Much ado about Daiana Menezes and her fellow Brazilians getting the most slices of the pie in ad modeling

By now, the Brazilians who are part of the local ad campaign have been the hottest items in show business.

Not a few Brazilians, popular as they are now, the likes of Daiana Menezes of GMA Network’s noontime show “Eat Bulaga,” Brazilian-Japanese siblings Daniel and Vanessa Matsunaga and their compatriot Akihiro Sato, Natalia Contreras of Star Models International and some others, are targets of a protest action against getting them for commercials, both print and broadcast.

Spearheaded by the Professional Models Association of the Philippines (PMAP), the homegrown talents are said to be being crushed underfoot by their Brazilian and other foreign model’s salability in advertising contracts because most of these Latin Americans ask very low price per appearance.

The jobs meant for Filipino talents consequently go to these foreigners, a feat most unwanted among locals.

But Diane Zoleta, managing director of Star Models, says otherwise.

“This is my side of the story. Least our Brazilian talents are seen as job snatchers, I would like to say that it is not their control to be easily shooed-in to commercials. It is the decision of the clients because they are the ones who spend for the making of the commercial or an ad campaign.

“The clients set the price and the models just have to abide by it. There’s no choice. The clients have the money and if the budget is meager, why do they have to allot a big amount to the models. The foreigners, specifically our Brazilian talents, are at their mercy. They don’t lower their asking price. They just adjust to the budget,” elucidated Zoleta.

“Most of the deserving Filipino models aren’t professional enough. They lack the right attitude which surprisingly the Brazilians have. For instance, a well-do-to Filipino model passes a go-see and if he or she is the one being chased by the client through his or her features registered on the screen that exactly fit into the character, most of the time, he or she doesn’t fulfill the commitment. It’s either he or she just doesn’t go back to the next phase of the selection or if selected, he or she just disappears.

“So what happens? The agency is left hanging without a model. What is the campaign has a deadline? So the most practical thing to do is to resort to foreign models more patient and determined,” she explained.

One of the most professional wards of Zoleta is Menezes who really is hardworking and willing to learn a lot in Philippine entertainment industry.

“I hope our local talents can learn also from the traits of foreigners who are humble and patient,” urged Zoleta.

The other imported talent of Star Models who is equally level-headed and persevering is Paula Taylor.

“I think it’s not only a question of nationalism but mainly of being open to options and work attitude wherever one is,” Zoleta commented.

But writer Noel Mallonga argued that while it is true that false pride and laziness should be corrected in some Filipino models, their agents counterpart should also be partly blamed by this dominance of colonial models. “If not for the agents, these foreign models wouldn’t be here,” Mallonga quipped.

Hunk and young actor Toffee Calma, meanwhile, informed that in Thailand, the Thai people in the ad world prefer locals than foreigners. “I went to Thailand to model in print ad but it wasn’t an easy entry for me. I was given a break because I look like Thai,” recalled Calma.

“It’s good that these Brazilians are posing threats to our own models. This would at least cultivate healthy competition and the Filipinos will try to keep up with the professional standards,” said Mallonga.