This place is suuuper fancy and borderline Parañaque (the north girl in me sobbed through the traffic). This is the Blue Leaf events place. The event is not about super fancy over the top decor and is more about clean, rustic touches. The whole venue is laden with giant LED screens.
The food was sooo goood!!! I really told the people from J&J after that I immensely enjoyed the food. The centerpieces they had were also unique compared to the usual flowers we see at events. Oat is the heart of Aveeno’s brand DNA, which is why it is of importance to remind guests of images of grains and oats.
The program was kicked off by interpretative dancers. And yes, the background is with an oat field design because of its importance to the brand.
Ms. Tina Sabarre, country director for Retail of J&J greeted everyone and welcomed all the guests. She expressed her joy of bringing the brand in, because as they are known for Johnson’s baby, it’s about time they brought the brand that carries the same kind of love and scientific breakthrough, but for adult audiences. She was the one who also set the mood for the general marketing message they have for the brand. I know the hashtag is #Naturallybeautiful but I think what I can say more about is how much I like the fact that the campaign is so unapologetic. Like you shouldn’t apologize for or hide your real self, you should embrace yourself and your skin, no matter what marks it may have, because that tells of your story. I think that in a country full of whitening products it’s nice to officially have a brand that advocates healthy skin over white skin in its brand equity.
And she is our lovely host for today. I am so sorry I don’t know her name.
Christine Jacob makes a little appearance and talks about how she discovered Aveeno. She discusses the fact that she has 5 kids, 4 of which had a Caesarian section, so she inadvertently has a giant scar on her belly. Having been an olympian, she also has a lot of freckles and a lot of sun related marks on her skin. She shared how her discovery of Aveeno while she was in the US has been very helpful for her to be able to live life the way she wants to and to enjoy healthy skin.
They invited Dra. Maria Victoria Dizon, pediatric head of the UST pediatric dermatology department, to talk about the main issue of atopic dermatitis. This is what we call “skin asthma” in most circles, or what she has defined as “patches of dry skin and rashes on the knees or elbows especially on the folds of the joints, hair or scalp”. It’s the 4th most common skin disease in the Philippines as of 2014, and the Philippines has the highest occurrence of atopic dermatitis in SEA.
The dilemma is that doctors like her know how to deal with atopic dermatitis and are fully willing and able to help patients deal with skin issues like these. The problem is that instead of consulting with them, patients often resort to various concoctions and preparations for the skin using natural ingredients. The way I got the gist of what she is saying is that there is a right way to harness the effects of natural ingredients, like there is a right way to process them and to effectively isolate the desired compound from the natural ingredient. As seen in this slide, neem can be toxic, papaya can cause allergies, calamansi and lemon can cause a stinging sensation to the skin, coconut oil can have poor application, while malunggay and guyabano lack clinical backing.
And so her talk is folloed by Mr. Menas Kizoulis, whose description was associate director for J&J science from the HQ, but his LinkedIn profile says “Global Scientific Engagement for Skin Care R&D at Johnson & Johnson.” Nonetheless, he discussed (both live and in a pre filmed video) the benefits of oats and the brand story of Aveeno. Oats have been used from as far back as ancient Egyptian times, and it has stood the test of time and proven itself as an ingredient that can really soothe and relieve the skin. Aveeno, on the other hand, is a brand that is proud to be a brand rooted in intense scientific research. Albert Musher, Aveeno founder, once said: “Yesterday’s miracles can now be explained by today’s science. And in turn, today’s science will generate tomorrow”s miracles.”
Colloidal oatmeal, the key ingredient in Aveeno, serves multiple benefits. It provides skin barrier, occlusive, humectant, antioxidant, anti inflammatory and anti-irritant functions and benefits. And thankfully, it is easily transformable into several product life forms, which is why we can enjoy Aveeno lotion, body wash, bath oil, sunscreen, etc.
Ms. Patricia Villaseñor, assistant brand manager, then gives the formal reveal of Aveeno. She is so happy to bring the brand in because she knows so many people love the brand. She has been asked incessantly for like forever as to when they were bringing the brand in. And now that they have done so, she is so excited to share this news to everybody.
After, they already had their big ambassadress reveal. From left to right are Jaymie Pizzaro, Nikki Gil-Albert, and Christine Jacob-Sandejas. We of course know Nikki as our softdrink commercial beauty and seasoned performer and actress, while Jaymie and Christine are hardcore athletes.
This day is all about skin stories so they all shared their own stories. Nikki has been under extreme scrutiny under the limelight, Christine has lived to tell the tale of her 4 Caesarian sections, while Jaymie shared her sacrifice for her sport.
The celebrities had a good amount of time spent backstage so they were provided with a healthy supply of Aveeno to keep them moisturized and fragrant (homaygash I love the scent of the daily moisturizing line you need it in your lives people)
Everybody proceeded to the entrance area for interviews and more chitchat after.
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