Continuity theme bad for Mar?

It looks like the camp of Interior Secretary Mar Roxas has unloaded a good portion of its kitty on radio and television advertising. Primetime public-affairs programs, particularly on a major media network, is benefitting from the camp’s advertising binge apparently timed for the next round of surveys on presidential aspirants. 

This may sound like a good strategy to breathe some life into Mar’s image and boost his chance to somewhat raise his public-preference rating. Some of Mar’s non-political sympathizers, however, are worried that the theme of his ad materials may produce negative effects in the short run.

The commercials feature excerpts from PNoy’s endorsement speech at Club Filipino followed by Mar’s voice clip tearfully accepting the endorsement and vowing to continue PNoy’s matuwid na daan.

His non-political sympathizers feel that Mar’s camp could be spending big bucks on an ad campaign that would hardly help put him in a strong position against his potential rivals, particularly Sen. Grace Poe, Vice President Binay and even Davao City Mayor Digong Duterte.

Here are their sentiments and observations.

First, the commercial portrays a Mar who does not have his own political brand strength.

Second, it creates a powerful impression that a Mar presidency would be nothing more than a repeat and rehash of the PNoy presidency.

The observations are valid and should be alarming for those hoping to piggyback on a possible Mar presidency.

In a way, the commercials come across as an admission that on his own, Mar stands very little chance of capturing the public’s imagination and affection, which could propel him to the highest office of the land.

It presumes that the only way Mar could win is for him to borrow the political strength of the Noynoy Aquino brand. That could be a major error because it was not Noynoy’s own brand that got him elected. It was the Cory brand that was responsible for Noynoy’s election to the presidency.

Noynoy’s constant reference to his parents, particularly during the tumultuous moments of his term, supports that view.

Frankly speaking, we don’t see how Mar could derive strength from the same Cory magic. Mar was nowhere in the country when we were fighting for the restoration of the country’s democracy. He was not here when we were protecting Cory from the several coup attempts during her term.

Mar was not here when we were helping Cory’s men, Ping de Jesus and Babes Singson, rebuild the Pinatubo-ravaged parts of Luzon. Mar returned just shortly before the 1992 general elections.

There are also fears that Mar could be latching on to a tired old slogan that represents a basket-full of unfulfilled promises and expectations. It has yet to be proved that this administration fully lived up to its promise to conduct its affairs in the spirit of matuwid na daan, and if that political theme has really given Filipinos a better life.

To many, that slogan could be represented by the long queues in the light rail transit system that significantly deteriorated under this administration. That slogan could also evoke the images of the families of the fallen SAF 44 that felt insulted by the apparent inability of the President to convey sympathy and attend to their needs.

The concern of Mar’s sympathizers is that his current ad campaign might simply be reinforcing perceptions that he is “weak.”

Whether or not Mar, as a person and as a leader is “weak,” is yet to be proven.

What has been proven so far is the weakness of his communication team.

The current ad campaign betrays a serious weakness in creativity. There are concerns that the “continuity” theme is a cop-out. In Filipino, we say, “wala nang ibang maisip.”

It also betrays a serious weakness in his team’s analytical abilities. Has his team really studied what Filipino voters might be looking for in a leader? Has his team thoroughly analyzed how matuwid na daan is currently perceived?

It could be that his team itself is Mar’s weakness.

Last we heard, his communication team is being run by his latter-day best pal, Malacañang Spokesman Edwin Lacierda.

Yes, this is the same Lacierda who has recently earned the ire of the OFW community after reportedly saying that OFW remittances do not benefit the country.

It is the same Lacierda who, at one time, was believed to have been eased out of the role by Secretary Sonny Coloma after the former’s successive faux pas.

If it is true that Mar’s communication and political-branding machinery is being run by this guy, then we can only surmise that Mar’s non-political sympathizers are up for more heartaches.