Beat the TMX Challenge

I was practically away in the blogosphere for the whole Saturday because of two reasons. The primary one is that Mitch and I were invited by an unexpected party, and unexpectedly we confirmed.

JOINING THE MARLBORO EXPERIENCE:

Mitch and I were invited by the Tobacco manufacturing giant, Marlboro, to devote our whole Saturday full of fun activities they have prepared for us. No other catch, clandestine marketing or unwanted gimmicks are to be expected. Since we are such city-slickers, we haven't planned anything for this long weekend and I gladly confirmed despite the hesitation. The primary hesitation is that I'm not what you would call a typical smoker. I smoke if I need to pack a heavy bloated meal or if I need help finishing up my "unloading" business (For smokers, they are familiar with this benefit). Other than that, I can completely live and course through life gracefully without cigarettes. However, I wanted to try this Marlboro Experience even though I'm "not-your-typical-consumer" because I associate myself with the brand.

So despite the lack of sleep for the past few days, I woke up at 6:45 in the morning of a lazy gloomy Saturday as Mitch picked me up an hour later as we headed our big butts to M Cafe in Greenbelt for the first freebie activity of TMX (The Marlboro Experience), which is BREAKFAST and REgistration. Mitch was eager to mingle as I am eager to eat, but the traffic was horrendous from Magallanes to Makati that I think, because of lack of breakfast and decent sleep, I was able to release so much profanity in the air. We honestly thought we'd never make it on time as the organizer kept texting us already. But good thing, we arrived 10 minutes before they were expected to leave and we just managed to fill our plates with sumptuous tapa, humongous grilled vegetables and MIA scrambled eggs. While there, young photographers were already flocked taking random pictures of practically "strangers"in the whole-day event. Participants who are present are not that old and not that young either, ranging from around 25-35 is my best bet. There were few minor and fallen celebrities, there are obvious flamboyant characters and others had CLUELESS spelled on their faces thinking that they should've declined and stayed at home. It took me the whole trip to Batangas and a couple of activities to realize that GLAD THEY DIDN'T.

All I can say is that we felt VIP all the way. From the moment we had breakfast at M Cafe and throughout the trip, we didn't shell out a single cent nor we weren't hassled in anyway. We left there in pre-assigned groups, riding VIP Black Ford Vans assisted by a couple of highway patrol motorcylces and a Paramedic van. Seeing the Paramedic van, I panicked. I texted Mitch what the hell was a paramedic doing in our presence and why do I feel slightly similar to an amazing race contestant, ala VIP style? Mitch, being a natural extrovert and a Marlboro fan, just laughed it off and quickly built peers. Whereas I kept texting a friend who was asleep at a time to ward off my apprehensions. My apprehensions being the fact that there's a Paramedic in sight, we would be doing some activities or sport stuff which I'm not comfortable with. And if I'm not comfortable with Sport stuff I just naturally become "sucker" at it. ANd if I suck in a group, we might eventually lose and I cannot afford to create enemies here as this event lasts for the entire day, in Batangas no less.

I hoped for the best and figured out a couple of excuses I can come up with if ever they request me to do mountain climbing or something extremely daring that involves either running or jumping under the sun's heat. Warding off Bad thoughts, I began to feel amused at how brilliant our "convoy" system was. For the entire trip, I didn't remember once stopping in the highway. We were escorted all the way to Batangas that I think we broke every traffic rule. We traveled at high speed, not breaking the formation with patrols assisting us. WE could only see the look on the motorists faces to think that we're some form of dignitaries. Yeah, right. I bet the main reason for moving in such a VIP and fast pace is to avoid stop overs and extreme smokers shaking from temporary smoking withdrawal.

IN an hour or even less, we got to the Factory just in time as officials and employees dressed in black shirts welcomed us for another set of refreshments and of course the anticipated smoking break. The factory was sleek, huge and very modernized. Smokers were in awe to be stepping on their version of a "chocolate factory" as they spoke with officials who head the production and marketing the brand of cigarettes that consumers patronize. While doing that, they smoke like crazy, opening packs, trying out all Marlboro flavors and just living the life.

After a couple of photo-ops and refreshments, they led us to a chill-out lounge with sofas with every kind of Marlboro packs presented at the table. A sexy Marlboro girl took over as our host and introduced heads of marketing and production departments to provide a brief introduction to wipe off the doubts on our faces. The lounge part felt like some sort of a symposium and film viewing as we were presented with facts and advertisements on why Marlboro is the BEST CIGARETTE brand in the whole world. I was practically amused on the facts that they've presented versus the sales figures of their closest competitors. Not one brand could come across Marlboro's figures. I also found out that Marlboro holds the best campaign ever in history, with the Cowboys in their Marlboro country theme. And I never thought that Marlboro started as a woman's cigarette that developed into a masculine and most reverred cigarette in the market.




After the lounge introduction, we were led to their gigantic factory with spacious interiors and state-of-the-art machines. It was clean, it was spacious and there were minimal people in the area. We saw how cigarettes were made efficiently and how QA's are randomly done. Officials take pride on getting the finest tobacco ingredients all over the world, perfecting the blend of (Burley leaves for the kick, Fleurcured for the flavor, and Oriental for the aroma) to create the perfect blend) of Marlboro cigarettes. We saw how filters and papers were filled with blended tobacco and how they were cut, packed and distributed to the designated boxes. The factory runs 24/7 and produces millions of cigarette sticks in a day. All the way, being amazed at how cigarettes were made, on the back of my head, I was silently wishing I was in a chocolate factory and I would've requested to take samples and run the machines myself.

AFter the quick factory field trip, we had a sumptuous catered lunch at the lounge and grouped ourselves for my MUCH DREADED activities. I think my heart palpitated at that time. Good thing Mitch was my groupmate so someone could back me up if there's an intense need to pass an excuse. WE were given red TMX shirts to wear and headed to their huge open field full of race tracks and some mini-flags.

It was KARTING and RC (Remote control) Race against groups of RED, YELLOW, GREEN and my team, BLUE. In RC I had no previous experience whatsoever. IN Karting, I've tried it once or twice in my life, but I could hardly call myself as a bearable Kart driver, and anyways the previous tries I did it just for fun and not for a legitimate race.

So, deciding the less evil, I tried RC racing first and saw the fuel powered 4x4 whirling in frenzy. I saw how my team mates and other people hurdle, run and maneuver those little rascal machines to go through all the obstacles with little demerits as much as possible. THe goal being is to transport as much packs of cigarettes with less demerits. Demerits were handed if the car tumbled, collided with other cars and went out of bounds. Since our group of 10 were divided into two (try out each race), Mitch and I tried RC first and totally, surprisingly enjoyed ourselves.

It was fun seeing the little cars tumble and whirl around like helpless puppets in the hands of the remote controller. I saw Mitch run in full concentration as our BLUE SUV car ran past bricks and go under the river. WE didn't care of demerits we'll be getting because we all had good clean fun. We didn'tprioritize winning, although we joked about it during the race. I went in last and I was the last person to unload two cigarettes in the bin. At the unofficial tally (without the demerits), our Blue team scored the highest and we were happy with that, no matter how unofficial. It was a surprise that I was having fun and exchanging a couple of conversations with practical strangers. Maybe I was that lucky that my groupmates' personalities didn't get on my nerves and it also helped that I experienced something fun, no matter how complicated.

After RC, we switched with our subgroups and tried Karting. IN Karting, just like any race, it was packed with adrenalin. I'm not what you would call an aggressive driver, but in Karting I let go. I was going full speed ahead, made sharp turns that forced my arms and torso to work and shamelessly banging occasionally in piled tires in the track. Dawned in suit, helmet and gloves, I was screaming and having fun while learning the basic rules of Karting. I wasn't exactly the model driver, but I managed to course through and hopefully contributed to the team. I wasn't the weakest link, at least I'm sure of that.

After the activities, I met with my team mates and I found out that everyone had fun. With good vibes and a sponsored Sausage Merienda, we were ecstatic to find out who the winners were. At the rewarding time, the Blue team was called for winning the Marlboro Trivia constest (The brainiac) contest that happened earlier. We got our pictures, got out keychain and shirt prizes as we prepared to win the grand prize. We self-proclaimed ourselves the entire winners already, but it was announced that Yellow team got the best in Karting and RC racing. And their rewards were Ducati shirts, key chains and the ever-coolness Ducati bag that we were salivating for.

After the announcement, we headed back to the lounge to wash up and eat another set of merienda before leaving the complex. Everytime there was a chance, Marlboro never seemed to lose any amount of refreshments nor food. We were well taken cared of.

AT around 7 pm, we left the factory, so tired and still slighly full from the sumptuous lunch and two rounds of merienda. Again the trip back to Manila was funny because we were again escorted by high way patrols as we broke every swerving rule possible. In Makati, we even took the counterflow lanes and just left the motorists clueless and irritated, I'm sure.

We landed in front of M Cafe as Mitch and I unloaded our stuff in the car parked for almost 12 hours in the basement. We enjoyed M Cafe's sumptuous dinner and chatted with semi-formed friends in the team. Towards the end of dinner, the officials announced one last reward to the group that got the best cigarette blend challenge. You see, awhile ago after learning how to make cigarettes, we were tasked to make our very own blend with our own mixtures of flavorful and strong leaves. Somehow, with estimates and luck, we got the best blend and we got ourselves a new version of a DUCATI Bag. We posed for another happy photo-op as we clutched our bags and proclaimed ourselves the INDOOR BRAINIAC GROUP. WE figured we kept winning the indoor challenges despite that we always go second at the Outdoor challanges. Not bad. I'm more inclined to participate on indoor challneges anyways. As the night ended, Marlboro Management gave each and everyone of us distinct limited edition framed pictures as a token of their appreciation. Not one frame is similar so that made it extra special.

After dinner and a few chit chats we bade our wonderful group mates goodbye and left the party while they were still having cocktails. AT around 9, I got home and showed my freebies to my mother and father, which they highly appreciated. They didn't even ask me why I was there, because they knew I was there for the food anyways. As expected my sister loved the loot bags full of ashtrays, tin cans and Marlboro special edition lighter I brought and she asked me to enlist her for the next year's event.

To sum it up, TMX is one of the best spontaneous experiences one has to try. For avid smokers, it's heaven to be where the brand is actually being made with endless supplies within their grasps. For the uneducated few like me, it's nice to know the success behind Marlboro and the advertising campaign behind it. For outdoor enthusiasts, they would have fun with RC and Karting while engaging with people who are educated and from all walks of life. I take it that the organizers screened for participants. For the indoor introverts like me, it's not the ideal walk in the park, but it's manageable with endless supply of food and knowledge.

Marlboro is indeed a powerful company that knows its business and knows how to take care of their market. What they did involved lots of preparation and not all companies have the time, budget nor prestige to pull off what they did last Saturday. Like they said, it's a way of educating consumers and thanking consumers for patronizing the Marlboro brand. We felt appreciated and taken cared of as we enjoyed every minute of it. Sadly, we couldn't bring cameras and take photos because Marlboro's hired professional photographers to exclusively capture every moment. I just hope if ever my pictures will be exposed in public, it would be less incriminating than I've imagined har har. Well, that's the least of my worries now, who freaking cares? I enjoyed! The Marlboro Experience was worth it.

But then again, just like the stupid "government warning" in packs, I'm advising everyone that if ever THEY REALLY need to smoke, to just smoke moderately and of course go Marlboro.