More harm than good

What was supposed to be a grand launch for an advocacy that wants to nudge people from apathy was instead met with a lot of controversy and confusion. Admittedly, people were intrigued and they certainly took notice of the slick black and white ad with all those well-known personalities like Charice Pempengco, Angel Locsin etc., sporting that conspicuous red dog tag on their necks. Besides which, nobody would have missed the initial airing  considering that it was done during the Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton fight when virtually every household was glued to their television sets. 

However, a lot of people also found the message a little vague, turning the catchy “Ako Mismo” sound byte into something of a joke, quipping “Ako mismo hindi naintindihan yun, ‘noh” when asked what they initially thought about the ad. But the sad part however was the fact that the advocacy spawned a lot of suspicions because of the way the whole website was designed and no one initially owned up to it when all sorts of questions and reactions came up.

For one, all that personal information required (aside from name, email address and contact number) before a person is allowed to sign up and post a message on the “wall of commitment” could be used to invade the privacy of the individual, as correctly pointed out by Jaime Garchitorena, head of an Internet and e-commerce solutions company. It was Garchitorena who first sounded off when he fired an email to some friends cautioning about the information being required and allowing his email to be posted on a blogsite.

Anyone worth his salt knows that to move an advocacy forward, you need to make as many people as you can really understand the concept, become sympathetic to the cause and then get them involved by instituting an “action component.” In this case, it was to get people to commit to individual action for the good of country and fellow Filipinos by posting their intentions on the site. 

But this “action component” had so many barriers (i.e. go to the website, register, fill out all the required fields with personal data) that it turned off so many sympathizers and contributed to even more apathy in that sense. In the first place, the information supplied by people could be compromised and manipulated by vested interest groups for their own agenda – a valid concern that was also emphasized by Garchitorena and all the others who share his view.

Data on the gender, the age and location down to the profile (whether user is a student, unemployed or OFW) are useful information that can help any political operator map out campaign tactics and strategies. The information could also serve as a good analytical tool for marketing campaigns and similar purposes.

It didn’t help either that the ad came out as so polished and seemed to be screaming “big money” simply because of the perception that more often than not, people or a group pushing a certain advocacy (no matter how noble or how righteous the intention may be) are normally more prudent at dispensing funds to avoid donor fatigue and the like. A full minute airing on primetime TV could easily cost half a million pesos, and even if the celebrities and other individuals who appeared in the ad had no talent fee, the cost of production would still be enormous.

But what is worse of all was that in the desire of some people to please Manny Pangilinan and perhaps suck up to him in the process, they ended up putting the PLDT chairman on the spot not only because PLDT Foundation was one of the supporters but more so, because of the way the whole thing was presented.

Even if the advocacy was a “work in progress” as the proponents put it, they should have anticipated the backlash in coming out with an ad of such magnitude and tried to minimize the damage by making the message clear so that it would not be tainted with political color. A common observation by people we talked with is that no one in his right mind would put so much money on something that is still a “work in progress” and initiate a campaign plan that is rather poorly thought out, they said.  

Besides which, the timing was already suspect in light of the fact that a number of ads with thinly disguised political slants have been coming out lately in obvious preparation for 2010. As a result, people thought the ad was a means to “test the waters” for Manny’s entry into the political arena and assess his chances of winning.

Admittedly, a lot of people want MVP to run for president because he is one of the very few “alternative” choices that people look up to. A lot of ordinary folk and even businessmen believe he has the vision and the knowhow to turn the country into an economic powerhouse in the future. After all, no one can argue with his track record in turning PLDT into the most profitable company in the country today, and he has credibility and integrity – factors that people respect and crave for in a leader. Manny is naturally flattered but right now, he is comfortable where he is.

But more and more people are looking at Manny as a leader, and he may not be able to turn down a clamor that is beginning to snowball. Unfortunately, this “Ako Mismo” controversy has done more harm than good for now. This should be an object lesson on “how not to promote an advocacy,” as correctly pointed out by many political experts. 

* * *

Email: [email protected]