JOLLY TIME AT JOLLITOWN

 

 

The image of Jollibee brings back to mind a series of happy memories from childhood. To many, birthday parties at Jollibee are considered a luxury treat. My daughter vividly remembers her own Jollibee party from 4 years back. At the time, she was still two years old and could not properly enunciate the bee’s name any better than “Abadee.” It was in my daughter’s party that I discovered how much of Jollibee’s dance skills have evolved since the last time I saw him perform. He can now dance to all kinds of beat, be it techno, pop, RnB, house, etc. --- with batting eyelashes to boot.

 

Nowadays, despite the influx of global brands in the local scene, Jollibee still leads the pack, not only for its selection of comfort food, but for the values the brand fosters among its audience through multi-media marketing.  Not only does Jollibee relate to Filipinos when it comes to flavor and taste. Their popularity runs on the culture of family. They reach out to speak to the “kid inside of us,” making Jollibee one of the most lovable mascots of all ages.

 

Their brand ambassadors have become household names in the same way that their TV advertisements have become powerful and effective stimuli, especially with the way children relate to and converse with adults. Who can ever forget the line, “Mommy, nawawala si Jennifer?”

 

Aside from the multi-awarded TV commercials, Jollibee also adapted a couple other marketing tools to get more involvement from the community. In 2008, they introduced an educational TV show starring their own gang of mascots and selected talents. The show focuses on playing and learning, highlighting values such as teamwork, friendship, family, healthy habits, and caring for the environment. The TV show became popular among kids and moms alike, and garnered multiple awards from different sections in the society.

 

Now on its 6^th season, the show promises more interaction with their episodes taped in the presence of a live audience. Jollibee Kids Club members get to experience what it’s like to be in Jollitown, and, at the same time, play with Jollibee and friends. Other highlights include new songs and dance steps, storytelling, educational segments, colorful animation, and, as always, exciting new characters.

  

To launch the 6^th season, the company gave an exclusive preview of the first episode for members of the Davao media. To give the media a glimpse of what the audience can expect from the new set of episodes, the Jollibee marketing team prepared a number of games for both adults and children. Jollibee himself came and joined in the fun with his friends namely, Hetty, Popo, Yum, and Twirlie.

 

It was one of those rare moments that people get to see all the mascots together in one event. You can just imagine the crowd of guests anxiously waiting for a photo opportunity with the mascots. That crowd included me, my daughter, and my boyfriend. As a mother, I couldn’t let such opportunity pass without my daughter getting a photo with each of the character --- all of them if possible. My excitement and constant prodding must have irritated my daughter because, by the time we finished her solo shots with each of the mascot, she gave me the look of annoyance and embarrassment when I insisted that she should also get a photo with the complete cast. I shrugged off her “makuha ka sa tingin” threats and dragged her along with me for a group photo with the cast. Even dads and moms jumped in the scene and pleaded to have their own time with the mascots.

 

At the end of the activity, Bea Tempongko from Jollibee Marketing shared a couple more details on the top-rated show. “Jollitown continues to improve over the years. The season 5 of Jollitown generated an average rating of 4.51 among kids between 2 to 6 years old, and an average rating of 3.29 among moms. Along with its impressive numbers, Jollitown remains the top of mind choice of moms when it comes to shows for kids. We invite everyone to join our adventure with Jollibee as we launch the new season of Jollitown this coming July 20. Tune in to GMA every Saturday, from 8:40 am to 9:15 am, and catch all 13 episodes.”

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Story published on my newspaper column, Metro Mom.

A1, INdulge, Edge Davao, Vol. 6 Issue 89, 17 July 2013.