WATCHING the Noynoy Aquino TV ad produces mixed feelings. For one, the star wattage in the said ad is undoubtedly formidable. In a country where celebrity endorsement is a major factor in any election the ad already represents a singular achievement, and Kris Aquino is beaming proudly not just because the presidential candidate is her brother. And if anyone still has doubts as to what role the “talk show queen” wants to play in her brother’s campaign, one only needs to watch the entire ad to be fully convinced since it has Kris Aquino written all over it.

On the other hand, the presence of too many celebrities only served to drown the message of the ad so much so that it came across as somehow contrived and unnatural. As a result the other talents who were supposed to represent other ordinary Filipinos looked quite sterile. Somehow the overall effect was too “slick and glossy” as a media colleague put it, and only prevents the ad from drawing empathy from the ordinary viewer.

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This brings us to the part where a fluttering banner with the faces of Aquino’s famous parents makes an appearance precisely at the point when the song being sung by Regine Velasquez seems to suggest about continuing the fight of Ninoy and Cory.

One must not expect subtlety in the ad and it might work for people who are already strongly convinced that the main issue in the 2010 presidential polls is character as the ad stresses in its packaging.

But it remains highly doubtful whether the ad appeals to people who are still ambivalent toward Aquino’s candidacy, for people who still want to know where he stands in various critical and urgent issues of national import, even to those who already know the circumstances of his birth. But whether he truly is his parents’ son and whether the People Power spirit that defined Ninoy’s and Cory’s greatness can sustain Noynoy’s voter acceptance until it could be translated into votes come election time may be an entirely different matter altogether.