Gabe Mercado, a comedian and longtime commercial star of a fermented milk drink, quipped about being “ready” for “mature roles.”
On Tuesday, August 26, he took to the Meta-owned Threads platform to share that he is open to accepting new commercial roles.
“I was the endorser for Yakult for many years and many commercials. Siguro ngayon, ready na ako for mature roles, direk,” Gabe wrote, referring to the popular fermented milk drink.
“Rosuvastatin at Arcoxia at Salonpas na siguro ang mga next endorsement opportunities ko. Manifesting!” he added.
View on Threads
Gabe’s post has so far earned 3,100 likes.
He was the star in Yakult’s commercials in the past, where he famously delivered the line, ‘Okay ka ba, tiyan?’ to promote the milk drink containing the live Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota
Here is a video of his iconic TV ad:
In a separate post on Threads, Gabe also posted the iconic line.
“Sige, I will say it for the sake of old times. OK KA BA TIYAN?!” he wrote.
Meanwhile, the products Gabe mentioned in his post could refer to Rosuvastatin, a medicine that lowers bad cholesterol; Arcoxia, a medicine that reduces joint and muscle pain; and Salonpas, a topical pain-relief patch.
This led some Thread users to joke about his pitch.
“From ‘okay ka ba tiyan’ to ‘high blood ka na ba?'” an online user commented in jest.
“Manifesting Metformin collab: From probiotics to pre-diabetic na,” another joked.
“Hindi pa ba pang mature role ‘yung ganap mo sa Joy bathroom tissue?” a Thread users asked.
“From ‘okay ka ba tiyan’ to ‘ayos na buto-buto,'” another said.
Many also thanked Gabe for his iconic “Okay ka ba tiyan?” catchphrase.
“As a Yakult enjoyer, I was just talking about you with a friend the other day. On how effective and iconic you are as an endorser. Will forever remember ‘Okay ka ba tyan?” a Threads user said.
“Dahil sa inyo po, na-educate po kami sa lactobacillus shirota strain,” one commented.
“My niece & nephew still remember your ‘Ok ka ba tiyan!’ Hehe,” another wrote.
“Okay ka ba tyan? Iconic ‘yun sa mga batang’ 90s tulad ko, Gabe!” an online user also wrote.
Others commented on how they remember Gabe through his various roles.
“Bukod sa ‘okay ka ba tiyan’ ng Yakult eh, mas kilala kita sir sa banda niyong [DaPulis], lalo na ung kanta niyong ‘Pogi’ at ‘Paa’ [‘yung ’90s] ahehe,” an online user responded to Gabe’s post, referring to the band, DaPulis, which he fronts.
“Not only that, I do remember you advocating for Spit! Manila way way way back!!,” a Thread user commented, referring to the improv theater group, Spit Manila (Silly People’s Improv Theater Manila), founded by Gabe in 2002.
“You were also one of the wizards in ‘Majika’ TV series, where Angel Locsin was the lead,” another said.
Apart from his commercials, TV, theater and band roles, Gabe has also appeared in the action-romance film “Videoke King,” the romance-drama “Kung Ako Na Lang Sana,” romance-melodrama “The Mistress,” and the series “Kingdom Krawl.”
