Message of hope and love

MANILA, Philippines - Since it was launched on Nov. 4, ABS-CBN’s Christmas Station ID titled Bro, Ikaw ang Star ng Pasko has sparked a craze in the streets and on the Internet, lighting up the country’s Christmas season with a message of hope and unity.

Kids sing along and mimic the actions in the song, others convert it to ringtones, while many view and repost the station ID in video-sharing sites like YouTube and other social networking sites.

The station ID has also boosted the sales of Parol ni Bro, the large Christmas lanterns being sold by the network in selected SM malls to raise funds for Sagip Kapamilya. Likewise, people have also flocked to ABS-CBN to purchase the star-shaped handheld miniature lanterns seen in the video.

ABS-CBN VP for creative communications Robert Labayen, who has worked on top of all ABS-CBN Station Ids since 2004, said the public’s response was record-breaking. “In less than a day, the video had been posted all over the Internet and viewed by thousands. There was an outpouring of positive comments. Real people telling us how they were uplifted by the song and how it reminded them of Christmas in the Philippines,” he said.

To date, the station ID has gotten over 200,000 hits on ABS-CBN’s official YouTube account alone, a feat unrivaled by any other effort.

Labayen, who wrote the lyrics to the song, admitted it was one of the hardest he has made in his storied career, both as an advertising maven and now as a television executive. The multi-awarded creative head said it took him two days to finish the song. “I wrote the song right after Typhoon Ondoy happened and the challenge was to weave in the spirit of Christmas in a message song. This is not the most poetic song I’ve written but it happens to come in the right time. People can easily relate to the song,” he shared.

With lyrics like “Dumaan man sa malalakas na alon, lahat tayo ay makakaahon,” the song easily invokes memories of the recent calamity, and inspires the listeners to remain positive in spite of it.

However simple, every image in the Station ID also evoked the message of faith and hope — from the kind finding a star amid the muddy traces of typhoon, to the Christmas tree made of relief goods, and the community cleaning a church after the storm.