From meeting this guy a couple of years ago in a telecom awards event, until the other night at a jampacked media function room of Makati Shangrila Hotel, I must say that James Reid has indeed come a long way in his showbiz career. And as far as his being one of the superbods endorsers of leading tuna manufacturer, Century Tuna alongside with Elmo Magalona, Paulo Avelino and Jessy Mendiola.
Century Tuna made a very effective and impressive marketing campaign via giant billboards showcasing their mystery guy’s face one portion at a time until the final reveal by means of a sizzling hot, advertisement quite no other featuring a naked and sculpted James Reid sporting the #BodyOfTheCentury .
I am very happy for my good friend and fitness idol, Mr Greg Banzon, Century Tuna’s General Manager, because their impressive TVC was a labor of love plus hard work, and it came out very timely since James and fellow co-star Nadine Lustre have a new teleserye that’s doing good in its initial week ratings.
Upon entering the room, I was surprised that we media folks went speechless, lost for ooohhs and ahhhs when James went up onstage to be interviewed by funny bubbly hosts Sam YG and Joyce Pring. Both hosts immediately noticed James’ purple colored hair and joked about it if that took most of his time preparing for the tuna event?!
James gamely answered some of the questions addressed to him by the press and yours truly was the first one to ask him who are his fitspirations? And to that he replied that it has been fellow Century Tuna endorser Derek Ramsey all along. I shot a follow up query asking if Derek is aware of that compliment? With it, James paused and smiled and I think blushed a bit. I needed not put him much on the hot seat, haha! Thank you James for being game!
One of the lighter portions of the event was the Instagram contest showing a wacky pose with Reid’s standees within the function room as its primary mechanic. There were a lot of funny and creative entries and during the announcement, this media gal who won 3rd place provoked James to lift her because in her IG entry, it showed her carrying JR’s standee as if taking it home or running away with it. It made us feel she was the grand prize winner instead, haha! I’m sure real life sweetheart Nadine Lustre won’t mind if this member of the press got a real surprise lift from handsomely fit James during the announcement of winners portion. Ikaw na ateh!!! Century Tuna couldn’t be happier for having James in its roster of celebrity endorsers. From the very beginning, they already saw a champion in him. “His story is truly inspiring,” said Greg Banzon, Century Tuna General Manager. “It speaks of transformation, the relentless desire to improve oneself. It’s a winning formula that brings many positive lessons for everyone: perseverance, keeping the faith, while staying humble and true to yourself—qualities that make James a true role model.”
For James, it’s really all about trust. “I liken it to a championship game,” he reveals. “If you want to win, you naturally want to surround yourself with a teammate you can put your total faith into. That to me is Century Tuna, and I can’t think of any other name that I’d trust to keep my body fit.”
We’re looking forward for more abs exposure from you James!
At the end of the hottie event, it was time for several selfies…the media folks and photogs just could not get enough of James. Ask me if I was able to have a pic with him? Here’s proof!
That sizzling Century Tuna TVC ad with James Reid and lots of milk!
