Sa TV ad ng Sunsilk featuring Marian Rivera, Maja Salvador, and Nikki Gil as image models, nahaluan agad ng intriga ang pagkawala ni Heart Evangelista sa nasabing commercial gayong isa siya sa naunang endorsers nito along with Marian and Maja.
Lumabas ang balita na inalis daw ng Sunsilk si Heart as their product endorser at agad ay pinalitan ni Nikki. ‘Di tuloy maiwasang magkaroon ng mga tanong kung ano raw ba ang totoong nangyari at biglang nawala na lang sa eksena si Heart.
NO ISSUE. When PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) got the chance to interview Nikki last Sunday in ASAP '08, nilinaw niya agad sa amin na walang palitan na nangyari, gaya ng iniisip ng iba.
"First of all I don't think there's an issue. Hindi sa inalis si Heart, she was launched. She's on the billboards and, I believe, as their [Sunsilk] endorser. I'm an addition, I guess."
Ayon kay Nikki, may katanggap-tanggap na rason naman daw ang Unilever (maker of Sunsilk) kung bakit nga ba hindi lumabas sa nasabing TV commercial si Heart.
"As far as I'm concerned, ‘di lumitaw yung word na pinalitan. What was explained to me was, she wasn't available. She was out-of-town or out-of-the country yata. To be honest, ‘di ko alam ang buong kuwento, but as far as I'm concerned, I'm very thankful. Happy ako na mapabilang sa mga endorser of a product na as good as Sunsilk. Parang ayoko nang mahaluan pa yun ng negative. Kumbaga, let's leave it at that."
TWO CAMPAIGNS. Dagdag na ipinaliwang din sa amin ni Nikki na dalawang magkahiwalay na campaign ang ginawa nila pareho ni Heart.
"We're talking about two different campaigns here. The first one is with her and the second one is with me. It's a matter of getting my turn, but I did not replace her. Walang palitang nangyari."
Sa nangyari ay ‘di maiiwasang mabahiran talaga ito ng intriga, ng pagkukumpara, kung saan maaaring pagsabungin ang ibang tao. The worst scenario ay maaaring masamain ito ng mga tagahanga ni Heart.
"I won't blame them but they should understand that I did not replace their idol. For me to even compare myself to her, ang kapal na ng mukha ko kung gagawin ko yun. Marami pa akong kakaining bigas para marating yung narating ng isang Heart Evangelista. Marami pa akong dapat ma-experience for me to get there."
"Sa mga taong maaaring pagsabungin kami ni Heart, thank you. I'm very honored na pinagsasabong ninyo kami because kung tutuusin ay ‘di kami magka-level. She's more senior than I am in terms of experience.
"Ako naman, I'm just counting my blessings. I feel very blessed to be in that commercial. I believe that this is a gift from God and I waited for this. I'm just gonna enjoy every moment of it."