Ay ambot! Meet Brownie, Beauty & Bruno

MANILA, Philippines - Brownie: “Beauty, akala ko ba virgin ka pa. Bakit sabi mo mahal mo ako?”

 Beauty: “Ikaw talaga ang mahal ko, Brownie. Yung iba mga customer lang yon!”

 Voice-over: “Joke yon? Ay ambot! (Canned laughter follows).

Bruno: “Beauty, spell ambulance.” Beauty: “A-M-B-U…” Bruno: “Bilisan mo! WANG WANG WANG! (Ambulance siren heard).

Brownie: “Beauty, lagi tayo nag-aaway maghiwalay na tayo!” Beauty: “Sige, maghiwalay na tayo. Maghatian tayo ng mga anak.” Brownie: “Sa akin ang mga guapo at maganda.” Beauty: “Sus! Pinili pa ang hindi sa kanya!”

These jokes and many others, featuring the voice talents Brownie, Beauty and Bruno, with their inimitable Visayan accents and pronunciations, are heard daily over YESfm Manila. They have aided greatly in the popularity of the station, which now claims to be the No. 2 station in the land, second only to Love Radio, a sister station.

It all started in 2007 during a brainstorming session by the station’s Manila team. They thought of giving life to popular text jokes which were circulating publicly, and got three employees of their mother organization — the Manila Broadcasting Company — to be the comic trio.

The 30-second jokes soon became popular, thanks to the distinctly Pinoy brand of humor and the talents’ comic timing.

Brownie is really Hassan Han II, the station’s production assistant who heads various campaigns for the station. “He is a deep thinker and a sensible person,” observes YESfm manager Katrina Golfo. Hassan reworks and edits jokes which come from text messages, e-mails and memos. As Brownie, he is often Beauty’s husband or lover, and sometimes doctor or whatever.

On the other hand, Bruno is Danny Frias, the station’s sound technician, “the hands, brains and ears” behind the productions of YESfm101. His major project now is the TLC Radio Drama Special which airs daily at 1 p.m. As Bruno the funnyman, Danny is often Brownie’s sidekick, compadre or drinking buddy. He has a crackling voice which instantly makes you laugh.

“Beauty, the rose among the two thorns, is the station’s administrative staff,” says Katrina. “She’s from Ormoc City and is such a sweetheart. Her real name is Eva Mesias and we suspect that she has more fans than any of our jocks combined.”

The three attend to their recordings every afternoon, and also have a daily show at 5 a.m.

“Team brainstorming sessions happen frequently and yes, these are intense every time,” notes the station manager. “I would like to think that people know that our outputs are well-thought-out. Feedback? Only great ones! Very proudly, yes, these are helping YESfm Manila’s popularity as our listeners remember the characters and even their punch lines.”

Many of the jokes are often repeated. They now total close to 400, and new ones are always being added. “When I hear a comment saying paulit-ulit, I take it as a compliment,” says Katrina. “It shows you have been listening to us for a long time.”

This month (mid-November), the station will relaunch its website yesfm.com.ph and will feature the best Ay Ambot jokes.

“I feel one of the reasons that make Ambot jokes such a hit is the authenticity of the three,” observes Katrina. “The jokes are fairly simple. Most of the time, we have already heard them someplace else, but because of the three people behind these, they become relatable. Like an old joke becomes funnier when told by a friend.”

She concludes: “I do hope an Ambot joke made you smile.” It did.