As shameful for someone known as the Urban Roamer would admit, I have not been going out much or perhaps I was noticing those mysterious billboards that have popped up in the last month.
I’m referring to those billboards bearing the message “Maghihintay Ako…Manuel” (I’ll be waiting… Manuel) and the details “May 22, 2015” and “EDSA Shangri-La Hotel.”
And I only became aware of this one just this week. Shame on me, I know.
Anyway, there have been various speculations about who this Manuel is and what the billboard is all about, ranging from a marriage proposal to a product launch, or some elaborate marketing campaign.
Well you’re in luck now I’m going to tell you the truth. Nobody told me about what it was really about actually, but I just pieced the parts together which came to me by sheer chance. I’m serious about that.
First things first, yes, it is a marketing campaign of some sort.
But it is not for some brand, service, or even a person.
The subject, which is the Manuel in question, is an institution which is named after that Manuel. And that Manuel is a prominent figure in Philippine history, having served as Philippine President during the Commonwealth period.
Yup, I’m talking about Manuel L. Quezon University.
So what was the May 22 date at EDSA Shangri-La you may ask? Well, it happens to be the date and venue of the university’s grand alumni homecoming, which you can check out through the Facebook video link below.
I should know as I’ve come across the announcement through their Facebook page (without knowing about the ads) and I’m an MLQU alumnus myself.
To clarify, MLQU has not formally come forward that they were the ones behind it at this time of writing. But from putting the pieces together, I unknowingly got to solve the mystery.
With that, I have to give kudos to MLQU’s marketing team for putting up such clever advertising. I think it is a ingenious way of promoting the school and making it known in the midst of the popularity and attention being given to the so-called Big 4 Philippine universities: University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, and University of Santo Tomas.
There is no doubt as well that the university’s new owners, New San Jose Builders, is exerting so much effort in putting MLQU in the educational map of the country, so to speak. After all, it has a storied legacy and produced some brilliant alumni over the years. Such push would be of great help in making MLQU a bastion of educational excellence.
