Encarnacion Bechaves (lost commercial for Filipino florist; 1990s)
Encarnacion Bechaves is a Filipino flower shop located in Manila, Philippines. Sometime during the 1990s, they produced a memorable commercial spot that would have aired locally on the ABC 5 (now TV5), GMA 7, RPN-9, and IBC 13 television channels, and possibly also ABS-CBN. The commercial is well-known as having been unintentionally disturbing to viewers. No copy of the commercial has been uploaded online, and it is considered lost.
Premise
The commercial starts off with the camera zooming into flowers in front of a dark background; the song "Shepherd Moons" by Enya begins playing in the background. It fades into another scene with a couple, with the text "Encarnacion Bechaves" in Alex Brush font appearing on screen. It then continues to fade through two more scenes featuring flowers.[1]
Finally it fades into a scene featuring a lady in a red dress (with some eyewitnesses saying a black or a white dress) facing away from the camera. The lady turns to look at the camera, smiling through disheveled hair, and holds roses up to her face, further obscuring it.[2] The camera pauses on the shot of the lady's face until ultimately fading into another screen with the logo and the addresses of the shop's three branches.[3] At this point, a male narrator[4] intones:
"When the occasion becomes special. You can make it more special, with flowers, from Encarnacion Bechaves. Encarnacion Bechaves. When you want to show how much you really care.
Some people claim that the lady was portrayed by Filipino actress Cita Astals,[citation needed] while others remember another actress. It is however generally agreed that her scene was much more unsettling than necessary to promote flowers.
Availability
Although there is no official documentation of its existence found online, the earliest known mention of the commercial goes back to the 2000s in the Pinoy Exchange forum, at which point the commercial was still airing. There are currently no copies of the commercial available online, and the only proof of its existence now is the countless recollections of its viewers.
The general consensus is that this commercial was aired in the 1990s up to the early 2000s. There are claims to have seen it as early as 1984 through 2002,[5] but Enya's Shepherd Moons was not released until 1991.[6] It seems to have appeared mainly on the TV channels ABC 5 (now TV5) between WWF Raw is War and WWF Superstars (now WWE), RPN-9 (now CNN Philippines) between The $1,000,000 Chance of a Lifetime, Indianapolis 500, and Goggle V", and IBC 13 between Maskman, Masked Rider BLACK and All-Star Wrestling. It may also have aired on ABS-CBN between TV Patrol, Sang Linggo nAPO Sila and The World Tonight and GMA 7 (also known simply as "GMA") between Eat Bulaga, NBA and NFL Games, and playoff games including the Super Bowl. According to several reminisces, the commercial aired after a Family Rubbing Alcohol commercial and was followed by an RA Homevision commercial, now both also lost. It was also remembered to have aired alongside an Anzahl Urethrane Car Paints commercial, which is available online.
On January 17th, 2017, YouTube user Jemmanuel Cordero Ü uploaded an audio recreation of the commercial, using Shepherd Moons as the background music.
Gallery
External Links
References
- ↑ Facebook post asking viewers about the commercial's premise. Retrieved 26 Oct '21
- ↑ An in-depth description of the commercial by a viewer Retrieved 26 Oct '21
- ↑ Another viewer's recollection of the commercial, specifying the content of the ending screen. Retrieved 26 Oct '21
- ↑ Another description by a viewer. Retrieved 26 Oct '21
- ↑ Person saying that the commercial is still airing rarely Retrieved 05 Nov '21
- ↑ ‘Shepherd Moons’: Why Enya’s Celestial Masterpiece Still Shines. Archived from the original. February 1, 2022