Happy meal for the soul
McDonald’s peddles the warm and fuzzy. And since the fast-food figurehead’s been doing it since way back when, delivering us unforgettable TVC moments like “Karen po” and her forgetful lolo, then of course the struggling little kuya questioning where he ranks in his mommy’s heart, you could almost say that McDo’s got the exclusive dealership. Its latest achievement of the aforementioned effect is First Love, a commercial that’s become an overnight blogorific success, leaving click-crazy teens and wizened TV critics alike a little teary-eyed.
The ad opens in a McDonald’s of the ’90s as a young man reminisces about his childhood. A little girl peeks at a little boy from behind her mother’s floral dress and shoulder pads, and while the mothers chat over lunch, the two discover a shared love of chocolate-sundae dipped fries. The girl grabs the boy’s hand and runs with him to the PlayPlace; but somewhere along the way, she becomes all grown-up and beautiful, bringing a not-so-little boy to meet her husband and child. They have lunch, and as she watches him dip fries into his sundae, the grown boy’s voice says, “At kahit hindi naging kami sa huli, siya pa rin ang first love ko.” And playing in the background, just to make the bitter that much sweeter, are the plaintive notes of “Ang Huling El Bimbo” by the Eraserheads, the anthem of all that hurts so good.
‘Course, that favorite song by an iconic band is the not-so-secret ingredient of this one-minute skit. And as the little girl with the denim vest and side-part pulls the boy laughing from the table and Ely Buendia croons, “Magkahawak ang ating kamay/At walang kamalaymalay/Na tinuruan mo ang puso ko/Na umibig ng tunay,” it almost feels like the whole thing was built around the song, and not the other way ’round. Not to mention the timing is impeccable, what with the E-Head revival going on — the band’s second hurrah coming up this March and all. Couple that with a throwback to the boppy, early ’90s in all its side-flipped, high-waisted glory (the good ol’ days to today’s yuppies) and the ever-rosy feelings of a first love, and you get … the warm and fuzzy.
So it turns out nostalgia is easy to produce if you know the right equation. It’s a feeling that McDonald’s has founded its entire image and marketing strategy on — save for those ads featuring Manny Pacquiao, whom I doubt evokes gentle reminiscing in the average viewer. No matter who’s forgotten your birthday, grown-up and grown apart, or just isn’t around at the moment, the redheaded clown will always have a home and a hot cheeseburger waiting for you. You can even take it to-go.
And McDo makes sure you never forget it, with a practiced motion that stirs up, in the form of cute little ads, feelings of family, happy days gone by, love — basically the human need to connect and belong. Sorry, kid.
But at the end of the day, despite Supersize Me and all those cute but carnivore-damning PETA stickers, despite having wised up to its wiles, knowing that it’s all a great, perfectly orchestrated marketing ploy, the sight of its red and gold never fails to do a little dance on many of our hearts. And that’s because Mickey D’s for most of us, growing up in this modern, consumerist world, was — and is — a place and symbol of comfort.
Before we knew anything about capitalist ploys, advertising schemes, or consumer studies, we were infatuated with the golden arches and their promise of happiness, Happy Meals, and the latest “collect ’em all” toy. Is that a good thing? Probably not. But hey, not many people get to choose their first love.
