Piolo Pascual is Essilor Brand Ambassador Campaigning for Healthy Vision

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Your friendy neighborhood Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas recently got an invitation to attend the launch of Essilor's Project Transform, an awareness program for healthy vision. It was held last February 16 at 55 Events Place located at 55 Scout Rallos street along Tomas Morato Avenue in Quezon City.

Top global ophthalmic lenses manufacturer Essilor launched a public awareness campaign on the importance of good vision in response to reports that over 20 million Filipinos are in need of visual correction. They recruited top celebrity Piolo Pascual as their brand ambassador to encourage Filipinos to take care of their eyes more. Statistics shows that only a few Filipinos would take the time to visit a doctor to have their eyes checked. Thus the conditions would have worsen before going to an eye expert is considered.

Of course, there's a new Television Commercial (TVC) showing Piolo Pascual as their brand endorser and will be shown to the public via cable channels starting March 1. The latest infomercial features brand ambassador Piolo Pascual performing various activities - swimming, reading, driving - and how good vision helps him accomplish these tasks effectively.

It is without any doubt that Piolo Pascual is an epitome of good health and fitness as he works really hard to make himself healthy and looking very well. We all know that celebrities should invest a lot on their physical appearance to keep looking good infront of the camera. They also need to maintain their good health since all these showbiz obligations requires stamina and endurance to keep going even through the wee hours of the night. Their job expects them to stay in condition for every call to perform, be interviewed, or mingle with their fans, sponsors and supporters.

 
I arrived at the venue early since I had another earlier errand near that area. It was also my very first event that day, and have always made it a habit to remain punctual for every meeting, appointment, or event that I go to. It's better to be early than rushed due to terrible traffic congestion or the lack of any vehicle to ride. The MRT is likewise prone to problems so its better to allot at least two hours of travel time whenever I'm scheduled to attend certain occasions. Another reason why I came in early was because it would be my first time to visit the venue so I always give myself ample time just in case I get lost or find it difficult to locate the place.

This is not the first time I would be attending an Essilor event but would always keep losing the opportunity to get serviced for my eye problems. Essilor would usually offer free eye examinations and lenses. You just need to provide the frame. I was hoping to get the free service but due to another scheduled meeting that day, I had to leave immediately after the event. Even though I was the very first blogger to be there at the event, I was 19th on the list to be checked upon. Apparently, the one giving the eye examination forms just gave out the forms randomly, and luckier were the ones who arrived late because they got the forms first when they were distributed.

The event was hosted by Issa Litton who vibrantly aroused the interests of the audience mainly composed of members of the media including bloggers and online writers who are now being called the "new media" offering the new generation convenient information and news gathering and sharing. What is great about online news is that the readers are able to send their corresponding feedback and comments immediately.

Unlike Piolo Pascual, who still has perfect eye vision, I lost my 20/20 eye sight a few years after I started working as an Information Technology professional. Though I can still see a lot better than my wife who's almost blind as a bat when she takes off her glasses. I don't regularly wear my eyeglasses even when I'm driving because I have difficulty only in seeing objects from afar. I can still see well but a little blurry when the distance increases.

Piolo Pascual with Essilor heads

From Left to Right: Essilor Commercial Manager Kyle Gaias, OD; Essilor General Manager Dra. Emelita Roleda; and Essilor Markering Manager Jinky Navo

Issa Litton, our lovely host for the day

Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas Ross Del Rosario with Essilor Brand Ambassador Piolo Pascual

Below are a few more write-ups about Essilor, including the technical details, taken from their official press release:

Essilor is the world leader for corrective lenses. The success of the company, which is present in more than 100 countries, is the result of a strategy that has been driven by innovation for more than 160 years. It has been awarded by Forbes Magazine as "The World's Most Innovative Companies" for four consecutive years.

From design to manufacture. Essilor develops a wide range of lenses to protect and correct eyesight. Its mission is to enable everyone in the world to see well using lenses tailored to their needs. The company devotes 150 million euros a year on research aand development to offer increasingly efficient products


"Across the globe, 4 billion people need visual correction, and in the Philippines, over 20 million endividuals need visual correction. As a leader, we feel it is our responsibility to do something to alleviate the situation and this is the reason we are doing this campaign," said Dr. Emelita Roleda, Essilor general manager.


"Essilor's 'Seeing the World Better' campaign is our company's way of helping the world see better by raising awareness about the importance of healthy vision and address the alarming number of visual impairment cases in the country. We also hope that through this campaign, Filipinos will start paying more attention to their eyes so they can see the world in a clearer and brighter view," Dr. Roleda added.

Headlining the campaign is top actor Piolo Pascual who will appear in Essilor's  latest TVC and educationals materials. A sportsman and a known health buff, Piolo believes prevention is the first step towards healthy vision. "Good eye health  is a serious matter because it is essential to performing practically all our daily tasks. Without good vision, we can only do so much and this limitation can stand in the way of achieving our goals"


The campaign will drive three important messages: Prevention: Essilor lenses help prevent age-related eye diseases, 2} Protection: It also helps provide everyday protection from ultraviolet {UV} rays and harmful blue light 3} Correction: promote the initial purpose of Essilor which is to help correct eyesight.

Dr. Roleda cites the plethora of electronic devices that we are exposed to everyday, which emits harmful blue light that damage the retina. "Repetitive exposure to blue light posts threat to our eyes. It may cause oxidative damage, and may be responsible for causing age-related macular degenaration, which can result to blindness." Wearing protective lenses like Crizal Prevencia, she adds, can do a lot in preventing the detrimental effects of harmful blue light. Crizal Prevencia is the only clear lens that selectively filters harmful blue lighr from gadgets, LED and UV light while letting through the healthy blue light.

Ultraviolet {UV} rays, on the other hand, contribute to the developments of cataracs. Wearing Crizal Forte UV lenses can protect our eyes from these harmful rays.

For those starting around age 40, our eyes can gradually lose the ability to focus on nearby objects; this is an unavoidable condition but it can be corrected, says Dr. Roleda. "Essilor Varilux progressive lenses offer a smooth transition from distance vision through immediate vision to near vision. This means that instead of having juxt two different viewing zones {near and distant}, like with bifocals, Varilux provides the most natural vision correction," said Dr. Roleda.

Founded in 1972, Essilor is a worldwide leader in developing and manufacturing ophthalmic lenses, lens coatings and dispensary technologies. Premium eyeglass lenses from Essilor are the result of more than 150 years of advance research, innovation and technology. A true leader in innovation, Essilor revolutionized the vision correction industry in 1959 with the invention of the world's first progressive lens. The brand provides consumers and the eye care professionals with quality spectacle lenses, diagnostic tools, services and support in business.