MANILA – In this age of social media, when we see the word “share,” it is often associated with statuses, videos, photos, or bits of news that we see online. Previous definitions of the word had more altruistic connotations, and these have been seemingly subverted in recent times.
To that end, insurance company Manulife and J. Walter Thompson Manila wanted to remind people the real meaning of what it means to share, particularly at Christmas.
The ‘#ShareForReal’ campaign shines a light on three individuals: Wilfredo Dador, an artist at the COD Christmas display at the Greenhills Shopping Center; Erlinda Amaybay, a bibingka maker since 1999; and John Perez, a maker of parols or Christmas lanterns. Each of them works long hours to earn a living for their loved ones. Wilfredo acts like a Santa Claus to his neighbors, several people rely on Erlinda so she can’t take any kind of vacation, and John’s daughter suffers from asthma.
As these three were featured in a series of videos on Manulife’s Facebook page, they asked netizens to share their Christmas wishes for the trio using the hashtag ‘#ShareForReal.’ The agency and company then turned those shared posts into actual presents. Presented to Wilfredo, Erlinda, and John by Manulife endorsers Richard Yap and Sarah Geronimo, the gifts were the company’s way of showing appreciation and gratitude to people not looking for any credit or acknowledgement of any kind.
“This campaign is close to our team’s heart,” says J. Walter Thompson CCO Dave Ferrer. “As we all know, Christmas is a special season in the country and to get that chance to give back to those who go through great lengths to make it special for all of us, is an opportunity in itself to share for real.”
For her part, Manulife SVP and Chief Marketing Officer Mel Henson notes, ““Our vision at Manulife is to help people achieve their dreams and aspirations. We hope to help people start the stories they’ve always wanted to begin. Christmas is a time of year that captures many themes that make up Filipinos’ dreams – family, community, hope. And so, this year, we decided to launch an initiative that would help a few deserving individuals achieve some of their hopes and aspirations during this festive season.”
“In partnership with JWT, we introduced Share For Real,” Henson adds. “Through this campaign, we encouraged Filipinos to be enablers for these chosen individuals to start some of the stories they’ve always wanted to begin. We’re pleased to be working with JWT to bring this campaign to life. It is the perfect Christmas message to complement our Start Your Story brand campaign.”
