Yaya Dub a perfect catch for 555 Sardines

MANILA, Philippines - Century Pacific Food Inc. (CNPF), the Philippines’ largest canned food company, has recorded a bump in awareness of its 555 Sardines brand on the back of its new commercial featuring Twitter’s third-fastest rising celebrity Maine Mendoza aka Yaya Dub.

“We have not seen anything like this in terms of response.  The response was immediate” said Gregory Banzon, CNPF’s vice president for global branding.

Banzon said: “It’s too early to say exactly how much tailwind we’ll be getting, but Maine has definitely increased our presence in social media.”

The 30-second clip began airing on Oct 3, and was later uploaded on Facebook and YouTube. In two days, over 800,000 had already viewed the commercial on the official 555 Sardines Facebook page.

“That is about three times more than the views of a regular post,” said Banzon.

The video was as widely successful on YouTube, with comments that generally commend Mendoza’s performance and offer a positive view of the brand.

Many said they have switched to 555 because of the commercial.

One post exclaimed: “My son didn’t eat sardines, but since he saw Maine, 555 has become his favorite.”

Another one commented: “I’m eating canned sardines from now on.”

In the commercial, Mendoza lipsyncs six acts in the unique style that has made her an Internet darling, as she is torn between the classic version in Tomato Sauce and the newer Fried Sardines.

Banzon said the 20-year-old Mendoza is the perfect fit for 555 Sardines, Century Pacific’s first brand, which began selling in 1983.