Monday, June 02, 2008 Seares: Senators as product endorsers By Pachico A. Seares News Sense
SEN. Ping Lacson selling a beauty product is as plausible as Ping pitching for a brandy: seemingly true and acceptable yet implying disbelief.
Ping projects a macho image: former tough cop, now fiery solon. Is he a credible endorser of a face lotion? He isn’t, or isn’t known to be, a liquor drinker. Will people believe his toast to brandy?
Sales wizards have reasons for picking an unlikely endorser. Maybe the pitch on lotion is that macho men can use it without turning less masculine. Maybe brandy producers think drinkers will find appealing the image of a powerful politician sipping it.
But effectiveness of senators as product endorsers isn’t why Sen. Miriam Santiago is raging against the practice.
Early campaigning
Feisty Miriam sees it as premature campaigning, unfair to other senators who aren’t endorsing anything.
But there’s the Comelec rock-hard rule that one doesn’t become a candidate until he files his COC and one isn’t campaigning until he becomes a candidate.
Besides, if Miriam wants senators to avoid being prematurely exposed on national TV and radio, that won’t stop wannabes who, as celebrities, are continually seen and heard.
Would she rather pack the Senate with movie stars and others like Jamby M. and Kiko P. who draw lustre from movie stars?
Senators rush to accept promo work because the publicity they reap costs a fortune in ad fees.
Guess what. Try offering Miriam a contract to endorse, say, a cough syrup that soothes the throat after machine-gun-fire gabbing.
She won’t be quiet but maybe she’ll stopping yapping at senators doing commercials.
