It's not surprising news anymore when 8-division World Champion Manny Pacquiao breaks new barriers for Filipinos in the world of sports; But that doesn't mean it's any less noteworthy.
Pacquiao is now an established North American product endorser, the first ever Filipino to break into America's mainstream in such manner. If his HP Veer commercial shown throughout the course of the NBA Finals on national TV a couple of weeks ago isn't proof enough, HP recently launched their ad campaign for their new powerful HP TouchPad with WebOS tablet starring Pacquiao.
Also last weekend, Pacquiao and his family were invited and flown in by Nike's co-founder and Chairman Phil Knight in Portland, to discuss further endorsement deals with the multi-billion dollar company. Pacquiao is already a Nike endorsed athlete, but rumors have it that the new deal being discussed would put Pacquiao in the same stratosphere as some of Nike's signature athletes like Tiger Woods, Roger Federer and Kobe Bryant.
It's quite fitting that in Pacquiao's new commercial with HP, he talks about overcoming the odds despite what doubters have constantly said about him. "They said I couldn't win a fight, but I did; They said I couldn't fight above my weight class, but I did; They said I couldn't get elected to Congress, but I did. Now I'm trying to make it in music. Haha, millions of hits," a smiling Pacquiao said in the commercial.
Pacquiao is not only an inspiration for Filipinos worldwide. His story is a classic case of "The American Dream". There are those even in the Philippines who have their hang-ups with 'colonial mentality' that criticize and make fun of Pacquiao's english. Even funnier is the fact that, no matter how Pacquiao speaks, or whatever criticism is thrown at him, nothing, none of those criticisms, ever stopped him from trying new things and excelling at it. Source: http://www.examiner.com
