“It is sweeter to have those things that we work hard for, those that we don’t force to happen, those that we wait for their right time…” goes the line of the grandma.
After a tight embrace with the lady’s grandma, the gentleman said, “I’ve been waiting for this opportunity to say that… God gave me you. We have come this far… two people searching… and have finally found each other.”
They looked at each other’s eyes… screams of fans drew in… then plays the song, “…God gave me you to show me what’s real. There’s more to life than just how I feel. And all that I’m worth is right before my eyes. And all that I lived for though I didn’t know why. Now I do ‘cause God gave me you.”
Hold that scene in your imagination and that ‘feeling’ in your heart for a while…
If you are an AlDub fan, the scene above is familiar to you. I took the dialog from the October 24 episode of AlDub that was staged at the Philippine Arena in the midst of around 55,000 fans. [The 55,000 figure was as per article of lawyer Romulo Macalintal at the Philippine Star. Atty. Macalintal and his wife were at the Arena the moment it happened.]
I don’t watch TV that much and I am not very familiar with the story of AlDub. The episode that I saw was actually just a 12-minute portion of the show that was uploaded on Youtube.
But what is AlDub first?
With the help of Heather Chen’s article on BBC.com, let me introduce AlDub to you.
‘AlDub’ is a play on the first names of Filipino actors Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza, who plays the character Yaya Dub. AlDub is a featured skit (on GMA’s noontime show ‘Eat Bulaga!’) of a pair of lovers who have never met in the flesh. Their romance is conducted via a split screen and as it developed, obstacles after obstacle cropped up to prevent the duo from meeting.
Last October 24, the two characters finally met in person for the first time. That day, the hashtag #AlDubEBTamang Panahon (AlDub, in the right time) drew more than 41 million tweets, smashing the previous Twitter record held by Brazil’s 2014 Fifa World Cup defeat to Germany. Now that is an international wave on social media!
Interestingly, even before the October 24 event, AlDub has been trending worldwide that got the attention of Morning News USA and the AustraliaNetworkNews.
In a news article on GMA News Online, even US diplomats are doing the pabebe wave popularized by AlDub.
As early as September 28, American country music Bryan White, the singer of God Gave Me You, announced his concert in Manila on December 1. The country song ‘God Gave Me You’ became one of the most popular songs in the Philippines because of AlDub. (Of course, the song is not new to the country music lovers in the Cordilleras but that’s another story.)
AlDub has become an international social media phenomenon! Interaksyon.com noted that Maine Mendoza (Yaya Dub) has now become the fourth fastest-growing celebrity on Twitter, after US singers Taylor Swift and Katy Perry, and TV host/comedian Ellen DeGeneres (for the period September 14 to October 12). This is according to Socialbakers.com, a New-York based company focused on social media marketing.
At the time of this writing, I checked Twitter and Maine Mendoza now has 2.34 million followers while Alden Richards has 2.37 million followers. (Oh yes, I just became one of their Twitter followers.)
What is the relevance of all these? Let’s look briefly at the following:
For business, it is something big. With huge following comes a huge market.
You may have seen new commercials of McDonald’s and TalknText with AlDub in them. They not just part of the commercial but they are the commercial. Another giant company is also in! As of this writing, Coca-Cola already released a teaser of a commercial with AlDub. On the other hand, Enchos.com also said that AlDub will be doing commercials for Close-Up, Kopiko and Zonrox.
For the fans, it will be a treat as well. It means continued entertainment.
They will be able to continue following the story of Alden and Yaya Dub, especially those ‘kilig’ moments.
How about the neutral you or me – neither fans nor haters – what do we gain from this?
Is it only about business and entertainment? I guess not.
Perhaps, AlDub can remind us that there is fun in love. And even if they haven’t got to the apex of a love story yet, as their story unfolds, people are reminded that there is ‘forever’ in love. That no matter how the world has been changing, love still remains.
AlDub would not last forever as tastes and technology change but the reminder that they gave us now is something! AlDub will change, shows will change, trends will change – but there are things that won’t change: one of them is love.
One last thing: For us – singles (ahem) searching for love – this can also serve as an inspiration. And as you go through maybe a similar AlDub experience, be guided by the advice of Yaya Dub’s grandma: Don’t rush! “Get to know each other first. Become friends…” After all, what she said in the first part is true, “It is sweeter to have those things that we work hard for… those that we don’t force to happen… those that we wait for their right time.”
When that right time comes, it will be sweetest to say, God gave me you!
(Chris Dao-anis/CPA, as an author and speaker, helps young and aspiring professionals become better communicators and leaders. Leadership includes leading yourself and relationships; this is where this AlDub analogy comes in. Let’s grow together! Visit www.chrispoweracademy.com or email chrisdaoanis@ymail.com.)
