A commercial of a homegrown fast food chain is evoking comments with “hugot” or remarks tied to emotional experiences from the past, usually romance-related, with its concept.
Jollibee on Sunday shared a television commercial on its Facebook page which featured a man named “Wil” trying on a leather jacket at a department store that costs more than P20,000.
The high price discouraged him to buy the item and made him wonder if it was made from a dinosaur’s skin, has special powers, or will make him look like an actor, among others.
At one point, “Wil” turned to Joshua Garcia, actor and the ambassador of the fast food chain.
However, the saleslady didn’t respond to any of his comments and he was left to surrender the jacket.
“Thank you na lang, miss. Gusto ko lang naman sumaya,” Wil said dejectedly.
A voice-over then exclaimed that happiness does not have to cost a lot.
“‘Di dapat mahal maging masaya! Mag-JolliSavers ka!” it quipped.
JolliSavers refer to the fast food chain’s classic and affordable bestsellers, namely the Yumburger or beef patty with special dressing, the sweet Jolly Spaghetti, the beefy and saucy Burger Steak and the toppings-filled Jolly Hotdog.
All of them can be delivered via the Jollibee Delivery App, through its website, through hotline (#87000) and through GrabFood and Foodpanda. It is also available in branch drive-thrus and take-outs.
The advertisement was shared by online entertainment platform FFTM, where it gained more views and comments from some “hugot”-loving Filipinos.
“Kumain din naman ako niyan dati pero ba’t ‘di naman ako minahal? I mean, sumaya pala. Lol,” a Facebook user quipped with a grinning face-with-sweatdrop emoji.
“Mas masaya pa din kung mahal ka din niya,” another online user quipped with “hugot” in response to the advertisement.
“Dapat mahal ka din niya para mas masaya. Ganern,” shared a different user with a rolling-on-the-floor laughing emoji.
Others admitted to craving items from the fast food chain following the commercial.
“Makapag-Jollibee na lang sa b-day ko. Gusto ko lang sumaya,” a Facebook user wrote.
“(Redacted) mag-Jollibee ka, hindi mahal ang maging masaya hahahahaahaha,” another online user wrote, tagging a friend.
Hugot 101
“Hugot” is a term that literally refers to drawing out or pulling out something from within but in contemporary talk, it is described as “to draw a feeling out of a certain, often negotiated, place or memory,” according to ANCX.
It has been used to describe a concept of heartache or something related to failed love.
An example of this is hearing “hugot” lines from romance movies like “That Thing Called Tadhana” and “One More Chance.”
“These movies have built up so much of what we now know as the hugot culture. They have accomplished a great deal, mainly by tugging at the Filipino heartstrings and appealing to our emotions,” a piece from Candy Magazine reads.
“‘Digging deep’ may be all that it takes to get over heartbreak and bitter romances, and upon hearing Angelica Panganiban mourn over her character’s heartbreak, or seeing John Lloyd Cruz portray a sobbing Popoy, we can’t help but feel them tie-in with our personal lives,” it added.