Integral part of Pinoy culture
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
The scintillating victory of Efren ?Bata? Reyes over archrival Earl ?The Pearl? Strickland in the World Pool League in Warsaw, Poland just over a week ago once again put on the spotlight the popularity of the sport and the positive image that players like him bring to a product they endorse.
The contingent of 20 flag-waving Pinoys led by Ambassador Andy del Rosario, who cheered Reyes on throughout the tournament, was a classic example of his identification with Filipinos abroad, from overseas workers to members of the diplomatic corps.
Raphael Carpio of the SMB Brand Group in charge of sports at San Miguel Corp.?s marketing department told Manila Standard that ?Efren?s appeal encompasses all segments and classes. He is the simple and unpretentious Filipino everyman, who is world-class in what he does and that is billiards. He is someone who the Filipinos can take pride in being associated with, just like San Miguel Beer.?
Reyes, known around the world as ?The Magician? because of his consummate shot-making skills, has so far appeared in two television commercials for San Miguel Beer. The first was in 1999 with Bernard Palanca in the commercial titled ?Bata? to celebrate the new millennium, while the most recent one was ?Slang? where Reyes was featured with other top Filipino cue artists such as Francisco ?Django? Bustamante, Leonardo ?Dodong? Andam and Rodolfo ?Boy Samson? Luat.
Carpio explained that the other Filipino cue artists were selected ?because they are Reyes? ?barkada? in the international and local pro billiards circuit. They also happened to be the top four players of the sport during that time.?
The commercial where Reyes, with the help of San Miguel Beer was able to cope with his troubles in speaking English on his way to another international tournament with his ?barkada? is ?one of the highest remembered/recalled TV commercials San Miguel Beer has done? according to Carpio.
While Reyes is the one who made the lasting impression, he was in fact not the first pool player used in an SMB commercial. That honor belonged to Jose ?Amang? Parica, who initially led the Filipino?s foray into the US pro billiards circuit.
The diminutive Parica with a dimpled smile was the most noted player before Reyes came along and was used in the commercial entitled ?Isang Platitong Mani? with the unforgettable Bert ?Tawa? Marcelo and other luminaries of that time.
In fact, during the last Pilak Awards by the 4A?s, this San Miguel Beer TV commercial was selected no. 1 of all the advertising mediums for the past few decades ?citing its impact and endearment with the Filipino.?
Those who dealt with Reyes say he was a joy to work with. Carpio recalls that Reyes ?exuded professionalism in terms of his punctuality, attitude, learning curve and enthusiasm. He was very easy-going and mild-mannered to everyone during the shoot. What helped him the most was that he was a natural in front of the camera.?
It helped greatly that Reyes? other pool friends were also there as they joked around off camera and even found time to play pool and place friendly wagers in poker during the breaks. Time-wise, it took one day to shoot the ?Slang? commercial.
Asked about the use of American stars Strickland and Johnny Archer, Carpio recalled that Viva Vintage Sports staged a tournament featuring these stars against Reyes and Bustamante.
?Although they are the fiercest competitors during tournaments, they are actually the best of friends when tournaments end. In fact Strickland and Archer were very enthusiastic in being able to endorse San Miguel Beer, which they specifically mentioned as Efren?s beer.?
During the height of the popularity of the PBA, San Miguel Beer used its basketball superstars such as Samboy Lim, Hector Calma, Allan Caidic and others in its ads. Asked whether pool has outstripped basketball among the product target market resulting in the switch to the use of billiards players, the response was that basketball and billiards are San Miguel Beer sports and both ?have comprehensive and tailor-made programs conceptualized and implemented for them? by San Miguel Beer.
With the recent devastating victories of IBF junior featherweight boxing champion Manny Pacquiao and his incredible popularity, it isn?t far fetched for San Miguel Beer ?which has long been associated with champions? to feature him in the future.
Only time will tell.
