Jejomar Binay
Binay, always taunted for his dark skin, short stature and alleged corruption, used all the criticisms against him to his advantage. By portraying himself as the victim of poverty, bullying and unfounded accusations, Binay ingratiated himself to the masses of Filipino voters. Analyzed here are the “Only Binay” video jingle and the Bullet Train advertisement -- both of which consistently show Binay as the time-tested, effective, and true representative of the Filipino people. That message begs the question, however: Who is the Filipino anyway? He succinctly answers this in the Bullet Train ad:
Sino ba talagang nagpapahalaga sa buhay natin? Sino ba talagang tumulong at patuloy na tutulong sa atin? Hindi ba yung presidenteng nognog, pandak at laki rin sa hirap ang maghahatid sa atin tungo sa ginhawa?
Jejomar Binay characterized the public -- his target audience -- and projected himself as one of them. He was poor and continues to be downtrodden and wrongfully criticized, just like his target voters. Despite all that, he was able to rise above the circumstances and help his fellow man. He knows the people, he understands them, and he can help them. That is the message.
With the ads emphasizing free services like in health and education given supposedly by Binay, it can be deduced that he is catering to the lower classes, the majority of the population. In all scenes, Binay is surrounded and warmly welcomed particularly by the urban poor.
Actually, both commercials try to somehow catch all the possible voters from the lower class by showing different types of people such as senior citizens, teachers, students, and people with disability. At every point of the video, Binay would take actions to answer their needs like affordable healthcare, education and high quality infrastructures. His use of a campaign jingle is also highly indicative of the kind of market he was trying to appealing to. In line with being memorable and entertaining, the tune was simple, catchy and happy -- possibly hinting at the good life Binay can give.
It is further worth-noting that children are always present in his advertisements. They come as students who have benefitted from his services, as babies being introduced by their parents to Binay, or as children being lovingly carried in the arms of Binay himself. These imageries -- childrens as symbols for innocence and hope -- are associated to Binay as the ultimate sign of the people’s trust in him to take care of society.
This image of hope was expounded on by the use of the bullet train in the second advertisement. Binay, while firmly holding a child in his arms yet again, ushers a poor family to ride this modern development. The use of the train was a great reminder of the horrible metrorail transit system Filipinos have to put up with everyday. This new train allows people to visualize how much of a grand and direct impact Binay can supposedly give to the people in easing their suffering if he is elected president. At the same time, the great speed of the bullet train plus the views the passengers see while on-board the train give the impression of fast development and how bright the future can be with Binay. In terms of the setting, it could be noted both campaign advertisements was always either at dawn or in the morning which could signify hope, new beginnings or change for the audience.
