Posted by Teejae
The new Coca-Cola ad aired on April 15, 2006, and it is saying something MORE than just “buy Coke.” It features a family, with each person busy with their own worlds. But when mom comes home to prepare dinner (with the Coke Litro), suddenly everyone gravitates to the table: conversations happen, issues between son and mom were resolved (peace sign), laughter emerges, and a range of positive emotions come to the fore.
Whether it’s the emotion evoked by the song, the visual appeal of the emoticons, or the relevance of the situation, the ad just strikes a chord into your heart.
I’m sure we are all familiar with the saying, “the family that prays together stays together.” I believe this to be true. But aside from prayer, there is an additional tool that parents can use to keep the family together: MEAL TIMES. Sharing meals are an ancient, relevant tradition. If I remember it correctly, Christ broke bread with his Brothers before his passion, and returned to have supper with them just before He ascended to heaven.
As employees, we were encouraged to spend quality mealtimes with our families. And while I am living alone, as most promdi in the city young professionals do, the message resonates, as well.
I remember these big family breakfasts and dinners I had, growing up in Davao. I remember I was hard to feed as a child. But then, my grandfather always found creative ways to make sure I get into the habit of eating. [I think he did a pretty good job at it...too good a job].
I don’t know if he intended to back then, but in the process of making me want to eat, my grandpa also taught me valuable lessons in life. These were some of the simple phrases he used to encourage me back then, at the table…and until now, as I swim through the ocean of life.
Ang grasya, hindi pinaghihintay.
I'm glad I was taught this as a child, because as I grew up I realized that the world waits for no one. You have to make the most of every opportunity. It is not enough to just dream…you have to take action.
Sometimes the breaks you need are already on your plate, but you’re simply too afraid or too lazy to do something about it. You have to make decisions and take responsibility. If you don’t seize what’s there, someone else will easily take it from you.
Nguyain mo muna nang maayos bago mo lunukin, para di ka mabulunan.
When faced with a gargantuan task, it helps to break it down into small pieces and tackling each obstacle one by one.
When about to make a big decision, make sure to masticate all the factors, variables and resulting scenarios before jumping into conclusion.
Alalahanin mo…ang ibang bata walang makain.
My grandfather wanted me to learn the value of GRATITUDE. And I must admit that it has not been easy to live this lesson.
Sometimes, in our passion and desire for achievement, we get easily frustrated. We miss our self-defined life-goals/targets. We may even find ourselves trailing behind our peers. Or perhaps we become stressed with all the things we have to do; it becomes so easy to complain about anything and everything.
We need to remember that what we now have, were once things we only longed and hoped for. This is cliché, but if we focus on what we have instead of what we do not have, we realize that our glass is neither half-empty nor half-full…it is in fact, overflowing.
Sige, pag naubos mo yan, bibigyan kita ng Coke.
One might argue that my grandfather has taught me the notion of bribery at a young age. But that's not the case, he taught me that people get paid for performance.
Sometimes life presents to us tasks that are difficult to do. Sometimes we are pulled out of our comfort zone. Sometimes it takes all of our time and energy to pursue our goal.
But there’s always a great reward at the end: a sense of relief, achievement, recognition, triumph…just like getting a glass of Coke at the meal table. It simply makes eating pleasurable, the conversations more meaningful, and moment more special.
It’s so amazing how something as simple as family meal times can be so powerful. I encourage parents and future parents to try as much as possible to bring their families back to the table and back to each other.
Just like the title cards in our TV ad say: Pag sa kainan sabay-sabay, Sama-sama habang buhay.
Whether it’s the emotion evoked by the song, the visual appeal of the emoticons, or the relevance of the situation, the ad just strikes a chord into your heart.
I’m sure we are all familiar with the saying, “the family that prays together stays together.” I believe this to be true. But aside from prayer, there is an additional tool that parents can use to keep the family together: MEAL TIMES. Sharing meals are an ancient, relevant tradition. If I remember it correctly, Christ broke bread with his Brothers before his passion, and returned to have supper with them just before He ascended to heaven.
As employees, we were encouraged to spend quality mealtimes with our families. And while I am living alone, as most promdi in the city young professionals do, the message resonates, as well.
I remember these big family breakfasts and dinners I had, growing up in Davao. I remember I was hard to feed as a child. But then, my grandfather always found creative ways to make sure I get into the habit of eating. [I think he did a pretty good job at it...too good a job].
I don’t know if he intended to back then, but in the process of making me want to eat, my grandpa also taught me valuable lessons in life. These were some of the simple phrases he used to encourage me back then, at the table…and until now, as I swim through the ocean of life.
Ang grasya, hindi pinaghihintay.
I'm glad I was taught this as a child, because as I grew up I realized that the world waits for no one. You have to make the most of every opportunity. It is not enough to just dream…you have to take action. Sometimes the breaks you need are already on your plate, but you’re simply too afraid or too lazy to do something about it. You have to make decisions and take responsibility. If you don’t seize what’s there, someone else will easily take it from you.
Nguyain mo muna nang maayos bago mo lunukin, para di ka mabulunan.
When faced with a gargantuan task, it helps to break it down into small pieces and tackling each obstacle one by one.When about to make a big decision, make sure to masticate all the factors, variables and resulting scenarios before jumping into conclusion.
Alalahanin mo…ang ibang bata walang makain.
My grandfather wanted me to learn the value of GRATITUDE. And I must admit that it has not been easy to live this lesson.
Sometimes, in our passion and desire for achievement, we get easily frustrated. We miss our self-defined life-goals/targets. We may even find ourselves trailing behind our peers. Or perhaps we become stressed with all the things we have to do; it becomes so easy to complain about anything and everything.We need to remember that what we now have, were once things we only longed and hoped for. This is cliché, but if we focus on what we have instead of what we do not have, we realize that our glass is neither half-empty nor half-full…it is in fact, overflowing.
Sige, pag naubos mo yan, bibigyan kita ng Coke.
One might argue that my grandfather has taught me the notion of bribery at a young age. But that's not the case, he taught me that people get paid for performance.
Sometimes life presents to us tasks that are difficult to do. Sometimes we are pulled out of our comfort zone. Sometimes it takes all of our time and energy to pursue our goal.
But there’s always a great reward at the end: a sense of relief, achievement, recognition, triumph…just like getting a glass of Coke at the meal table. It simply makes eating pleasurable, the conversations more meaningful, and moment more special.
It’s so amazing how something as simple as family meal times can be so powerful. I encourage parents and future parents to try as much as possible to bring their families back to the table and back to each other.
Just like the title cards in our TV ad say: Pag sa kainan sabay-sabay, Sama-sama habang buhay.
