Astro held a grand launching
ceremony back in May (for the media and selected guests) to introduce the new
TVB Jade Pack package. To further boost the subscription base, the “TVB Jade
Pack” Facebook fan page was opened two weeks ago, inviting all and sundry to
participate in a “No Jade Pack, No Nice” contest for a chance to join a
private function with 5 TVB artistes (comprising of Benjamin Yuen, Sisley
Choi, Owen Cheung, Elaine Yiu and Grace Wong) and bring home TVB’s limited
edition moon cake. Honestly, the contest regulation itself is flawed. The
organizer should have stated the word limit. Many ended submitting their
“thesis” and won, which ain’t fair to those who kept their words to a decent
range.
The so-called exclusive meet
and greet session was pretty “meh”. Up-and-coming Owen Cheung performed the
theme song of “Come Home Love.” Benjamin suddenly appeared and help snap
pixs of Owen in action, resulting in squeals of delight at the sight of Nga
Loh. One of the two most annoying female artistes at TVB was also at the
function, Sisley Choi. Luckily, fans were generous with the applause and no
jeering heard. There were loads of taunting comments in the FB page,
mocking Sisley for attending this promo event. The crowd puller of the show is
clearly Nga Loh(Benjamin Yuen) and Fa Mun (Grace Wong), thanks to the mass
popularity of “A Fist Within Four Walls”. A few fans teamed up with the celebs
in a contest to test their acting prowess. Grace and Elaine were really
superb. This was followed by a group photo session with the contest
winners and it’s a wrap. The hard sell “battle cry” repeated throughout
the function is to like the “Jade Pack” FB page and of course, enticing all to
sign-up for the Jade Pack package to be exclusive members of soon-to-be-launched
TVB Jade Pack Fan club. Members of this elite club will enjoy plenty of
opportunities for closed-door events with TVB artistes.
The second function was
opened to the public and Astro/TVB’s marketing team came-up with the gimmick of
hunting for “TVB-mons” (obviously, trying to copy “Pokemon Go”). Needless
to say, the response is far from overwhelming when the stars hid at Absolute
Thai and Hello Kitty restaurants, while fans seek them out. The majority
of them prefer the good old fashioned way of waiting right in front of
stage. Smart move ! It’s a shame that Benjamin shaved his stubble
prior to this event. Ben looks so cool with his facial hair ! Ben clarified
that he and gf, Jennifer Shum, are not getting hitched as reported earlier.
Nga Loh wants to focus on his red-hot career at this moment. The bright and
bubbly Grace is a hit with the crowd, too. Grace is expanding her
“Dear Grace” accessories business to Malaysia and staying another day to
promote her new shop in Ikon mall. I have a strong hunch that Grace will walk
away with an award in this year’s Malaysia TVB awards. Elaine revealed
that she is excited to start work in Jazz Boon’s new drama “The Alliance 同盟”, along with buddies Nancy Wu, Joel Chan and Ruco
Chan. It’s going to be physically taxing as basically, all the stars are
required to fight in this modern-day action series (perhaps with the exception
of veteran Pao Hee Ching). Personally, I am happy that Jazz Boon is
spearheading Elaine’s next project after her long hiatus. Jazz Boon’s recent
dramas have been runaway success in terms of viewership . Same for his “Line
Walker” flick. Elaine was remarkably stunning that day in a simple white blouse
with short black skirt. Owen did an impersonation of Leslie Cheung and Nicholas
Tse. Also sang Gor Gor’s classic, Monica and went down the stage to inviting
Elaine, Grace and Sisley to sing the chorus. Ben sang George Lam’s “分分钟需要你”. Similar to the previous day, the ladies are
required to display their acting skills on stage.