NINOY GOES HIP The hero’s trademark eyeglasses connect to the text generation the better for the young and restless to see the country with the Ninoy, clear-eyed vision.
‘iamninoy’: History made fresh for the young By Jocelyn Uy Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 04:47:00 08/21/2008
MANILA, Philippines—It’s history made fresh for the young.
Opposition leader Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. may be long dead, but his trademark retro glasses will hopefully inspire young Filipinos to view their country through his eyes.
Beginning Thursday—exactly 25 years after his assassination—Aquino’s heroism will be told beyond the history books seldom read, the many stone-cold monuments built in his honor, or even the P500 bill.
Now, his memory will be emblazoned on shirts sold by some popular local brands, on billboards along the capital’s major avenues, on television, in the newspapers and on the Internet.
All these are part of the “iamninoy” project, a bold initiative launched by the Benigno Aquino Jr. Foundation to ingrain the man’s spirit and values within pop culture, thus making the effort appealing to young Filipinos especially those between the ages of 25 and 30.
The “iamninoy” collectible merchandise—mostly clothes, eyewear and sports gear—will bear an image of Aquino’s eyeglasses as the campaign icon.
“The idea is to inspire young Filipinos to look at where we are now and what is it that we need to change in ourselves, so in the process we can change the country,” Raphael Lopa, executive director of the foundation, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in an interview.
“It’s seeing the country in Ninoy’s eyes,” Lopa said.
Buying trend
After consulting with the ad agency McCann Erickson in May, the foundation decided to ride the buying trend of the young Filipinos of today.
“Young people want to buy things [and] we thought that if they buy a Ninoy shirt, they may be inspired to claim ownership of his values and beliefs, his fight for freedom and justice,” Lopa said.
But the merchandise, he pointed out, would be just an entry point to making Aquino familiar to Filipinos too young to remember the fateful day that influenced the course of Philippine history.
On Aug. 21, 1983, Aquino, a former senator and opposition leader during Ferdinand Marcos’ dictatorship, was shot and killed at the then Manila International Airport on his return from self-exile in the United States.
The framed-up assassin, identified as Rolando Galman, was killed by soldiers acting as Aquino’s escorts on his homecoming. But theories of a conspiracy involving the Marcos dictatorship linger.
‘A Ninoy in us’
According to Lopa, the project seeks to “bring Ninoy to a new dimension to make the young want to know more about him and research about him in books or the Web.”
The merchandise is one way of motivating young Filipinos to discover or rekindle their desire to change the country in their own small ways, Lopa said, adding:
“The young people today want to do something for the country but they just don’t know exactly what it is or how. We want them to realize that there is a Ninoy in each one of us.”
Aquino was aware of the dangers that confronted him, yet still decided to return to the Philippines.
He had been warned that he would be assassinated or clapped back in jail, but his answer was: “If it’s my fate to die by an assassin’s bullet, so be it. But I cannot be petrified by inaction, or fear of assassination, and therefore stay in the corner...” Said Lopa: “With this campaign, we want the young people to see the country and [its] problems and create a full experience of having to make a very important choice, like what Ninoy did, [that may eventually change] the destiny of our country.”
Bono, Armstrong
The “iamninoy” project was inspired by rock star and activist Bono, who launched “Project Red” in 2006 to fight HIV and AIDS in Africa, and bicycle racer Lance Armstrong for his “Livestrong” campaign to help people with cancer live healthy lives.
The two men partnered with several companies to offer products under their respective campaigns to raise funds for their causes.
Copyright 2008 Philippine Daily Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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