“2022 was kind of like a mix of everything. It was good, it was bad, it had its highs and lows but the highs were really high. I’m very grateful for the year that was but there’s still so much to look forward this year, like a lot. And I’m very excited. And this is like a great way to start my year with a bang,” White Castle Whisky’s 2023 Calendar Girl Ria Atayde on what to look forward to this 2023.
Destilleria Limtuaco & Co., Inc. marks the 60th anniversary of White Castle Whisky with Ria Atayde as its 2023 White Castle Whisky Girl.
The image of the White Castle Girl clad in a red bikini atop a white horse has been immortalized in Philippine pop culture. And Ria Atayde 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.
“I am very overwhelmed. It’s not something I imagined was possible. Usually, calendar girls fit a certain mold, we all have this one vision of beauty. That’s why the campaign of White Castle really resonated with me because they’re out to prove that beauty goes in all forms, in all shapes, and in all sizes,” Ria Atayde on being a calendar girl.
Being a calendar girl has this image of being sexy. But how does Ria define sexy?
“I think you can be wholesome and sexy at the same time. You don’t have to show a lot of skin to be sexy. It’s more of confidence and how you carry yourself, and how you embrace your body flaws and all.”
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,” shares 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,” shares Brandon Jon Limpe Aw, VP for Administration of Destileria Limtuaco.
Regardless, the move created a media firestorm and the brand soon realized that it could do so much more with their annual calendar release. As Destileria Limtuaco President and CEO Olivia Limpe-Aw put it, “we had released past calendars that launched the careers of actresses and models. With that kind of clout, we decided that we could use this platform to launch different causes and advocacies.”
“Sexy calendars have become a contentious concept. The featured beauty standards have been deemed unrealistic and not representative of the everyday female,” says Limpe-Aw.
Ria Atayde, who is a champion of body positivity, through this calendar, shows us that you are at your sexiest when you’re comfortable with and confident in yourself. “Beauty comes in countless forms, shapes, and sizes. At this day and age, beauty cannot and should not be confined in a singular mold,” says Ria. “I am honored to be chosen as a White Castle Whisky Girl as the brand allows and supports me in my advocacy to empower every woman to embrace her femininity and celebrate her body.”
Together, White Castle Whisky and Ria Atayde aim 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.
For more information on White Castle Whisky and for exciting news updates on Ria Atayde, like White Castle Whisky on Facebook.
Check out videos from the White Castle Whisky 2023 Calendar Girl media launch below:
HYPE MANIA 