Thriller in Manila

I'm in the Philippines for a pitch this week. Actually it's my third visit in as many weeks and what a fascinating place it is. It's the least Asian country I have been to in Asia. Actually it resembles a country in South America more. So if you want to know more about ads for cheesy feet, Jeepneys, the invasion of Starbucks and time warp radio then read on...

Cheesy feet. That's what it said. If you have them, you can get rid of them. So said the ad in the Philippine Star. Not the sort of thing I'd expect to see on page 3 of the Daily Mail.

Jeepneys are odd things. Half jeep, half bus. It's the favoured mode of transport in Manila. Cheap and effective. It seems the Americans left loads of them over here and the ever resourceful Filipinos have been using them ever since.

The Americans have reinvaded via Starbucks. In Makati, the business district, they are everywhere. Good to know I can get my tall, skinny decaf latte fix out here.

Ever seen Lost in Translation ? Bill Murray and Scarlett Big Lips ? In Japan ? Well, I got a glimpse of what that movie was all about being driven through the morning rush hour to a meeting in a cab. The driver thought he was Senna reincarnated and whilst he was weaving in and out of the traffic I was 'treated' to a steady stream of 80's classics (?) from Bananarama, Joe Jackson and Luther Vandross. What a 3 in a row. Haven't heard a segueway like that since listening to Century on the Princess Parkway in Manchester (which seems like a million miles and years away at the moment).

The other thing I noticed whilst I was being wafted through the streets of Manila to the muffled drone of the Thompson Twins was that virtually every car (including some private ones ?) has a painted sign on the boot lid which asks 'How is My Driving ?'. Frankly, the only possible answer to that is shite. I resisted the urge to make a call on the basis that I would have to phone a lot.

As a place though, I love it. The people are warm, friendly and fun. Can't wait to come back again soon, preferably when I'm not doing a pitch so I can actually get to see a bit more of the place.

Man Enough ?

We received a door-to-door mailer in our postbox at our home in Singapore a few days ago. It was certainly very different to the sort of items I recall being put out by the likes TNT, National Latterbox Marketing or Royal Mail Household Delivery when we lived in the UK. When my wife handed it over to me she suggested (with a rather disconcerting smile) that I should maybe consider buying the product. But the copy was pretty ‘cryptic’ to say the least and I have been trying to work out what it was all about ever since. Frankly, it’s been keeping me up at night. The product is called Andro which is apparently a ‘cream for men’ and the question it poses on the front cover of the leaflet is Are You Man Enough ? Well if I could actually decipher what the product was for, where to apply the cream, who is meant to apply it, how much and for how long then maybe I might purchase some. There are some clues in the brochure to help try and work out what it’s for though, so maybe you can help me pull it off ?

Apparently, the effect of using the cream is to maintain youthful vitality and active lifestyle. Well, I eat Alpen for breakfast so does that not do the same thing ?

It also claims to enhance blood circulation. But I do a few miles on the running machine a couple of times a week so I’ve got that covered I think.

It goes on to explain that the key ingredient is a Thai herb called butea superba. It’s a natural extract used over centuries by men and the cream delivers a high concentration of the herb directly to the ‘desired area’. Problem is the information provided doesn’t mention precisely where the ‘desired area’ actually is.

It goes on to say that I need to apply the cream for 2-4 weeks when a ‘lasting improvement is noticed’. But what type of improvement ? It just doesn’t elaborate.

Whatever it does, there are a team of esteemed physicians who are ready and willing to endorse the product. Professor Lee Chee Wee and also Dr Lim Kok stand out from the list of names provided. Still, it’s a hard one. As a last resort the leaflet provides an email address to contact someone called ‘Rocky’ for more information. So I’ve slipped him a quick note and hope he will come back to me quickly. Maybe you can knock one out to Rocky as well ? (that’s if you are man enough of course).

Fingered

Games on the iPhone and iTouch were always going to be a killer application. So far though, they are very few and far between. A clear opportunity to be filled by an advertiser and cool footgear manufacturer Vans appear to have exploited the gap first with their soon to be launched "Finger Fracture" advergame...

This advergame uses the touch screen interface of the iPhone / iTouch to play a skateboarding style game where your choice of Vans sneaker will enable you to pull off a variety of 'rad moves' (whatever that means).

It looks a bit like the Tony Hawk series of skateboard games on the various PS formats and the quality of the game looks pretty good from the few screenshots I have seen (see below).

Cool huh ?

Rumour has it that Burger King, pretty much a pioneer in the advergame arena, are also planning a game for the iPhone / iTouch and I fully expect that they won't be the last.