The Covid-19 pandemic spared no one, in the Philippines or anywhere else on the world. The deadly virus did not spare any businesses, tourist destinations, or even the smallest sari-sari store.
Moreso families like the Ekselente family.
The Ekselente are a typical Filipino family who suffered greatly during the pandemic. They own a resort that serves as both their family home and their primary source of income. Because of the lockdowns and community quarantines, the family business is losing money due to a lack of visitors. Worse, the family is contemplating selling it in order to survive.
Theirs was an archetypal dilemma that would put their values to the test, and how they would keep the family together in such trying times was told through the eyes of the family's helper or "Kasambahay," Ofelia, who remained loyal and true to the Ekselente family. She shared their difficulties and heartaches, and even went out of her way to help the family that had been good to her by staying with them, to help them keep their sanity as they faced life's challenges.
Their story highlighted several aspects of family life: the father's emotional struggles, the mother's resolve, whose stabilizing force is constantly tested, and the situation that their son and daughter are in as they face an unexpected turn from the life they were used to before the pandemic, when everything was still sweet and rosy.
The story of the Ekselente family was brought to life convincingly through a six-part series that featured real-life scenarios, coupled with pleasant and rejuvenating—sometimes heart-wrenching—music, as the family went through their daily struggles, a life suddenly turned upside down.
The father, Jojo Ekselente, is a former Overseas Filipino Worker who purchased the resort to exemplify that he is capable of providing a comfortable life for his wife, who comes from a wealthy family, and his children, whom he barely knew because he was always overseas working. He returned to the country due to the pandemic but struggled to find work.
Soledad "Sol" Ekselente, the tenacious rich kid, struggled to keep the resort and her family afloat, despite having almost no experience running a business, let alone a household, due to her status as a unica hija. She is trying to learn to deal with things, no doubt, but the difficulties keep piling up, such as deciding whether or not to sell the resort and staying away from her snobbish mother.
The "chill" guy, David Ekselente, is the total opposite of his sister. The family's "gamer" appears to lack the competitive fire that his sister possesses, and would rather settle for what he has now than pursue the bigger things in life, and not be too preoccupied with the family's problems because he has his own.
Cheska Ekselente, the last of the Ekselente children, is competitive and ambitious, a Dean's Lister in college and aspiring social media influencer. She is driven by her desire to be fully independent and will stop at nothing to achieve her goals, but she longs for attention from her father, whom she feels she doesn't know much about because he was always out of the country working, until now that he has become jobless but may soon return for work and may leave again.
Finally, the matriarch, Lola Beatrice (Sol's mother), is the epitome of an alta sosyedad mother: nosy, sneering, and condescending—but she may be overprotective because Sol is an only child. She shows her disdain for his son-in-law by being a lola who spoils her grandchildren, always giving them what they want just to despise their father.
The six-episode Casa Ekselente story was part of Taiwan Excellence's impressive digital marketing promotion initiative for 2022, and it effectively used the power of cohesive content to broaden engagement and reach. During the regular scenes, the story of the Ekselente family is part of a strategy that used organic and creative content to generate organic reach and strengthen product and consumer connection for six Taiwan Excellence Award-winning brands such as Juliart, Asus, Acer, and FECA.
Aromase, Annie's Way, Gigabyte, Johnson Fitness, Tatung, and Transcend were among the brands seen in the music-related scenes.
And the results for Casa Ekselente were completely impressive and significant, with over 900,000 views on Facebook and Instagram for the six episodes. Taiwan Excellence made a successful move by employing excellent strategies to achieve excellence and achievement in digital marketing.
