Ain't no shame in party games

I think it’s safe to say that we’re all suckers for party games. Admittedly, there’s always that initial bit of reluctance — no one wants to be the first to pick up the microphone and sing, or be part of musical chairs. Conversely, when things do get started, everyone gets in the mood and begin falling in line to bob for apples.

The word “suckers” cannot be more apt because from the get go, we all know that sooner or later we are going to take part in the games, and with gusto at that. That little bit of shyness is thrown out the window, along with any bit of humiliation (which usually goes hand in hand with these sort of affairs.) The party give-aways and knick-knacks seem to have a part in dulling that particular brand of embarrassment, if there even really is any.

Although we are required to act our age, this rule should not discount the fact that inside us is still lives that little kid that, at one time, enjoyed “musical chairs” and “bring me” games. So given suitable conditions, the appropriate situation, and when the time calls for it, we can still enjoy ourselves as we did when we were much younger.

In celebrating the launch of a new entrée, a dessert, and brand campaign, Jollibee threw a “Jolly Fun Fair” at their branch along Ortigas Avenue in Greenhills, complete with party gimmicks and take home prizes. Games included the ring toss, the “Wheel of Steak,” the “Ice Craze Dance Challenge,” and “Singing the Yummy Song.” As expected, things started slowly and people were shy at first. But I guess the kids inside everyone began to get excited, and before we knew it, we were singing, dancing, and doing things that might have looked awkward in any other situation.

Jollibee has always been at the forefront of the Filipino fast food business. One of the reasons this is so is because it is always reinventing and adding to its menu. The Jolly Fun Fair launched a new burger steak, the Jollibee Steak a la Pobre, which is a regular burger steak, topped with a butter-garlic sauce and sprinkled with crunchy garlic bits. It is a welcome alternative to the regular mushroom gravy burger steak variant.

The popular Filipino fast food chain also launched a new dessert to battle the summer heat (although it has been raining a lot lately). Aside from the new and improved Ube Cheesy Magic Ice Craze, another selection was added with the introduction of the Mango Caramel Surprise Ice Craze, complete with tangy mango chunks and melted caramel. Both can be enjoyed with an optional vanilla ice cream twirl on top, just to make them that much better.

Jollibee also launched their new commercial and their new product endorsers, Parokya ni Edgar, who composed a new jingle for them about the Yum Burger. The Yum Burger has been the flagship sandwich of Jollibee since it first opened, and it has grown and evolved with several generations of Filipinos. It is the burger of Juan dela Cruz. Parokya ni Edgar’s jingle is a testament to the Yum Burger being the one and only langhap sarap burger that Filipinos can, and have, truly identified with over the years.

This Jolly Fun Fair, aside from being a promotion for its new products and endorsements, reminded attendees that situations in life have to be taken easy sometimes. We can learn so many lessons from kids, and one of those things is to let go sometimes, to have no shame, and to live life just because. For a couple of hours that day, we all felt a bit younger.

As we get older we notice things like pretensions, egos, and embarrassment. I think that life would be much easier if we paid less attention to these things and instead tried to pop balloons with darts. Literally.

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Try to catch the new Jollibee commercial featuring Parokya ni Edgar on local TV. And try the new Burger Steak, I recommend it.

E-mail me at enricomiguelsubido@yahoo.com