SAM MILBY

Although he dreamed to be an actor when he was young, Sam Milby said he did not expect it to happen early enough. Because of ABS-CBN’s “Pinoy Big Brother,” he realized this big dream of his. “I owe it to PBB that’s why I’m so grateful to the show. When we came out of it, me and my batchmates became instant celebrities,” he said during a recent press conference at Mario’s Morato for the renewal of his contract as celebrity endorser of Dermablend Papaya Orange Whitening Soap. He has been Dermablend’s endorser for the past four years.

Dina Stalder, CEO of BCP Dermatological Corp. which manufactures Dermablend, said “it’s never easy to find the perfect endorser especially when you are looking for a long-term partnership – one that will not only give our brand a good recall but to practically help mold the product’s image and convey its effectiveness to the Filipino market. It has always been Dermablend’s pride in having Mr. Sam Milby as our official endorser for four consecutive years now.”

When they have proven their quality to the ethical industry, they decided to launch Dermablend Papaya Orange Whitening Soap in 2006, Dina added. Sam just got out of PBB then when she decided to get him as their endorser. “His fresh new face, irresistable smile, and incredible charm completely caught out attention,” she added. “We decided to do away from the bandwagon of having female models and artists endorse skin care products. Dermablend wanted to be different. Dermablend wanted our endorser to not just endorse our product; we wanted him to believe in its good quality, and we wanted him to be part of our family.”

Dina, who is married to a Swiss businessman, is the niece of veteran actress Luz Valdez.

Sam has been so used to the product, having proven to himself its effectiveness a long time ago, that he always brings it with him whenever he goes abroad. “I feel fresher every time I take a bath using Dermablend,” Sam said. “I actually used it muna for a month before I signed up with them.”

Dina added: “In the four years of having Mr. Sam Milby as our endorser, our experience with him is not enough to be described as satisfactory but rather, it is a journey that completely reached beyond our expectations. Our conviction of having Mr. Sam Milby as our endorser is stronger than before because not only does he personally uses Dermablend Papaya Orange Whitening Soap, he is also willing to go the extra mile of reaching out to the consumers whenever we invite him to our mall shows.

“Indeed, Dermablend’s relationship with Mr. Sam Milby is not only superficial. We don’t only believe in his abilities as an artist, but we also believe the fact that he believes in our product. And every year, he looks forward to another year with Dermablend and that is, for us, ‘perfect’ enough.”

Sam tried his best to speak in Filipino all throughout the press conference which delighted us all because when he was starting out, he could hardly speak Tagalog. He’s been practicing a lot he said. Since he wanted so much to make it as an actor in the Philippines, he did his best to learn to speak the language. Given a little more time, Sam would surely be speaking in fluent Tagalog very soon.

Sam going sexy?

Because Dermablend’s new slogan is “white is the new sexy,” Sam was asked if he’s amenable to doing sexy roles, and the Fil-American actor said why not? Actually, he reminded us all that he’s being removing his shirt for a long time now in his movies, including his latest with Bea Alonzo, “And I Love You So.”

“I’ve bared some skin before in my previous movies,” he smiled.

At the moment, Sam is doing a movie (also under Star Cinema) with former Pres. Joseph Estrada, Ai Ai de las Alas, and Toni Gonzaga among others. He describes the former president (who is making an acting comeback after more than two decades) as “napakabait.” So will he be willing to endorse the presidential candidacy of Erap? Sam describes himself as apolitical so he doesn’t want to endorse any political candidate. “I don’t want to involve myself in politics.” Actually, he has never voted in his life, Sam confessed.

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‘Kenny’s Open 2009 Urbanite Run’ smashing success

Kenny Rogers Roasters recently held the successful “Kenny’s Open 2009 Urbanite Run” held at the Bonifacio Global City.

The event drew a close to 4,000 running enthusiasts – including iamninoy and takbo.ph runners, celebrities, businessmen, students, young urban professionals – a whole spectrum of the young and “young at heart.” It was held in the evening and became the first night run to use a state-of-the-art timing chip device that recorded runners’ progress and distances of 5, 10, and 15 kilometers.

Frederick Siy, Executive Vice President of Kenny Rogers Roasters, welcomed everyone to this one-of-a-kind event that demonstrated Kenny’s vision to continuously promote healthy eating and the importance of keeping fit and active.

In a festive atmosphere and amidst the resounding cheers of the huge crowd, Kenny celebrity endorser and program host Marc Nelson led the countdown. And the run kicked off with the 15-k race led by Marc’s best buddy, Rovilson Fernandez. It was then followed by the 10-k and the 5-k races. Exhilarated after the run, the participants then queued up for their certificates.

Meanwhile, onstage, the dynamic duo of Marc and Rovilson entertained the audience with their wit and humor and led the exciting games. International model and actress Paula Taylor assisted them with the raffle and gave away gift certificates from Fitness First and watches by Timex.

After the event, everyone enjoyed the bang and percussion stylings of Tribo Manila thumping while they ate their favorite Kenny Rogers Roasters meals.

Kenny’s Urbanite Run fund “racing” will benefit Hands-On Manila and 57:75 Movement.

(Kenny’s Open 2009 Urbanite Run was presented by Kenny Rogers Roasters and co-presented by Coke Zero.)

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Tidbits: Happy b-day greetings today, Sept. 21, go to former Comelec Chairman Ben Abalos, Justo C. Justo, Mica Francisco, Arnold Perez, Alfredo Lozano, Trizia Lazatin, Jerry Olea, Bernie Gozon, Erwin E. Estaura of Guam, Dr. Pacita Pabalate, Dr. Eustaquio Medalla, Monette Gallego, Abigail B. Ortiz, Carol Yap, Linda Lacsina, Baby Castro of Chatterbox, Eugene Asia, Dr. Albert Fenix Jr., Jerry Olea, Jake Ramirez and Angelo Patrimonio of Star Magic… Walker Underwear, one of the country’s pioneers in quality underwear partners with Robinsons Department Store in a promo called ‘Men’s Underwear Fair.’ From Sept. 1 to 30, enjoy a 20 percent discount on all Walker regular items available at all Robinsons Department Stores nationwide…