Kids really do say the darndest things!

By now, you probably have seen Juliana’s Baby Bench and Purefoods Hotdog ads being aired on TV. When the Bench ad concept was initially broached to us, Richard and I had no second thoughts. We immediately said yes. How could we not? It would be reminiscent of the very first one Richard did for the same company years ago at age 25. Little did he know that 12 years later, his own two-year-old daughter would be doing the very same thing, not in a vast body of water but in a kiddie pool instead.

The ad was shot on location at the Alabang Clubhouse. Prior to that, the director Jorge Schifferer thought it best to make Juliana and the baby handlers meet and play so that Juliana would get past her initial shyness and be comfortable with Tita Lolot and Tita Piso come shooting day. They simulated the movements she would be required to do all under an atmosphere of fun and play.

People from advertising always say that the two hardest subjects to work with are children and animals – for obvious reasons. Both will go the way they want to, most of the time at least. They are more in control of adults (especially strangers) than the other way around, that is, when it comes to receiving and following instructions.

I had to go to DOLE to secure and comply with all the necessary requirements and documents. Any parent would be happy to know that they provide very strict guidelines and conditions when the employed is a minor. The child’s needs always come first and this is respected and strictly adhered to by everybody involved in the production even on the day of the shoot, with or without the prying eyes of DOLE representatives. The child’s naptime is observed and wherever the shoot is, there is a clean, well-ventilated and quiet area prepared for her to sleep and relax in, complete with a sleeping mat and kiddie toys.

Everything went well on the day of the shoot. Both Richard and I were with Juliana and we both took turns coaxing her and encouraging her. With children, I have noticed that the more generous adults are with praise, the more they will live up to be worthy of that praise. Like a real pro, she would smile and try her best to row on cue and when she no longer wanted to repeat the movements, Tita Lolot and Tita Piso were quick to come up with tactics that made everything she had to do seem like one big game. Being a daddy’s girl she also absolutely demanded that her daddy is in the pool with her the whole time. So on the final cut, when she seems to be rowing by her lonesome her daddy was actually on one end of the oar with Lolot on the other one to help her with the motion. I guess it also helped that there were a lot of familiar faces – her ninang Caren, the Bench family; ninong Ben and Tito Miguel, ninong Dougs, Tita Christine, and Tito Jojo. Call time was at 8 a.m. and we finished well before 6 p.m. Incidentally, what makes the ad so melancholic is that they used the same background music that they did for the one Richard did years ago.

As for the Purefoods Hotdog ad that Juliana and I did, that was relatively more tricky simply because she actually had speaking lines. As we well know, it will necessitate more than just a few takes to make everything TV perfect. In addition to that the storyboard required her to say "hotdog" more than just one time. The first few takes were OK but with each retake she found the action too much of a routine and she started either playing with the props, tweaking my nose or wiggling out of the set. And then Jojo Atienza (the assistant director) and again, Tita Lolot had a bright idea. They decided to act like two sleeping logs in front of Juliana and the only time they would open their eyes would be when she says "hotdog" as loudly and happily as she possibly could. Juliana, in her little mind, I guess felt "powerful" and so much in control. Here were two adults she could manipulate with just one magic word – "hotdog." She got even better at it when Jojo and Lolot started to dance and laugh (simultaneously at that) like true-blue cartoon characters. Later on though, the novelty again wore off and a golden break later on came in the form of Warren. He was a chubby boy, all of five years old who had a part in the commercial. If you look at the ad he was the boy seated on a swing, happily eating a hotdog on a stick.

Juliana loves kids and she’s always fascinated by them. Desperate for that one perfect shot, we asked Warren to stay on the set, within full view of Juliana. We quickly whispered to him that for the meantime his name would be "hotdog" and that each time Juliana calls out the word, he has to awaken and dance like any-thing. Quick on the take, Warren did just that with well-placed and well-timed enthusiasm. He would pretend to be asleep, all the while smiling happily and on cue would dance and shake his body away. And right there the director, Sockie Fernandez had the shots that she needed. So if you see Juliana’s eyes twinkling and shining brightly each time she says "hotdog" know that little Warren is responsible for it. She adored him so much she looked for him the moment she woke up from her afternoon nap. She wanted him to stay longer but Warren begged off, telling Juliana, "Punta pa ako sa mall Juliana, eh."

Meanwhile, she probably really thinks "hotdog" is some magical command because to this day she uses it to get her way. If she wants me to do something for her, like read a book or stand up on bed and dance with her, she calls out "hotdog!" And always, always we indulge her–it has become sort of a game for us. It is her habit to wake either Richard or me up as soon as she does in the mornings and once, she had probably been trying to do so for quite some time–in vain–because I was awakened by a loud "hotdog" on my ear. As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw a look of smug satisfaction on her face that read "woke you mom, didn’t I?"

Truth be told, when we had a meeting with the agency people prior to signing up with them, we had nary an idea what brand we were looking at. Richard kept on calling me on my mobile – he couldn’t seem to remind me enough that I had better make sure it would be a superior brand we would be endorsing. I was so happy when it was disclosed later on in the evening that it was Purefoods TJ Hotdogs. How much better can that get? My sister, my brothers and I grew up with TJ hotdogs and no birthday was ever without it on the table. As we would say in Bisaya back then until now, "lami kaayo" (it’s delicious)!

Let me close by sharing with you an anecdote about Juliana. She was talking to Richard’s mom over the phone, her Lola Stella who now resides in San Diego and she kept on repeating over and over again "I love you Lola Stella, I miss you Lola Stella." Mommy Stella later on told me that she told Juliana not to call her lola but mama instead. To this Juliana replied, "That’s ridiculous, said the mother," which if you must know is actually a line from one of her favorite children’s books. Kids really do say the darndest things.