Why are brands going from ‘seenzone’ to ‘cheerzone’ amid Hidilyn's win? The Orocan team gives the lowdown
It goes without saying that all eyes are still on Olympic champ Hidilyn Diaz.
With her name continuing to sound alarms and instill a rush of pride in the Filipino people, brands and companies have also come forward with their own personal take on congratulating the weightlifting legend.
With the likes of Starbucks, Ikea to detergent brands like Champion lifting up Hidilyn, there's one entry that both caught the Internet's funny bone and raised a valid point when it comes to output-based promotions: Orocan's "Wag Na Tayong Magplastikan" post.
Boldly titled "WAG NA TAYONG MAGPLASTIKAN," the company pointed out the irony of brands now congratulating Hidilyn but not taking action when she was asking for financial support for her Olympic stint just a little over two years ago.
"Last year, na seen-zone si Hidilyn sa 'ting mga brands. Ngayon, cheer zone tayo sa kanya. Orocan yarrrn?"
It comes to no surprise that this type of playful advertising is brought by multi-awarded ad agency GIGIL, as they're also behind the viral campaigns of RC Cola and the Trese Netflix billboards. We spoke with GIGIL creative director Dionie Tanada on how the “plastikan” idea came about.
“It started as a discussion sa internal group. ‘Paano natin i-trendjack? Paano ipapakita na proud tayo kay Hidilyn at the same time reminding Filipinos and brands sa TOTOO: na-seen zone natin siya before, but now cheer zone tayo sa kanya?' Dionie shared with PhilSTAR L!fe.
With authenticity at their core, they started to work on the artwork then “ayun! Totohanan lang!” he said.
Meanwhile, there's still the lingering question of whether or not it's right or ethical to ride on Hidilyn's win when companies aren't either affiliated with the athlete or aren't giving her compensation for using her namesake to go viral.
Regarding that query, Richard Go of Ashlar Industrial Corporation, Orocan’s sole producer, explained that agile or moment marketing is in play when it comes to brand initiatives such as congratulating Hidilyn's win.
“Madalas naman tayong mga brands ay reactive,” he shared. “Dahil kailangan ng brands to be relevant and to take a stand sa mga key events and this is one of them. Brands can celebrate it, support it, and link it to their values.”
Despite this, he furthered that Hidilyn’s record-breaking lift was a wake-up call for brands to take more initiative when it comes to supporting our local athletes.
“This moment is also a call-to-action for brands to take action moving forward. Maging mas supportive tayo sa mga nagtataas ng bandera ng Pilipinas sa kahit anong larangan—may maiuwing ginto man o wala!”
“Suportahan natin kahit 'di pa sila nananalo ng ginto, para manalo sila ng ginto.”