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It’s the month of hearts, indeed.
A month after Pope Francis billboards took over EDSA, commuters are now being treated to something completely antithetic to the Catholic leader’s conservative and archaic version of what the modern-day family unit should be.
And we applaud it.
On the Guadalupe part of northbound EDSA, where bottleneck traffic is almost always expected, motorists have been staring at that huge four-part billboard of lifestyle brand Bench. It aims to celebrate all kinds of love — including same-sex relationships.
How progressive — well, at least in intention and concept.
While makeup artist Ana Paredes is shown being hugged by girlfriend Carla Peña from behind, Summit Media’s Vince Uy and real-life boyfriend Nino Gaddie are seen holding hands.
The heterosexual couple to balance this campaign — in case you’re interested to know — are Solenn Heussaff and Nico Bolzico, who are getting married twice this year in both France and Argentina. There’s also legendary actress Gloria Romero with grandson Christopher Gutierrez.
Thank god the metropolis, at least some of it, is finally back in the modern times.
Happy Valentine’s, dearest Coconauts
UPDATE (02/13/2015): It looks like some people are still stuck in the Middle Ages — someone decided to paint over the hands of boyfriends Vince Uy and Nino Gaddie to conceal the image. On Scout magazine, Raymond Ang, editor-in-chief of Bench / Mark, in-house magazine of Bench, was quoted as saying: “The governing body took offense at some of the campaign’s content, citing traditional Filipino family values. Bench decided to move forward because they decided the most important thing is for the ad to go up and still send the message.”
