Actress Ria Atayde is usually seen sweet and wholesome on television and movie projects, but she's showing fans a sexier side in her calendar for 2023.
During a media conference held at the Pandan Restaurant in Quezon last Jan. 17, Ria was unveiled as the newest White Castle Whiskey Girl as she showed big girls can also promote body positivity through a sexy calendar.
"I am very overwhelmed. It's not something I imagined. Usually calendar girls fit a certain mode. We all have this one mission of beauty that's why the campaign of White Castle resonated with me. They are out to prove that beauty comes in all forms," said Ria.
She added: "You can be sexy and wholesome at the same time. You don't have to show a lot of skin to be sexy, smart as far as confidence and how you carry yourself and embrace your body."
The daughter of award-winning actress Sylvia Sanchez said she couldn't believe she was offered to be a calendar girl for an iconic brand.
"At first I was in disbelief. Talaga ba? And then I was so touched because again, big girls usually don't cast in something like this and here we are," Ria said. "I am honored to be chosen as a White Castle Whisky Girl as the brand allows and supports me in my advocacy to empower each and every woman to embrace her femininity and celebrate her body.”
The actress also revealed that she did not really prepare for the sexy photo shoot in terms of diet or exercise.
"In terms of change and diet, not really. The whole campaign revolves around body positivity. I think it would be hypocritical to do something like this or something like that if you alter anything in them because it's embracing your body and flaws and all," she explained.
Following her photo shoot, Ria said she realized she can be confident in photo shoots.
"I never thought nga that I would see myself as a calendar girl pero if anything was changed, 'kaya ko pala.' I did a birthday shoot but that was for a more personal consumption type of thing. For something that blatested out so publicly, kaya pala. I really feel that I instill confidence in myself, also," Ria also said.
Asked about the reaction of her brother Rep. Arjo Atayde when he saw the pictorial, Ria laughed and said: "He said, 'oh no!' But I'm happy to have a supportive family in my latest project. They were present when this project was pitched to me."
Destileria Limtuaco President and CEO Olivia Limpe-Aw said that White Castle Whiskey highlights beauty in diversity in their latest campaign.
"As we celebrate 60 years of White Castle, we wish to highlight the fact that physical beauty is not confined in a single mold. We are proud to say that White Castle will continue its diversity in beauty campaign.
"With this new calendar, it is something that everyone will appreciate. While we appreciate that beauty is diverse, inconclusive, it's for everyone, gender, age, color, and even size, it is also important that we promote body positivity so that we will be comfortable in our own skin. By doing so, we build our confidence. This confidence is beautiful," Olivia said.
Ria now joins the prestigious roster of White Castle girls which includes Evangeline Pascual, Lorna Tolentino, Techie Agbayani, Carmi Martin, Maria Isabel Lopez, Cristina Gonzales, Glydel Mercado, and Roxanne Guinoo to name a few.
With the internet age, White Castle Whisky did the unthinkable. Just before 2021, the brand shocked netizens when they unveiled YouTube chef and content creator Ninong Ry as their first ever White Castle Boy.
“We weren’t looking to take ourselves too seriously at the time. Coming from the pandemic and working with our tagline Dapat Light Lang, we decided that we should feature someone that had also persevered and created a following during the pandemic,” said Aaron James Limpe Aw, Executive Vice President of Destileria Limtuaco. “Ninong Ry created some content for us during the year and we thought why not support those who supported us.”
In 2021, the brand decided to give the reigns to the people as they opened the calendar model title to the public. During this public online search, it was TikTok sensation Sassa Gurl who came out on top and her 2022 White Castle Calendar was lauded for being truly inclusive and a win for the LGBT community.
“It wasn’t our intention initially and it was definitely a gamble. We knew there were those who would have negative reactions to our move,” shared Brandon Jon Limpe Aw, VP for Administration of Destileria Limtuaco.
Together, White Castle Whisky and Ria aims to join hand-in-hand in sending out a positive and affirming message on the vast diversity of beauty and the multiple variations of what it truly means to be confident and sexy in the hopes of enabling millions of women to embrace the power that they wield as they all stand united in making the world a better place.