GMA's Newest Morning Series: With A Smile!

A few days ago, I got my camera along for a trip and had to interview a few stars from GMA's morning program called "With A Smile". It's my first time to see these guys in the flesh; and it was refreshing to see them in a relaxed mood. It was drizzling that afternoon but we sat down and just talked casually, just the way I liked it.

This pretty girl's name is Shelly Hipolito. She's quite bubbly but a little reserved at that time prolly because it's the first time to have a pocket blog con. She got relaxed after a few questions. Her role in this series is pretty much pegged like a bubbly fashionista... reminiscent of Jolina Magdangal in the early years. She's been out for a long time and she's so thankful that GMA finally gave her this project. Mind you she and her other co stars had to literally audition for this and it wasn't really easy. She fits the character and one that might take your interest is her suitors. She's also got three of them so it'll be a riot! I find her really nice and she's pretty much taking her time to hone her acting skills. Maybe soon she'll have more. Stars from the channel did their stints at this age and she shouldn't be different. I wish her great things in the future, hopefully a big star like her seniors!

This guy is Bryan Benedict. He's quite well built and I've seen some of his photos prior to this event. He obviously grew his hair, got a little taller and probably has grown out their Protege days (which Shelly and Bryan actually started). He told us he was a little nervous at first but since he did small things here and there with other shows, it was a little easy to adapt this time. The only difference might be is their lines. This time he's got a lot to say while portraying a character in the garage that Christian Bautista owns. You should watch the series in GMA's morning block, I'm sure you'll spot him and his big guns on this lot. He's a good chap I must say and he's eager to do more projects with other artists. He takes this in as a blessing and is very thankful GMA trusted them even if they are new to the business. He's one of the good guys, I find him very humble and I'm sure he'll be in the ranks of the guys GMA has on their stable.

I've seen this lady on other GMA programs and some series in the past. She of course is Andrea Torres. I don't know if we're related (Torres on Mom's side) but that could be her screen name. Anyway haha... she's really pretty in person. You know, those kind that light up a room when they come in? She's like that. She's portraying the role of Isay, a simple barrio girl with dreams of alleviating her family from their poor economic situation. She's got a huge passion for cooking and she'll strut her ware, playing eye candy to 2 guys on this program. Mind you they are not just any guy. If you were a fan of the previous team up between her and model, actor, all around nice guy Mikael Daez... then this will surely be a thousand times KILIG.

All smiles head this way for Mikael Daez. I've shot him a couple of times during Philippine Fashion Week, mostly for Penshoppe's shows. I was so glad to have at least introduce my self and he does apparently remember some of my tweets. :) He plays a happy go lucky - womanizing - no care at all guy called Dean. His whole life turns around when he gets to fall in love with Andrea's character. They were so kulit, so playful while on the interview... I could mistake them for a real couple. Andrea tells us that this guy is really the closest, and so does he. Now why in the world are they not together? Do you think it could eventually happen on this series? 

Watch as Mikael Daez, Christian Bautista and Andrea Torres give you the right amount of love, the right amount of comedy as they treat you every weekday morning with their new stint.. WITH A SMILE which shows on GMA. :)

Thanks guys, had fun really listening to your stories. Congratulations and I wish you all the best on your new show!

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Corporate Giveaways 2013!

When I was younger, I always keep those sweet love letters I get from my girlfriend and put it in a box. I cherished it more than anything because it was her hand writing, and ultimately it was very personal. I also loved it because she took time to write and put effort to at least impress me with words. That's one thing I guess that has touched me the most; because it's something that represents her. To me, no matter what the brand was of the paper... it didn't really matter because it had her name on it. Now imagine that same value applying for all your clients. A business can only further his dreams with the right material, and the right marketing strategy... starting with the basics; of at least making them feel you personally are in touch with them.

This morning, a few personal note cards arrived in my mail. Now I know this could have cost me an arm and a leg but since it was sourced directly from the manufacturer/distributor, you kinda get less of a hassle on middlemen. This would mean your materials and giveaways wouldn't cost you much because you take away the red tape and costs in between. I'm sure corporations would agree with me in saying that you can market your brand and products through your own employees, guests and their families. Corporate giveaways are integral parts of this strategy and in hindsight, we all have received on or more things from them too right? If you are a startup company, this would be the perfect occasion!

Tomorrow, July 3 until July 5, 2013... the 26th Annual Corporate Giveaways 2013 will commence at the grand SMX Convention Center. It starts from 10AM to 7PM and admission is free. If you want to get the best deals and suppliers for your corporate giveaways, this is the place to be. This is the country's longest running buyer's show for business gifts, premiums, promotional ideas and merchandise incentives. They are after all doing you a favor of putting them all in one place right?

This is a project of WORLDEXCO and their event partners 88DB.com, CTC, SIDANN and their media partner BusinessWorld.

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NOKIA ASHA 501 DS Launch!

I've never been to a Nokia event, nope, I really haven't!

This was my first time; and good thing it's with something BIG (even if the product is small) out of Nokia's shelves. I've seen the preview of this a couple of months ago and now it's finally here! Nokia had some cute things on their sleeve before the big reveal. Trust me, this is quite amusing!

Whimsical Colors!

As if a proper introduction was to take place, Nokia had us wander off this place with Manicure services, live Shirt printing exhibitions and booze at lunch time. It was awesome I tell you! But I asked my self, why are they showing all these colors?

 They've got a manicure corner! :)

They also had Live freehand shirt painting - I now have my first Nokia shirt! :)

And the booze of different colors and mixes! I had three! LOL

Now I asked, why all these colors?... well it made sense once I got to see the same palette on the nearby poster hehe :)

It's the new Nokia Asha 501 Dual Sim, yes you heard that right... it's got 2 SIM card support. Nokia has listened to its consumers and made the perfect smartphone handset for us Filipinos and what's neat is that they also have your Phonebook covered as 4000 Contacts can fit in your phone memory alone. Add to that your dual sim feature and you probably have all your Facebook friends on the list!

There is a FastView feature which remembers all the apps you recently used so you can go back to them easily, just by scrolling up and down.

It's available in Bright Red, Bright Green, Cyan, Yellow, White and Black so if you choose a different cover, it's also available separately and is called the "Nokia Shells. What ever time of day, or if you want to match it with your outfit, a simple flick and the back cover is easy to replace. It's also WIFI capable so if you prefer connecting on wireless B and G standard networks, it's going to be fast and easy! Since ours is a Dual SIM model, the Stand-by time would be 624 h. No joke. The presenter even had the same handset for the Malaysian launch a few weeks before and didn't even charge it. Talk time would be 17 h, but really who's gonna talk that long? LOL! It's one of the best phones at this price point and I couldn't believe Nokia is still earning from this!

It retails for only Php4,490 (VAT inclusive) and comes with the best apps preloaded from the Nokia Store like Facebook, Twitter, The Weather Channel, plus almost all the popular games you see on different OS'. Graphics on the small screen is phenomenal and from the looks of it, they will be even coming out with more very useful apps soon! Get your Nokia ASHA 501 DS handsets now on your local mobile phone operator or retail stores nationwide!

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Jake Cuenca Endorses MY|VIEW and MOVE

Jake Cuenca just passed by a store to pick his Mom a gift. He went in and bought a new TV. This TV had all the things he need like HD Video quality, the ports for his consoles, video streaming machines, plus it doesn't rob him of anything because it's so affordable! The TV in this case was manufactured by a brand called MY|VIEW. They invited him back one day and asked about the purchase he did a couple of months ago, then you know what they did? They got him to be the new face of this brand and also it's mobile division called MOVE. Isn't that just fate happening? =)

The executives were more than glad to actually have Jake Cuenca be part of their family. Since they are young, bold and still trying to penetrate the local market, they see it apt to get a person with the same characteristics as their TV's, Android Mobile Phones and Tablets. Pretty soon they even told us that Jake would eventually be involved in design as his name will also be included in one or more products this coming year. This is the start of something big and to get seen, they have over 100 buses in Metro Manila carrying the brand with Jake Cuenca representing them as MOVE and MY|VIEW taps what it considers the start of something BIG.

I got to see what they have for the MY|VIEW TV's and saw some 32inch LED ones costing onl Php10,995. The 40 inch LED TV on the other hand costs around Php15,995 while the 40inch Smart LED TV costs only Php19,995, mind you these would probably cost hundreds of thousands of pesos if it's from other brands. These quality sets have about the same amount of specs and you don't need to shell out that much for it. They also have other sizes like the 42 inch at 24,995, the 24 inch at 6,995, the 42 inch at 19,995 and the 32 inch at 11,995 pesos. You just have to choose what fits your room and get some of these screens at a fraction of a cost!

Their MOVE Tablets on the other hand range from Php3,995 to Php7,995 which are all Android based. Their PLAY by MOVE gaming console is also a hit with the kids who want to get serious with gaming. These are just a few of their products available at all leading appliance establishments nationwide! It's also seen in Lazada.com.ph if you wish to purchase these online instead!

Congratulations to MY|VIEW and MOVE for this successful partnership with Jake Cuenca. I'm sure your brand will go places! Continue to improve lives of your customers by creating simple, high quality and user friendly products! I'll get one of those LED TV sets soon, can I be your next model perhaps? LOL!