Alodia Gosiengfiao and Luis Manzano, Dating?

image via here

When popular showbiz blogger and ABS-CBN insider Darla Sauler posted pictures of Luis Manzano and Alodia Gosiengfiao together on her blog implying that the two were somehow (or are starting to be) involved romantically, people started flooding the said blog posting nasty comments  defending one of the three parties involved in the controversy: Alodia, Luis and Luis' former beau Angel Locsin. Alodia was somehow blamed as the last straw that caused Luis and Angel to finally put a period to their attempts to get back together. Apparently this has been happening for quite sometime now and it was only through Alodia's facebook page that I even knew there was an issue. I frequent Angel's online forum fan clubs but there was no mention of the said rumor except when Angel tweeted a certain warning saying that all girls should be careful of guys who are "manloloko". A lot of the fans immediately linked the said tweet to Luis and the girl he is currently seeing and exclusively dating despite Angel's claim that the said tweet was totally random.

This issue has been discussed so many times already and has been given a conclusion in one episode of The Buzz. There is even a video of the said episode in Alodia's facebook page. Here's the video. The hosts clarified that nothing is going on between the two; and one of the hosts, Charlene Gonzales during discussion even named Alodia's real boyfriend.

It is clear that this issue is nothing but a publicity stunt by ABS-CBN to promote Alodia and Luis' upcoming show called L.O.L. (Laugh Out Loud). The show will be airing in the coming months and will feature pranks and practical jokes that the team will do to both celebrities and ordinary people. The show will also mark Alodia's first official mainstream showbiz gig. 

Several factors drew my attention to this issue. But first of all let me just say that I never believed the issue to be true because I've known Alodia and the guy she's been dating for quite sometime now and even met them during conventions. And I've mentioned this before, I am a fan of Alodia and of Angel Locsin (serious level) so I was bound to stumble upon and talk about this issue in some way. The real reasons why I am dedicating a blog post to this issue are as follows:

1. I am totally appalled at the way the Buzz co-hosts' discussed the said rumor and their un-awareness of the Cosplay subculture. It's one thing to not be interested. I totally get it that none of them have really encountered anime and all the other things surrounding that aspect of the geek culture. It's just my belief however that if you're going to talk about something on air, you have to at least research about things you don't understand. I mean they could've have just googled the term Cosplay and it would have made them appear a little less stupid than the way they did. 

2. ABS-CBN totally disrespected Alodia by giving her a negative publicity as an informal launch. What a way to introduce Alodia to the Filipino masses! Alodia has a fierce (and when I say fierce I mean they really really bite, hehe!) legion of fans in the country and is internationally recognized by a certain niche to be on a goddess level so I don't get why they had to give her a masa-level publicity. Sure, she's not yet marketable to the masses at this point in her career and her craft is not something a lot of people are even aware of, but her good looks and natural charm will win anyone over. Besides, she has an international stature. Anyone with international stature will draw the masses in no matter what the reasons are. Unfortunately, ABS-CBN decided to draw bad blood against Alodia's fans by giving her this kind of cheap stunt. If they market mainstream actresses with intrigue-laden issues then I don't think that same strategy will work in promoting Alodia. I really didn't think she needed it nor do I think it's the way to launch a show. Sure, it's being talked about all over the web but there's bound to be some backlash later. They should have talked to e-Games or the convention organizers who have worked with Alodia before, so they will know her real marketing power.

3. This has somehow caused a rift between Alodia and Angel's fans. The true-blue Angel Locsin fans will easily dismiss this to be nothing but a publicity stunt but there are already comments in Darla's blog that are derogatory towards Alodia and it saddens me. Fans will defend their idols without thinking and will compare the two and prove against each other who's the better person. Instead of possibly winning over Angel's fans, ABS-CBN drove them away from Alodia. This won't affect everyone but there's bound to be some casualties.

They say negative publicity is still publicity and is therefore useful. However, if rubbed the wrong way, it will burn whoever its subjects are right Manny Pacquiao and Krista Ranillo? TV Networks should start really understanding their market instead of doing a one-size-fits-all marketing strategy; which is plain lazy. That way they can maximize the potentials of the stars, people, and shows they are trying to build up. No wonder online media platforms like YouTube is now getting most of the viewing public's attention and television companies' attempts to go online is sort of desperate and may be a little too late.