Hey fellow Filipinos, remember this 90's commercial

Calgary, Alberta
March 18, 2012 1:11pm CST
I think during the 90's there is a Tv commercial that became viral in the Phillippines, I think it doesn't have any videoclips anymore. But its lines are so memorable that i think its being used until now. The lines of that commercial is "Hey bored ka na ba Nalolongkot at walang magawa" (for the foreigners, it means are bored , lonely and have nothing to do) I think until now the catchpraise of that commercial is being used in jokes. I think that commercial is memorable because the voiceover is foreigner trying to speak tagalog and she have a funny accent. and she pronounced "Nalulungkot" in a weird way,,, I was a kid when i saw that commercial, I ask my big sister what that commercial is about. I think that commercial is for a "telephone social network" or a partyline.... before the internet social networks, and before people get textmates in cellphones,before strangers chat in chatrooms, there are phonepals. from what I heard, in partylines, they will make you talk with some random strangers so you can make friends with them.so its like an internet chatroom but with telephones instead of computers. from what I heard, partylines charges money like how phonesex hotlines charges money, they charge perminute. when i was a little kid , that is the prime of partylines so I never get to try them , I think internet and cellphones killed the partyline industry. since internet is a cheaper way to meet strangers.. I never get to try those partylines but I think they were more awkward than chatting with a person in the internet. anyone here who tried those partylines during its prime?"
1 person likes this
13 responses
@Cherish14 (2693)
• Philippines
19 Mar 12
hi there, i don't remember that commercial, neither that line. back then, i never wanted to answer the telephone because i am too lazy to call on my parents if it is for them. i was very young back then i guess. but i do remember one time, it was late at night, and the phone kept ringing, i picked it up and she said "Pwede ba makipag phonepal?" i said HINDI (NO!!!!!!) and slammed the phone she actually woke me for that heheheh
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@Cherish14 (2693)
• Philippines
19 Mar 12
yeah and sending you texts that you have won millions. it's pretty annoying but i just delete all that right away. and i never, never pick up calls that i don't know who's calling. i would wait for a message saying who is calling. weather it is important or not, i don't pick it up. if you got some credits to call, i am pretty sure you got some for texting who you are too right?
• Calgary, Alberta
19 Mar 12
though the Phonepal era is over, there will be a new phone disturbances that will is disturbing the heck in Filipino lives. Telemarketers in the Phillippines already have local accounts. Imagine your phone rings and someone will sell you creditcard or something.
@anne25penn (3305)
• Philippines
19 Mar 12
If I recall that commercial was only shown on cable TV and it was for an adult phone-in service. That's why "nalolongkot ka na ba? Wala makausap?" (Are you lonely? Don't have anyone to talk to?) I think it became a hit during those times. I haven't tried that and I don't know if any of my friends have. I will have to ask though, but I'm sure none of us have called that number because we were starting college at the time that phone-in service was launched and we were enjoying the times that we were able to go out without having our parents scold us.
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@choybel (5042)
• Philippines
19 Mar 12
If you are right, then that must be the reason why I think I never heard of it. We never had cable line before.Actually we did when I was around grade 5 or 6, but our TV was analogue that time and we could only subscribe very few channels.
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• Calgary, Alberta
19 Mar 12
I didnt called that number neither cos I am a kid, though I want to see that commercial again. The internet is so empty, I cant find a single video clip of it. Maybe if I get the name of that company
@chiyosan (30183)
• Philippines
19 Mar 12
haha that's funny.. and its true! we have all had some experience with the party lines, and that is the truth, it happens to all those who have landline phones. and its true that sometimes you would even be able to have them as your friends because it all happens to be the same person you get on the other side... =)
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• Calgary, Alberta
19 Mar 12
Those times are now obsolete by now,but at least we have a cheaper option now which is mobile phones and internet.
@choybel (5042)
• Philippines
18 Mar 12
I don't seem to remember that line or that commercial. I know I would remember famous lines especially from commercials, but this one just doesn't sound familiar o me at all. I know about partylines but not in the way you described it. We had a telephone before, and I could clearly remember how I hated partylines when I was a kid. I think before people shared lines because of the limited availability of telephone lines. It was like having an extension only not in your house but from somewhere else. I hated it because there were times when I wanted to use the phone, although I'm sure it wasn't that important at all because I was too young to have important conversations anyway, but I had to wait for the other line to finish and at some point I had to wait a long time. I also hated it when they interfere a private conversation or eavesdrop. So, that's how I remember it, but I could be wrong. As for the commercial, I still really can't remember it.
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• Calgary, Alberta
18 Mar 12
I think its a party line hotline, imagine a phone version of chat roulette. they will charge you 10 pesos per minute I think. I never experienced it though, since eits obsolete by the time I am a teenager. But i remember in the news ,There had been warnings that it ruined some people's lives cos it gave them ridicolous phone bills.
@tatzkie23 (770)
• Philippines
19 Mar 12
I don't remember that commercial, But if i did, i think that i would give it a try. LOL. But anyways, you are right, before there is internet, cellphones, landline is the best thing that happened during those days. Actually, i've been addicted to it. I remember when i was in highschool, I made some phone pals. LOL. Sometimes, i plug our phone number to a radio station, and i made a lot of callers. Mostly guys, of course. And to be honest, i've met my first boyfriend through landline. LOL. Those were my landline days. hahaha...
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• Calgary, Alberta
19 Mar 12
The company on this commercial I think is abolished by the government because they charge too much. Imagine 10 pesos per minute. a chat with a stranger is like free in the internet.
@dazzledlady (1618)
• Philippines
19 Mar 12
Sorry but I do not remember that commercial. Maybe I was still a little girl that time. Anyways, I do remember a commercial that when sensational worldwide. Remember the coke beat, where in two ladies where doing some beat on the table fighting for fun with a coke bottle? I was a student at that time and my classmates and the others where imitating the action in a faster way. Or it became a contest who is the fastest in executing those moves. There were contest in the tv to promote it. Link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET8vRoXWhGI
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• Calgary, Alberta
19 Mar 12
Its around the 90's,that commercial became a victim of parodies. The coke beat,I will never forget that commercial,its so cool.
• Philippines
19 Mar 12
during the 80's and 90's, where the local telecoms was predominantly pldt, a party-line was a term used for a shared line. because subscribers were not a huge number especially in the provinces at that time, there was limited available lines per area, thus sometimes 2 subscribers were made to share. private lines (or exclusive for 1 subscriber) were more expensive back then... but at least you didn't have to wait for the party-line to finish in order for you to make a call. and no one to eavesdrop while you are using the phone. or the constant static you hear from the other line when they try to make a call while you are having a conversation still. it was a bugger at the time. but i was too young to have a lot of phone calls then so it wasn't such a biggie. except for the few times that it was actually bothersome. or when the actual party-line wanted to chat with you. i think that was the time that prompted my aunt to have a private line. in the catchphrase of the 90's tv commercial about a party line, most often it was a visayan accent depicted. there was a hotline used in the 90's where you can have conversations to random strangers via a pay-per-minute scheme (more like a 1-800 link). but at the time the charges are expensive. it's even more expensive than today's mobile phone rate per minute.
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• Calgary, Alberta
19 Mar 12
The visayan sounding accent actually is from a Singaporean I think, Its basically a service available throughout southeast asia, though the company is out of business its funny that the catchpraise of that commercial's legacy lives on but no more clip of it exists,
• Philippines
19 Mar 12
I heard the upbeat commercials but not my cup of tea to even try. I was just a young boy then. There's another discussion about partylines: http://www.mylot.com/w/discussions/1782354.aspx
• Calgary, Alberta
19 Mar 12
I was desperate to find a clip of that commercial just for laughs and nostalgia but i cant find any clip. almost every 90's commercial are in youtube except that one.
@greenpeas (998)
• Philippines
19 Mar 12
Yes I remember that commercial. It actually airs late night because by nature it is only intended for matured people. It is similar to the date or adult chat numbers in USA where you are billed every minute. I heard some people incurred thousands of pesos in charges because of this. This was before the internet became a common household technology.
• Calgary, Alberta
19 Mar 12
I think its featured in TV patrol before, a family got pissed off because their houseboy got addicted to it, the family end up having a 40,000 pesos monthly bill.
@angel107 (307)
• Germany
18 Mar 12
hahaha i remember hearing and seeing this on tv during my insomia days but i never tried calling them.
• Calgary, Alberta
18 Mar 12
from what i heard its 10 pesos per minute, damn that is expensive...LOL ten pesos is like 30 minute sof internet connection in a cybercafe. its also like multiple text messages.finally someone who remembers it.LOL I cant find video clips of it
• Calgary, Alberta
19 Mar 12
I know their charge is way too expensive that is why they were out of service now. 10 pesos will go far with a cellphone.
• Philippines
19 Mar 12
its more cheaper if we user our cellphones... and its already unlimited text and calls. rather than this one... woooowwww!!!!!!!! 10 pesos per minute... a phone company would truly get rich by this but won't last long... hehehe
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• Philippines
19 Mar 12
I cannot recall this line. I do not have much time with phonepals during those times either.But I can recall having a partyline is annoying. When you need to call someone and the other (partyline) is still busy talking with someone that is so uhmnnn, especially when the other person is making "telebabad" :p ...
• Calgary, Alberta
19 Mar 12
It seemed like telebabad is now a forgotten term, since texting is more popular.
@sabado_dc (1001)
• Philippines
18 Mar 12
I am so sorry I do not have any idea..is it still in existence?
• Calgary, Alberta
18 Mar 12
not anymore but Ted Failon and Mike and Mike Enriquez recently used it's catchphrase. In think it first appeared in MTV Asia. The voiceover must be from some Asian woman from a non tagalog speaking country.
@jeetking (190)
19 Mar 12
I do not remember that 90's commercial neither I watch that commercial.
• Calgary, Alberta
21 Mar 12
I dont even think your Filipino and I believe you just want to get 500 post so you can use copy paste...