A hotdog day afternoon

It’s hip, it’s hot and best of all, it’s true to young people’s taste. A most absorbing study shows that among its most loyal patrons are young children and teenagers. What else could we talking about but the new Moby hotdog? Yes, the hotdog (that is, the old Moby hotdog of Campo Carne) you see in supermarket shelves has been taken back to the research lab and reinvented to make hotdog addicts out of teens and teens-at-heart. Proud of its culinary work, food and beverage giant San Miguel Corporation, San Miguel Purefoods and Purefoods-Hormel threw a party (and what a blast it was!) last June 11 at StreetLife in Glorietta, Makati to launch their newest product. The big hotdog bash was attended by members of the San Miguel Purefoods family as well as some Purefoods players led by hot fave Alvin Patrimonio.

In tune with the MTV craze among today’s teens, organizers called the party "The 2003 mHD Music Awards." As Reggie Baylosis, Purefoods-Hormel director for marketing, explains, "It’s a celebration of good things that are made even better through time." He adds that with the new Moby hotdog, music has gone from being audible to edible. The companies also aim to be at the trade forefront with regard to both wet market and supermarket areas.

Letting us sink our teeth into this new product, Reggie explains that the new Moby hotdog was made with the teens in mind. The hotdog experts tried to find out what it was exactly that made something taste good to teenagers. They found out that no hotdog has been suited to the teens’ often discriminating tastes or preferences ... until Moby came along, of course! It took them six months to develop the perfect hotdog.

It’s the hotdog that’s true to teens’ taste – teens who are not afraid to express themselves, and be true to themselves.

Aware of the fact that today’s teens are becoming more and more health-conscious, the hotdog people made sure that their product was as delicious as it was nutritious – Moby is loaded with protein. More, it’s as attractive to the taste buds as it is to the budget (a 500g pack costs only P69 while a kilo costs only P115). Reggie also recommends that Moby hotdog is best eaten grilled or barbecued.

And so, everyone partied to their hearts’ content as the night rocked on with Myx VJ Heart Evangelista as host. First off, Heart gave out the Fan of the Night award to the early birds who arrived at the party scene as early as 5:45 p.m. (the texted invite said 6 p.m.). A prize was also given to the jazziest and funkiest costume. The awarding done, the Purefoods-Hormel marketing group took center stage with a groovy dance number to the bouncy song Jenny from the Block as their peers cheered them on. A music video contest followed, where the key accounts and wet market groups competed in filling in the missing words of the songs flashed on the screen. After a couple of tie-breakers, the wet market group finally emerged the victors. After a short break, awards were given to the Hunk of the Night and the Babe of the Night. An mHD Dance Challenge followed immediately as the key accounts group beat the wet market group to even the score. To let everyone catch their breath from all the pulse-racing excitement, Crazy Kyle, DJ Mike and a member of the Brown Beat All Stars went up the stage to give a number.

And finally, the moment everybody waited (and came) for: The new Moby hotdog was introduced on the screen as some really cool gals and guys materialized from backstage with huge plates in hand, sending a delicious whiff of hotdog across the fully-packed room. Surely, there was more than enough hotdog to go around. As everyone settled down to have his/her fill of hotdogs, there was more dancing on stage. To further rev up the evening, four-time MVP Alvin Patrimonio announced the grand raffle winner of a brand-new DVD player, Gloria Cudala of SM supermarkets. After that, two women from the Miriam College basketball team and two guys from the Purefoods team were pitted against each other for a dance showdown. Purefoods’ Billy Mamaril and Jenkins Messina got the judges’ nod.

As the night wore on, there was more good music, more fun – and more hotdogs. Everyone tried to be true to himself/herself, just like the new Moby hotdog campaign urged them.

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E-mail me at ice_wave_42@yahoo.com.