(Updated April 7, 2021; 3:12 p.m.) A famous local bakeshop joined the Filipino brands that released odd commercials—this time with an advocacy against ageism.
Julie’s Bakeshop released the commercial on Monday as part of its 40th anniversary. It seeks to stop shaming titas or older women.
“Fresh at 40 pa rin! Kabahan na ang mga Tita shamer diyan. Sige kayo, sumbong namin kayo kay Tita Julie! #JuliesFreshAt40,” the caption read.
The advertisement follows two middle-aged women in colorful sports outfits working out at a local gym.
A man of noticed them and started mocking them, saying: “Kaya pala amoy liniment dito.”
He then followed it up with another remark: “Tita, dahan-dahan lang yung kyutiks niyo baka masira. Mamamalengke ka pa”
Another woman, playing the role of Tita Julie came in and stopped the man.
Tita Julie turned the man into dough and baked him into pan de sal, a common bread roll in the Philippines.
The dough of the man had human eyes and mouth. He was also still laughing and talking during the baking process.
After baking, Tita Julie showed them the baked pan de sal and said: “Dati, abs lang niya ang pan de sal. Ngayon, buong katawan na. Kaya stop tita shaming.”
The commercial ended with the rest of the characters eating the bread and Tita Julie was shown working out.
So far, the video advertisement has earned more than 666,000 views, 22,600 reactions and 15,000 shares on Facebook.
Advertising agency GIGIL was also behind this latest strange advertisement. Other brands they worked with similar promotional materials are Orocan, RC Cola and Mega Tuna.
How the commenters reacted
The comments section on Facebook was also filled with mixed reactions of being surprised, disturbed and finding it funny.
Tita Krissy Achino, Kris Aquino’s popular impersonator and YouTube personality, was among those who praised the team behind the advertisement.
“I agree! #StopTitaShaming!!! Kalurx, di porket tita na kami, limitado na lang ang pwede naming gawin. Hahaha!” Achino wrote.
An online user made a suggestion for lines on the advertisement of the bakeshop.
“Imbes na ginawa syang pan de sal, sana binigyan na lang sya ng pandesal ng mga titang binully nya tapos bumait na yung guy. Para din ipakita sa kabataan ang kasabihan na ‘pag binato ka ng bato, batuhin mo rin ng tinapay,’” the user commented.
One Facebook user also noticed that the eyes and mouth resemble another popular animated character.
“I’m only a tad delighted they came up with this since this is just undeniably too similar to Annoying Orange,” the user said.
Inspiration behind ‘no to tita shaming’ ad
Bakeshop founder Julie Gandionco‘s life story is proof that women can achieve anything at 40 and beyond, according to Marc San Juan, National Marketing Head of Julie’s Bakeshop.
“When you say ‘Tita,’ it doesn’t automatically mean you’re talking about women who are stuffy and formal. Titas can be cool and very dynamic. Our founder, Mrs. Julie Gandionco, was already in her 50s when she decided to start her own bakeshop. Now it’s grown to a network of more than 450 stores all over the Philippines,” San Juan said.
He added that the bakeshop vows to continue serving its customers amid future challenges.
“We at Julie’s are proud and humbled to continue serving our customers amidst all the challenges we’ve experienced. Our 40th year is a testament that as long as we continue to grow and delight our customers, we will succeed. It’s our mission to continuously feed every Filipino neighborhood, not only with its favorite breads, but with opportunities as well,” he said.