Colgate-Palmolive Ads Return to GMA

GMA and Colgate-Palmolive are back together.

Commercials for Colgate and Palmolive quietly resurfaced on the Kapuso network last Sunday, April 5. This marked the first time since 2010 that the consumer products giant made its presence felt on the Kapuso side.

It can be recalled that Colgate and Palmolive products first aired on GMA after some disagreements with long-time partner ABS-CBN regarding ad rates. A few months later, however, CP’s products moved back to ABS-CBN after sales of their products declined during the company’s stint with GMA.

It is unclear why Colgate-Palmolive decided to renew ties with GMA, but it is believed that the former’s endorsement deals with Kapuso stars Carla Abellana and Megan Young (examples below) were a key reason behind the company’s decision to air their ads on GMA.

Despite the return of Colgate and Palmolive ads on the Kapuso network, the former will continue to honor its pre-existing allegiance with ABS-CBN. Considering that there are also Kapamilya talents who endorse Colgate and Palmolive (e.g. Liza Soberano, KC Concepcion), it is only fair for CP to air their commercials on both networks.

Still, it is surprising to see Colgate and Palmolive ads resurface on GMA. After all, they have been so identified with ABS-CBN all these years that rival fans from other networks seem to have forgotten about their products.

But Colgate-Palmolive needs to sell and promote. And adding another network in GMA should help their cause.

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‘Be Careful’ Departs, ‘Give Love on Christmas’ Premieres

So long, Maya and Sir Chief.

After over two years, the ABS-CBN kiligserye ‘Be Careful with My Heart’ finally took a bow earlier today. The series finale featured a scene in Vigan where Maya (Jodi Sta. Maria) and Sir Chief (Richard Yap) reminisced the good times of their relationship, followed by Maya’s surprise 30th birthday and live farewell special.

Thus, for the first time since July 9, 2012, a new program will enter the fray in the pre-noontime slot.

Over the next six weeks, ABS-CBN will air three different stories as part of its ‘Give Love on Christmas’ specials. The first of these stories will run from December 1 to December 12, preceding ‘It’s Showtime’.

‘The Gift Giver’ will be headlined by veteran actor Eddie Garcia, with supporting roles from Aiko Melendez, Dimples Romana, Carlo Aquino, Louise Abuel, Gerald Madrid and Nadine Samonte. Alicia Alonzo will appear in a special role.

In ‘The Gift Giver’, Garcia will play Ernest, whose hope in life was to work hard and sacrifice just to have a complete and joyful family. But the death of his wife Laura (Alonzo) soon took its toll on the relationship between himself and his children, and now Ernest will try to renew ties with the rest of his family just in time for Christmas.

In addition to ‘The Gift Giver’, two other stories will be seen in the ‘Give Love on Christmas’ specials: ‘The Gift of Life’, starring Gerald Anderson and Maja Salvador, and ‘Exchange Gift’, starring Paulo Avelino and KC Concepcion. The two stories will be aired on a still-yet-to-be-determined date.

On the verge of once again earning the tag of ‘Philippines’ No. 1 station’, ABS-CBN rewarded its loyal viewers with an early Christmas bonus. ‘Give Love on Christmas’ will be the last ABS-CBN offering of the year, and it should provide a fitting conclusion to another banner year for the Mother Ignacia-based network.

As Ilustrado Debuts, Ikaw Lamang Departs

A new-look GMA Telebabad premieres this week, while ABS-CBN says goodbye to one of their hits.

The ‘bayani-serye’ ‘Ilustrado’ will make its much-anticipated premiere later tonight. The series will be led by Alden Richards as Jose Rizal and Kylie Padilla as Leonor Rivera, with supporting roles by Solenn Heussaff, Max Collins, Eula Valdez, Jaclyn Jose, Polo Ravales, Ricardo Cepeda, Freddie Webb and Mailes Kanapi.

‘Ilustrado’ will focus less on Rizal’s struggles for Philippine independence and his work on ‘Noli Me Tangere’ and ‘El Filibusterismo’. Instead, it will feature a more human side in the life of the national hero and his fellow reformists, from their relationships to their day-to-day struggles with ordinary citizens.

The premiere of ‘Ilustrado’ should be an interesting one, as it will go up against ‘Two Wives’. The latter series has been on a roll since it debuted last week, and should pose a challenge to the more qualitative and informative ‘Ilustrado’.

Meanwhile, the still-struggling ‘Hiram na Alaala’ will be moved to an earlier timeslot, opposite an ABS-CBN Primetime Bida  teleserye that is about to end this week.

‘Ikaw Lamang’, the period drama that started last March, will bid goodbye on October 24. The series will have two chapters and 162 episodes at the end of its run.

Initially starring Kim Chiu (as Isabelle) Julia Montes (as Mona), Coco Martin (as Samuel) and Jake Cuenca (as Franco), Montes’ character was killed off just as Book 1 was winding down. When Book 2 got underway, Chiu and Martin were now assigned to portray the roles of Gabriel and Andrea, respectively.

Book 2 also featured Amy Austria, Joel Torre and Christopher de Leon as the older Isabelle, Samuel and Franco, while KC Concepcion took on the role of Natalia, daughter of Isabelle and Franco.

‘Ikaw Lamang’ was one of ABS-CBN’s highly-rated teleseryes throughout its run. The show even outlasted its main arch-rival ‘My Destiny’, whose run from June 30 to October 17 came just as the former was at the peak of its success.

That said, it should be interesting to see how ‘Ikaw Lamang’ will fare in its final week against ‘Hiram na Alaala’.  Expect the conclusion of this series to be a highly-anticipated one.

‘Ikaw Lamang’ will be replaced by ‘Forevermore’, starring Enrique Gil and Liza Soberano.

 

Final Week for Mirabella; Lovers in Paris Airs in the Morning

The final episode of ‘Mirabella’ will air this Friday, July 4.

ABS-CBN’s ‘Mirabella’ enters its final week.

Just as GMA is beginning to warm up with the debut of ‘My BFF’ later today, ABS-CBN has decided to pull the plug on Julia Barretto’s debut teleserye. The final episode of ‘Mirabella’ is scheduled this Friday, July 4.

‘Mirabella’, a series that featured Barretto in two contrasting roles, debuted on March 24. The daughter of Marjorie Barretto played Mira, a woman with a strange wood-like skin, and as the series progressed, she morphed into her beautiful alter ego in Bella.

Both characters would later attract the attention of Jeremy, played by Enrique Gil, who soon became the subject of her affection.

In its four months on air, ‘Mirabella’ was unable to maintain the high level of success attained by its predecessor ‘Annaliza’. Nevertheless, the series averaged better than 20% in the TNS Kantar ratings, which is not bad even though it is the lowest-rated teleserye on the ‘Primetime Bida’ block.

However, in the GMA-dominated AGB Nielsen ratings, ‘Mirabella’ only averaged less than 15%, while rival series ‘My Love from the Star’ was a hit, averaging over 20% per episode.

Even though ‘Mirabella’ was a decent hit by ABS-CBN standards, its uncharacteristically low 20% rating only justifies that the series will be a mere short-term fix. Still, it was a good debut for Julia Barretto, and it will only give her greater amounts of exposure.

‘Mirabella’ will be replaced by ‘Pure Love’ this July 7.

Lovers in Paris Rerun Today

Meanwhile, ‘Lovers in Paris’ will be placed in the mid-morning slot. The re-run of the successful Koreanovela replaces ‘Kapamilya Kiddie Blockbusters’ starting today on the ‘Umaganda’ block.

Because ‘The Heirs’ will continue to air this week, the rivalry between ‘Lovers in Paris’ and ‘Jewel in the Palace’ will not happen anytime soon, if not altogether. Instead, ‘Lovers in Paris’ will be up against ‘Return of the Wife’, the third sequel to GMA’s highly successful ‘Temptation of Wife’, which has been airing since late May.

‘Lovers in Paris’ starred Park Shin-Yang and Kim Jung-Eun as Carlo and Vivian, respectively. The series was a hit when it first aired in 2005, and its success eventually led to an equally successful Filipino adaptation starring KC Concepcion and Piolo Pascual in 2009.

 

Asianovela Nostalgia Continues with Lovers in Paris

‘Lovers in Paris’, the original Korean series, will re-air beginning in late June on ABS-CBN.

First there was ‘Meteor Garden’ on ABS-CBN. Then came ‘Jewel in the Palace’ on GMA. And now the Kapamilya network is bringing back another classic Asianovela, in what has become a seemingly endless exchange for both networks.

It was announced earlier this week that ABS-CBN will bring back the original Korean version of ‘Lovers in Paris’. The series, considered as the first Koreanovela aired in the country, was a huge hit with viewers when it first aired in 2005. Its success would later translate to an equally popular Filipino adaptation, starring KC Concepcion and Piolo Pascual, which aired in 2009.

The popularity of ‘Lovers in Paris’ also led to a response from the Kapuso network. Their answer was ‘Jewel in the Palace’, which also became a huge hit in the same year, and is currently re-aired in the late weekday afternoons.

As the title suggests, ‘Lovers in Paris’ is a story of a businessman named Carlo (Park Shin-Yang) who fell in love to a film student/housekeeper named Vivian (Kim Jung-Eun) in the French capital of Paris. The couple’s relationship would blossom, but not without some challenges to overcome.

‘Lovers in Paris’ is expected to premiere around late June, and is likely to replace the Lee Min-Ho starrer ‘The Heirs’ in the late afternoon slot.

For nostalgic Koreanovela fans, this is another classic series to watch and reminisce. ‘Lovers in Paris’ proved to be a big hit the first time around, so a lot is expected for the show once it airs again this month. But then again, ABS-CBN has been strong in the ratings game, so there is no doubt that the encore presentation of ‘Lovers in Paris’ will become a hit again.

‘Dyesebel’ Teaser on ABS-CBN

Many posts ago, I wrote about my thoughts on ABS-CBN and GMA trading their own shows. It stemmed from the fact that several former ABS-CBN programs were picked up by GMA and later made it their own. But on this example, ABS-CBN returned the favor.

A trailer for the new version of ‘Dyesebel‘ recently aired during the ‘Primetime Bida’ block. The teaser for the new ‘Dyesebel’ came in months after ABS-CBN and the estate of Mars Ravelo signed a contract to produce and air the beloved mermaid heroine, along with other Ravelo classics ‘Darna‘ and ‘Captain Barbell‘. Previously all three were aired on GMA, with ‘Darna’ and ‘Captain Barbell’ being produced on two separate occasions.

The teaser for the new ‘Dyesebel’ can be seen on the video below.

Immediately after the release of the teaser, questions were raised as to who will play the role of ‘Dyesebel’. Some of the candidates mentioned for the role were Kapamilya veterans Bea Alonzo, KC Concepcion, Anne Curtis, Kristine Hermosa, Erich Gonzales, Julia Montes and Julia Barretto. Based on the aforementioned candidates, I think the producers of the upcoming teleserye will be selecting a veteran who is willing and able to show some skin during the series.

The previous version of ‘Dyesebel’ was a big hit for GMA, catapaulting the Kapuso network atop the primetime ladder during its run. With ABS-CBN turning the tables of late thanks to emerging stars such as Jessy Mendiola and the KathNiel tandem (Kathryn Bernardo & Daniel Padilla), it is no doubt that their version of ‘Dyesebel’ will pull the network’s primetime dominance to even greater heights, and perhaps surpass the ratings generated by GMA’s own adaptation.