ELMO Magalona—the 17-year-old singer and actor who is following the footsteps of his late father, Filipino music icon Francis Magalona—lives a life full of surprises.

“I like surprises,” exclaimed the young Magalona who has been chosen as the face of snack brand Oishi’s newest campaign, “O Wow!”. He was presented to the media on April 18 at Chef Jessie restaurant in Rockwell Center, Makati City.

The O Wow! campaign puts the spotlight on everyday surprises that make life enjoyable. It also encourages Filipinos to find or create “O Wow!” moments from the unexpected. And at the event, Elmo proved that he is the young Filipino snacker who can truly represent this attitude.

“ARE you better off now than 20-40 years ago?”  If you ask a 50-year-old or older, conservative person, you will probably hear the answer “NO.”  This issue has been a very hot topic in this country these past several years, especially during this election year.  Americans continue to grapple with severe economic and financial challenges brought about by the housing and mortgage crisis that caused unprecedented, mortgage delinquencies, foreclosures and prolonged high unemployment.  Living in this country myself for almost 40 years, I tend to agree that life in the United States, except those “one percent” who are still making tons of money despite the nation’s recessionary economy, has been more challenging than what we had one or two generations ago.