makers of Napoleon Brandy wanted to emphasize that the brandy is fifteen years old, banking on wine-lovers' fondness for older wine. Advertising agencies and PR groups preach that in any ad campaign, recall is a vital consideration. Unfortunately for Napoleon Brandy, the ad campaign failed to elicit positive recall among the public. While it probably earned some partly hidden wicked grin among the male species, it provoked massive objection because the double meaning was thinly veiled and highly offensive. This is one classic example of an attempt for widespread recall that did not work to the advantage of the product.
Viva Naga, Viva Bicolandia is also perfect example of an attempt for recall. To use the phrase "Viva Naga, Viva Bicolandia" is a marketing strategy aimed to promote a product. The strategy is obviously to get a free ride on the popularity of and the respect for "Viva la Virgen" which is an expression of the intense affection to Our Lady of Peñafrancia. True, "viva" is not exclusive to the Penafrancia Fiesta. It's an exclamation of triumph, of celebration, even of admiration and exaltation. But to organize a bunch of activities, in Naga, in September, and baptize it "Viva Naga, Viva Bicolandia," it is but plain to see that these activities are being packaged as something associated with the Peñafrancia Fiesta.
The initial explanations of the makers of Napoleon Brandy and its ad agency when it justified the tagline "nakatikim ka na ba ng 15 anyos?" ranged from "it is a matter of fact that Napoleon Brandy is fifteen years old" to "there was no intention to insult or degrade women." In other words, for them, the line was - drumbeat please - harmless.
Meanwhile, defenders of the ad campaign said that only those with impure thoughts and indecent desires would find something wrong. This reasoning, even for a man or woman of less than reasonable intellect and moral character, is downright worthless.
Similarly, the use of Viva Naga, Viva Bicolandia is so very obviously an effort to promote a product by association. Necessarily, any product has to find a reason for its existence and build its character and distinctiveness on it. But finding nothing worth proclaiming to the public, it desperately latches onto "viva" because it cannot stand on its own. Will it be able to justify its existence if not associated in any way with the Peñafrancia Fiesta?
Recall is always geared towards positive association. In marketing, this is one way to ensure acceptability and commercial success. "Viva Naga, Viva Bicolandia" is all that. It's an invention of creative minds to paint a picture, to craft some semblance of a reason for the product's existence. Call this event by a name completely unrelated to dissociated from the Peñafrancia Fiesta, will it have the same identity and appeal?
It is so unlike a rose that may be called "by any other name and would still smell as sweet." Yet so similar to "nakatikim ka na ba ng 15 anyos," it wants to appear as what it is not. But who are we kidding.
Now the question is begging to be asked: Is this another way to exploit the Peñafrancia Fiesta?