TV ad banks on punning Poe’s name

Citing what she has learned from her parents, actors Fernando Poe Jr. and Susan Roces, about serving other people, Team PNoy senatorial candidate Grace Poe discusses what she’s going to do in the Senate if she gets elected on May 13. Video by Ryan Leagogo/INQUIRER.net

Recall is the name of the game.

This measure of advertising effectiveness seems to be working for senatorial candidate Grace Poe, who is a leading contender from the administration coalition Team PNoy senatorial slate.

Poe has found a following among the young with her “Tao Po” television ad, a 30-second simple yet cleverly scripted video that used her surname in place of po and opo, the traditional Filipino words that denote respect for the elderly.

“I’ve gotten so much negative comments on the Internet because the ad was full of ‘Poe’ for name recall. But then when I go out, the kids are like [calling me] ‘Grace Poe!’” said the candidate, who took on her father’s name in place of her married name, Llamanzares, to boost her campaign.

“I said if only these kids could vote, I’m already a winner. And I will tell them, ‘Tell your mother and father to vote for me, OK?’” said Poe, laughing at her recollection during a recent interview with Inquirer editors and reporters.

Whether it’s annoying or amusing, the ad, which shows the candidate in a house visit with two enthusiastic and very polite supporters (Grace Poe? Tuloy Poe!), has seemed to make “The (Action) King’s” daughter a household name all her own.

Her Poe pun has even made its way into text messaging, where some would use Poe instead of the regular po and opo, sounding very much like the cyberdialect jejemon.

She said the idea behind the ad came from the same advertising man who made her father’s beer advertisements decades ago (she refused to name the originator on record).

The ad has even spawned a parody on the online video-sharing site YouTube, featuring the character “Grace Poehh” in a similar house visit scene.