‘Bossing’ around with rock stars

ROCK ’N’ ROLL PUT SPICE TO AN event that was cooked up to encourage business entrepreneurship.

If good business starts with an exciting idea, the guys who thought of tapping rock stars Rico Blanco and Arnel Pineda to usher in the launch of PLDT SME Nation’s “Bossing Ako” campaign Thursday night at the NBC Tent in Taguig hit the right note.

Blanco is actually an integral part of the blitz — having been commissioned to write and perform the “Bossing Ako” theme music for a video, with Pineda as co-singer, which likewise premiered that night.

The song itself sounded good, with driving rhythms and motivational lyrics that could move the innocent viewer to pick up the phone and do business with the telco giant.

The company is selling the idea that SMEs (small-to-medium scale entrepreneurs) will be more efficient and thus more profitable if they avail of PLDT’s Internet service and centralized phone lines.

If the message was about instantaneous “connectivity,” the musical performances at the event boosted it.

Playing with an excellent backup band (sparked by lead guitarist Mike Bon and 18-year-old drummer Ralph Ruiz), Blanco had the crowd in rapt attention. The music, consisting of Rivermaya and Blanco’s own material, pricked the senses. But even more powerful were the lyrics, some of which captured the essential element of successful endeavors: “Kung gusto, parating merong paraan.”

Pineda, on the other hand, relied on his old Zoo band mates and offered classic rock covers that turned the corporate event into a party. There was lively dancing on the front rows, the revelers composed of employees from Reyes Haircutters.

Earlier, the salon chain’s boss, Les Reyes, and 11 other top guns (including Regal Films’ Mother Lily and daughter Roselle Monteverde-Teo, North Park’s Raphael and Jenni Soon, Joey Pepperoni’s Joey Concepcion) joined PLDT’s Manny Pangilinan on stage and were introduced as the faces of the “Bossing Ako” campaign.

In a sense, the success attained by these models of good business has also transformed them into virtual rock stars.

Offstage, lots of food and drinks kept everybody happy.