ONE of the sectors badly hit by the pandemic was entertainment. For a time, everything was at a standstill. There were no tapings, shooting or live shows.
This is why stars, like Nikko Natividad, Jerome Ponce and Dave Bornea are very grateful to producers and directors who come up with projects because that means work for them.
“I’m just happy to be working,” said Natividad in Filipino. “It was fun being with this group,” said Bornea. It was Ponce’s first time to do a comedy as he is usually given roles in dramas and while everything was so different for him, he still had fun.
The three young actors are in GVBOYS: Pangmalakasang Good Vibes, Puregold Channel’s first digital series and the newest addition to the exciting roster of shows. The channel was conceptualized as a means to provide quality entertainment to millions of Filipino families staying at home because of the pandemic.
“The difference between the old way of old way of taping for shows and the new way is that this time, we’re locked-in [everybody involved is in one location until the taping is over], so we have more time to discuss our show among ourselves. We also got to bond with each other, and I think that chemistry can be seen on-screen,” said Don Cuaresma, who directed GVBOYS which starts streaming for free on July 10 at 7 pm on Puregold’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. The show also stars Wilma Doesnt, Elsa Droga and Carmi Martin. Interestingly, Martin was a mainstay of the sitcom Chicks to Chicks in the 1980s and GVBOYS was patterned after the sitcoms of the 1990s, including Palibhasa Lalaki.
“The concept for the show came from Vincent Co [Purehold Price Club Inc. president], who wanted millennials to see what entertained us in the 1990s,” said Cuaresma.
GVBOYS is Puregold Channel’s first digital series and the newest addition to its exciting roster of shows. Since the channel’s launch late last year, the supermarket giant has come up with engaging content for people of all ages. The content includes the game show Playtime Panalo with Luis Manzano, the talk show Sabado Bago Live cohosted by Boy Abunda and Gretchen Ho, and the stand-up comedy The Ha Ha Hour hosted by Alex Calleja.
APPLIANCE BRAND TAKES BIG STEP TOWARD SUSTAINABILITY
EUROPEAN appliance brand Beko and its parent company Arçelik held a virtual showcase of its eco-friendly appliances last week with Arçelik CEO Hakan Bulgurlu, CMO Zeynep Yalım Uzun and CCO Ragıp Balcıoğlu. “Our goals in sustainability and our leading efforts in innovation are two great parts of the same whole. Their evolution depends on each other. It is up to us to find better, more environmentally conscious ways of conducting our lives. With a series of eco-friendly Beko appliances, customers can now fully equip a sustainable home,” said Bulgurlu.
During the launch, Beko also bared the results of a survey it conducted across six countries in Europe on people’s attitudes and concerns about sustainability. The survey was conducted among 1,800 people in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain.
A vast majority (UK 88 percent, IT 88 percent, ES 87 percent, DE 84 percent, FR 78 percent, PL 74 percent) of those surveyed said they felt it was their personal responsibility to make a difference by minimizing waste, water and energy use in their daily lives. The number of people thinking it was down to others, such as the government or business, or who think that they can’t make a difference, was negligible.
The study showed the respondents saw human environmental damage as the most critical threat to a sustainable planet by all respondents, followed by the plastic issue, then infectious diseases. Other areas of concern were extreme weather, followed by natural disasters, natural resource crises, biodiversity loss, food waste and water stress.
Most of the respondents said they practice sustainability at home by recycling.
“It’s encouraging that people want to be doing the right thing for the environment and believe that their actions can make an impact. Price itself has a significant impact on buying behavior. At Beko, we are passionate about democratizing technology, making it affordable and ensuring that as many as possible have access to it. By making sustainability a business model and integrating it into everything we do, we strive to reduce human environmental damage through developing high-performance, durable, affordable home appliances that are also eco-friendly. Beko’s brand purpose is empowering future generations to live healthier lives—which is only possible by living more sustainably and working towards a healthier planet,” said Gürhan Günal, country manager of Beko Pilipinas Corp.
The seven sustainable products unveiled during the showcase are a washing machine/washer dryer, oven, tumble dryer, refrigerator, espresso coffee maker and dishwasher, all designed and created to help consumers reduce their impact on the environment. The appliances have parts that are made from recycled materials and bio-composites. One product, the dishwasher, helps reduce the use of chemicals.