Tang makes kids do funny things
Out of school and bored? Know others like you who are tired of that same old vacation routine? Why don’t you gather up some friends and decide to freeze in the middle of a crowded mall for a few minutes. Don’t forget to walk away nonchalantly afterwards, like nothing happened. Or maybe your group could start dancing like maniacs in one of the many LRT or MRT stations here in the Metro. Just make sure you don’t get in anyone’s way, or you might go home with a black eye.
Stunts like these are quite gimmicky, but if successfully executed, they could mean lots of good, clean fun; the memories will be priceless and your bond with certain friends will become even stronger. Organize a group of like-minded individuals, flesh out the details, and get ready for a good time. And don’t forget to somehow document your endeavor. It could be a winner.
Around the world the concept of the “flash mob,” or a large group who perform unusual actions in a public place for a brief time, is growing rapidly in popularity. Sometimes deemed unruly and a bother to people going about their day-to-day routines, the flash mob is really more of a social experiment than anything else. It aims to discover how those on the receiving end, when their everyday habits are shaken up, will react. On the flipside, it is a way for those performing to express some subconscious need to do something zany, to be, in so many words, an exhibitionist.
At least flash mobs don’t take the term too literally: they aren’t “flashers” (read: trench coat, nothing else underneath) so in this respect the public is safe.
The Philippines has its own groups of young people doing such experiments, maybe not just to fight boredom, but perhaps also to express that they are not the average, everyday Pinoy. Leading the way for these groups is Tang and their campaign “Teazperiments” where they encourage young Filipinos to create and put their own twists on the flash mob model.
“Teazperiments” is actually the first user-generated online show in the Philippines where members can generate and publish clean, fun social experiments. Teazperiments keeps in line with the youth in an age when uploading is what keeps them busy and updated. Being user generated, all the material on the show is all homegrown, keeping it as original as it can be. As a treat, the show is hosted by youngsters Ketchup Eusebio and Andi Manzano, to whom lots of young people can relate and look up to.
“Tweens naturally want to explore things around them, hoping to discover something fun and interesting that would cure their boredom,” says Cindy Abella, brand manager for Tang Fruit Teaz. “Through Teazperiments, we thought this natural curiosity could be geared toward creative and exciting outputs.”
And this natural curiosity can make a big winner out of the most ingenious and one-of-a-kind Teazperiment. Tang is offering a whole lot of prizes for those that can come up with the most creative Teazperiments. The grand prize is P50,000, so contributors are going all out. Participants of the campaign include members from the UP Theater Council, Ateneo de Manila University’s Dulaang Sibol and Tanghalang Ateneo, San Sebastian Theater Arts Guild, FEU-FERN Theater Society and La Consolacion College Manila’s Arté.Comm.
Aside from Teazperiments being a campaign to fight boredom, members have found that it has other benefits as well. “It was a test of creativity,” shares Patrick Valera when asked about their Tang Teazperiment. “Here, we had no lights, no production crew or special effects, the crowd’s reaction will only depend on us and how we perform.”
“Even though we were not as experienced as the other groups, we were very proud of how our output turned out,” says Erryel Valmonte of FEU-FERN Theater Society, about their stunts, Kamot and Eating While Standing. La Consolacion College Manila’s Arté.Comm produced Zombie and Ballerina and, says Thereze-Lou Sison: “The organization believes that education and experience are in sync in molding the members to be better professionals. The Teazperiments are great opportunities for us to practice our creativity and talents.”
So the next time you see a group of kids doing something wacky in a public place, don’t call the police on them right away. Remember, they could be conducting a series of important experiments.
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Submit your Teazperiments and watch those already done by others at www.teazperiments.com
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E-mail me at enricomiguelsubido@yahoo.com
