Gigil #PandemicEffect: Belo ad criticized for body shaming and insensitivity

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

OMFG! Sobrang insensitive ng bagong @belobeauty and @GigilGroup na #PandemicEffect ad. Hindi ito nireview man lang? Sobrang out of touch neto and should've stayed in the drafts. Promoting body shaming?

Whoever conceptualized the #PandemicEffect ad for Belo should have a thorough evaluation of themselves--- or kung hindi sa kanya, a thorough evaluation of their target consumers. Napaka tone deaf.  

Belo's newest ad is making us ask: Why are you shaming women into conforming to beauty standards during a *pandemic*?

The Belo Medical Group was criticized for a video ad portraying a woman who "let herself go" during the pandemic. They said the ad was "just a reminder...that if you’re ready to make the decision to take care of yourself again, we are here to help."

Why do we have this kind of ad when we’re in the middle of pandemic… when our livelihoods are threatened and our family and friends are either dying or in grave danger.

While I get the insighting behind this, the ad became distasteful & insensitive because of how the messaging was presented. The #PandemicEffect has been real and serious, and it shouldn’t be trivialized. For a lot of people, this meant losing jobs and loved ones.

It’s done in poor taste :( #PandemicEffect pls do better.

 

I can really think of nothing more sinister than capitalizing on how one’s physical appearance naturally changes during a pandemic or what Belo dubs as the “#PandemicEffect” being synonymous with the “ugliest versions of ourselves”. Poorly done on production team’s end + on Belo.

the #PandemicEffect not only affected our physical health but our mental health as well, felt like those with depression and hormonal disorders (eg. PCOS) have been mocked by this ad, which aims to capitalize on insecurities. how was this approved in the first place,?? in 2021???

The pandemic is stressful enough as it is and preying on consumers’ insecurities isn’t helping either. To paraphrase and add to the words of the beautiful @143redangel—“Ang katawan at ang mukhang ito ay marami nang pinagdaanan”.

We should celebrate the fact that we have remained healthy despite and in spite of the pandemic. We can advocate for self-care and healthy living without preying on skin-deep insecurities. This is what the #PandemicEffect should be all about.

Hello @belobeauty and @GigilGroup, I hope you realize how absolutely out of touch, tasteless, and insensitive that recent ad is. Not only does it send the complete opposite message of what your PR says the ad intended to, it also ignores what the "#PandemicEffect" is for many.

The #PandemicEffect is our highest rates of unemployment, vaccine inequality, etc. but no you had to sell your product by positioning a woman who’s grown out her body hair as representative of all this, who also holds responsibility to make herself beautiful in the face of it all.

People lost jobs. Businesses went bankrupt. Most countries went on recession. Family and friends died. Others succumbed to mental illness. Lives were permanently changed. That is the real #PandemicEffect.

Not that you got fat and if you did there is nothing wrong with that.

You can promote self-care without (1) exploiting insecurities and (2) trivializing the #PandemicEffect, which affected our lives in ways we never have imagined. @belobeauty's ad just mocked, even invalidated, our struggles of surviving this pandemic. So out of touch, disgusting.

To the creatives and marketing management of Belo, we're sorry but no one fell for your crap. The #PandemicEffect is natural, acne, body hair, losing/gaining weight etc. is all natural. Stop profiting from our insecurities! 

The #PandemicEffect is people losing their loved ones, their jobs, their livelihoods, their homes, their friends.

The #PandemicEffect is also losing so many of the coping mechanisms that could have helped people pull through.

But we're all stuck that's the #PandemicEffect.

This won't hurt their sales anyway. People who are privileged enough will still choose to to avail their services, and tayo? magsa-suffer na lang sa #PandemicEffect

Eduard Folayang Out To Break His Skid At ONE: BATTLEGROUND II

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

At this point, Eduard "Landslide" Folayang should have grown tired of the criticism thrown his way, on whether at 36 years of age, the two-time ONE Lightweight World Champion should already hang his gloves for good.

But the proof is in the pudding, that despite the Igorot warrior being on the losing end of his last three fights, he remains on top of his game and can still hang with the best the lightweight division has to offer.

That's why for Folayang, his next bout against Chinese star Zhang Lipeng in the main event of ONE: BATTLEGROUND II on August 13 in Singapore will be a make-or-break match in its truest form.

"I agree and I see it as a make-or-break, meaning break in a literal way that it will be the fight that will break my skid of losses," he said, with his past slide dropping his record to 22-11.

"Every fight is important to me so yes, I need to be so focused to make it this time. This fight against Zhang means a lot because it will give me the opportunity to step forward again, one step closer to my goal of becoming a champion once more."

It's easy to say that Folayang really has nothing else to prove in his career.

Being the face of Philippine mixed martial arts in the past half-decade, he has led the Filipino charge in the realm of ONE Championship as warriors from Team Lakay showed that it truly can be considered as among the best athletes in the world.

Though his legacy is already intact, Folayang argues that he still has a lot more to give. 

"I'm not yet done," a defiant Folayang said. "In fact, I'm more fired up than ever."

It has been more than two years since Folayang last draped that illustrious ONE Lightweight World Championship on his shoulders. And there's no question that he misses the feeling of holding that title on his arms and wearing it on his waist.

But his recent skid also means that Folayang is farther than ever from the pinnacle of the lightweight division, which fuels the doubts thrown his way.

Understanding his current situation, the Team Lakay veteran knows that there's only one way to silence the chatter -- both on his status as one of the best in the weight class and his capabilities to still be on top whenever he enters the ONE Circle.

"Sometimes people who are doing nothing and have nothing to strive for want you to be like them and they do this by talking negatively and pulling people down," he said.

And the only tonic he has in mind? It's not just to win over Zhang, but to win emphatically.

Folayang's last finish came almost five years ago, when his star shot up the heavens with a third round technical knockout win over Shinya Aoki to capture his first ONE Lightweight World Championship at ONE: DEFENDING HONOR in Singapore.

Seeing that formula further cements Folayang's thinking that a win of that magnitude should catapult him back in the conversation among the next possible challengers for current ONE Lightweight World Champion Christian Lee.

"All I do is to pray harder and train smarter. I believe that in the right time, I will be able to get rid of that skid. And that’s why me and my team are working together to bring the win home this time," he said.

But he also knows that he really can't look past Zhang as all Folayang wants is to show that he remains dedicated to his craft and is still one of ONE Championship's elite.

"I want everyone to see and learn how failures will turn into victories if we keep enduring and never give up on our dreams and goals. That's just the message that I want to convey: Never give up on your dreams and never stop improving. I just keep on fighting, continue to watch and learn from others, and be receptive to the advice coming from your coach and team," he said.

"I still have lots of names I have in mind that I want to fight, one of which being that cancelled match against [Yoshihiro] Akiyama. But right now, I need to focus on who's in front of me and that is Zhang. Everything will just follow from there."

Asian Television Awards and Film Development Council of the Philippines Announce 3-year Industry Partnership!

 

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

The Asian Television Awards and the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) are proud to announce a 3-year industry partnership to cross promote the Awards to the Filipino film community and bring Filipino content and talents to the rest of Asia Pacific.

Slated to be held from December 10 to 12, 2021, the 26^th Asian Television Awards will be televised across Asia Pacific through its broadcast network covering 500,000 households across 22 countries. The Awards will be carried in the Philippines on Cignal Colors, TV5, and MYX Channel. The proceedings will also be available live on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Established in 1996, the Asian Television Awards has evolved over the years in tandem with changes to the broadcast and content industry. Commencing this year, the Awards has expanded its categories to include a section focusing on short form video, music videos, and short films. This is in addition to its traditional sections on broadcast programming, performance, and technical categories.

The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) is the national film agency under the Office of the President of the Philippines responsible for film policies and programs to ensure the economic, cultural, and educational development of the Philippine film industry.

“Our vision is to highlight and acknowledge the best of Asian content and talents, bringing them to the attention of consumers all across Asia Pacific. This renewed partnership with FDCP is testimony of our shared vision,” said Raymond Wong, Awards Director of the Asian Television Awards.

Liza Diño, Chairperson and CEO of FDCP, said, “We are delighted to be an industry partner with the Asian Television Awards. We believe the Awards is an excellent platform not only to showcase leading Filipino content and talents but also to provide opportunities for interaction with the best in Asia.”

Submissions to the 26th Asian Television Awards are closing soon and interested parties are advised to contact Angela at support@asiantvawards.com for more information.