The Charm that's called Willing Willie

There's something that I simply do not understand. Willie Revillame has been into too many controversies yet he ends up soaring really high in the showbiz industry. He's just one of the most influential media figures in this generation. And that's quite disturbing for me.

I tend to hold my opinion when it comes to products, politics, religion, and individuals whenever I blog. But right now I'm just so disturbed after a few friends posted this video on their Facebook walls.



As a marketer, I made a choice not to support companies nor any medium that I think disrupt the values of people. Call me too narrow-minded, but TV shows in a media plan for a brand campaign are just plain demographics and figures in terms of ratings/ viewership. Even before the Ultra stampede, I made an effort to tell our media planning company to remove Wowowee at any of the brand campaigns assigned to me. Maybe I'm lucky because I am able to find other shows to fill in the "numbers" gap to achieve the desired total ratings for the media plan. Or maybe I did not handle a megabrand or, say, a mass-based brand. But for me it's a choice. Willie is just too charming for the masses, but that does not mean he's the only way to reach them. Now that I'm in the field of education (fortunately, with no budget to afford a TV campaign), I sense the responsibility to support the students to become leaders with the best ethics possible. Hence watching Janjan in the Willing Willie segment crushed my heart.

Whatever your opinion about Willie, let it be. Time and again, this guy has managed to escape his egotistical, and sometimes stupid, ways. Not even a major network can put this fool down. So all this hullabaloo may reach the same sad ending.

Now as an individual I'm just doing my part not to become another number to his success. His shows are banned in the house. Whenever we can, we do not support any of the products that advertise on his show. There are just too many shampoos, deodorants, and liniments around.

Besides, I would rather watch the news.