By Joanne Rae Ramirez
Is Hyun Bin the new Benchmark to end all benchmarks for retail?
Popular retail brand Bench is raising standards (and maybe many a girl’s hopes?) with the new Bench billboards featuring Korean superstar Hyun Bin, “hopefully, next week,” says Suyen Corp. chairman Ben Chan, founder of Bench. As we all know, EDSA is the country’s billboard boulevard.
Last Friday, Ben posted a 25-second teaser ad of Bench’s Hyun Bin campaign, which shows the bedimpled and broad-shouldered actor modelling its latest apparel.
In an obvious nod to the role that put Hyun Bin on the world map as Captain Ri Jeong Hyeok in the phenomenal hit Crash Landing on You, one of the shirts in the teaser has the word “Captain” emblazoned on it.
“It’s the newly enlisted #globalBenchsetter and he’s about to hit your feed real soon,” Ben said in his Instagram post.
Ben said that the “Captain” shirt is now available in select Bench stores and more items are coming soon.
Ben said he was able to exchange “hellos” with Hyun Bin via Zoom, and the latter seemed nice. Hyun Bin was also very professional, he said, and an eight-hour shoot was accomplished in probably less than half the time.
‘When Life Can’t Stop’
There are reports from credible news sources that people with Type A blood are more susceptible to catching COVID-19, and if with it, are susceptible to developing severe symptoms. The same reports said that those with Type O are the least susceptible.
Concerned, since I have Type A blood, I asked two friends who are COVID-19 survivors their blood type.
Guess what it was? Type O.
“Don’t worry,” said friend #1, who is a doctor. “Just wear a mask. Always.”
Friend #2 said, “The body of knowledge about COVID is still evolving. Besides, I am Type O and I still got it.”
I guess my point to all this is we should arm ourselves with the most basic of weapons against COVID instead of worrying ourselves about statistics that have yet to be validated conclusively.
Wear a mask. As the World Health Organization says, “The prolonged use of medical masks can be uncomfortable. However, it does not lead to CO2 intoxication nor oxygen deficiency. While wearing a medical mask, make sure it fits properly and that it is tight enough to allow you to breathe normally. Do not reuse a disposable mask and always change it as soon as it gets damp. Medical masks (also known as surgical masks) are flat or pleated; with straps or ear loops.
As the campaign of V-Stop, a sanitizer brand from Singapore says, and which struck me almost like lighting, “Stop the virus when life can’t stop.”
Because life can’t stop. Much as many of us would like to stay home in a bubble, working from home (WFH) sometimes just doesn’t work. Also, though we may postpone big parties for now, we can try dining out once in a while and giving big tips to waiters, shopping to relieve us of cabin fever (after all, there is a reason the word “retail therapy” was invented) and taking walks in wide open spaces. All with an abundance of caution. As my friend said, “Wear a mask. Always.”
We all know the drill: Wash hands frequently and thoroughly. Use hand sanitizers that kill 99.9 percent of bacteria. Practice social distancing. Have temperatures checked regularly.
Perhaps, it is those who violate these basic easy-to-follow rules who are most susceptible to the virus, regardless of blood type. I’d like to think so, or hope so, otherwise, I’m just going to be a prisoner of my own fears.
Renowned historian and author of the international bestsellers Sapiens and Homo Deus Yuval Noah Harari said over NHK last Friday that he believed we are “stronger” than the virus because we have overcome pandemics in the past.
According to online sources, the 1918 influenza pandemic was the most severe pandemic in recent history. About 500 million people or one-third of the world’s population became infected with this virus. The number of deaths was estimated to be at least 50 million worldwide. Now, this is not a contest, and we do not hope to play catch up with the Spanish flu 100 years ago just to prove Harari wrong. No way. As of last Friday, there have been almost 11 million COVID infections and some 500,000 deaths worldwide.
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So how to battle the virus if you cannot help but go out of your homes for essential activities?
Here’s some good news. As the community is slowly opening its doors again for Filipinos to dine in, go to work, and continue their businesses, Keli Devices has launched a premium sanitizer from Singapore that gives superior protection for 24 hours, “building confidence to continue life without worry,” says Dr. Aivee Aguiar Teo, who not only has reopened her Aivee Group clinics, but volunteers as a frontliner in certain hospitals and facilities that serves the underprivileged.
According to Aivee and her husband Dr. Z Teo, V-Stop is an alcohol-free premium sanitizer from Singapore that is clinically proven to kill 99.99 percent of viruses and bacteria including coronavirus.
With one spray, V-Stop reportedly delivers whole-day protection if you will not wash it off. It also lasts longer on objects and surfaces like phones, keyboards, doorknobs, etc. for up to two weeks. Its active ingredients surround the membrane of virus and bacteria, starving them of its food supply and oxygen leading to its death.
According to Aivee, V-Stop is FDA approved and safe and easy to use. It is non-drying and highly effective without irritating the skin. It is chemically stable and non-corrosive.
(For inquiries, go to www.kelidevices.com or https://www.instagram.com/kelidevices/)
This story first appeared on The Philippine STAR on July 7.
