Obama Look-Alike Famous in Indonesia
Obama’s popularity has really spread around the world. Everything from streets, hotels, and even people are being named after the newly elected President of the United States.
For one photographer in Indonesia, it is not the name Obama that has thrown him into almost instant fame, but rather his face.
Ilham Anas bares a striking resemblance to the president-elect Barack Obama in this recent commercial.
The whole thing initially started as a job for Ilham.
“When Obama won, my colleagues played a practical joke on me — they made me wear a suit, a tie, and took pictures of me posing as Obama,” said Ilham.
“The pictures spread very quickly on the Internet. It was phenomenal. Then TV stations and an advertising agency got in touch with me.”
Ilham says he is often mistaken for Obama and people ask to take pictures with him.
“I never thought I would be a star in a commercial, then this happened. It’s very fortunate,” Ilham said.
More pictures here.
(link)
By Sun Tzu on 17-01-2009
Comment by Karen
January 17th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
Hahaha. They’re two completely different races yet look really alike. Cool.
It’d kind of suck to be a lookalike, IMO….
Comment by Mark Kwan
January 17th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
I think that the commercial is not from Indonesia due to the woman and narrator at the end are speaking Tagalog which is the main kaguage spoken in the Philippines and so I think that the commercial is from the Philippines not Indonesia.
Comment by user1
January 18th, 2009 at 12:27 am
Come on. Think of all the free sex from dumb women who really think he’s Obama.
Comment by goyang
January 18th, 2009 at 1:31 am
the man you impersonate Obama is from Indonesia but the commercial is in Philippines.
Comment by Geogy
January 18th, 2009 at 2:10 am
Haha!! They really look alike oh…but that’s only happen when he is taking picture. When the man starts talking…ermm…I don’t really think that way anymore…hehe!
Comment by fedup
January 18th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Obama would rather have a man.
Comment by turb0
January 18th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
the rob scnheider look alike kicks this photo up a notch. bam!
Comment by michael
January 18th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
He could make a million dollars advertising blackberries
Comment by John
January 18th, 2009 at 11:20 pm
This guy looks more like Obama with cancer.
Comment by TeleVision Spy
January 19th, 2009 at 12:04 am
I can sorta see the resemblance, the ad is pretty bad though. They manage to scrape past defamation because they never say it’s Obama or supposed to be Obama.
Comment by Frizah
January 19th, 2009 at 1:29 am
LOL!!!!
Comment by Sam
January 19th, 2009 at 1:57 am
That guy is a Filipino not Indonesian..
Comment by barako bama
January 19th, 2009 at 2:13 am
its a filipino commercial. they are speaking in tagalog. he is filipino.
Comment by andrew
January 19th, 2009 at 2:29 am
Obama would rather have a man.
Comment by Sun Tzu
January 19th, 2009 at 2:33 am
http://ilhamanas.smugmug.com/
Comment by Photo Sharing
January 19th, 2009 at 3:03 am
It really does look a lot like him
Comment by dynes
January 19th, 2009 at 4:40 am
the commercial and the guy pictured above is not from Malaysia, its from the Philippines, set it straight. yeah, he has a resemblance to the new US president.
Comment by moses
January 19th, 2009 at 5:11 am
maybe he should get intouch with Obama’s Parent to know if you are not His Twin brother….lol
am really sure that he’s from Indonesia and will never be Obama twin brother and shouldn’t try to be..
Comment by gunnerz
January 19th, 2009 at 6:10 am
and where the hell is indonesian ad agencies -_-’
Comment by shtirletz
January 19th, 2009 at 6:40 am
the rob scnheider look alike kicks this photo up a notch. bam!!
Comment by Daver
January 19th, 2009 at 8:01 am
Congratulations, Ilham, you’ve just got yourself a lifetime meal ticket — or at least a 4-year one.
Comment by Darto
January 19th, 2009 at 8:10 am
lol maybe he’s Obama’s twin.
Btw look at his official website, he was born and is living indonesia. But true the ad is not Indonesian.
Comment by Khalid
January 19th, 2009 at 9:35 am
He’s indonesian
Comment by Pops
January 19th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Probably the first time an Asian is proud to be a shade dark.
Comment by Free xbox 360 Games
January 19th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Great article. Thanks for the information.
Comment by Mina
January 19th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
That is a smart thing to say. He looks like Obama and that is the end of it.
Comment by Mina
January 19th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
I do not think anyone women is stupid enough to have sex with him
Comment by Mina
January 19th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
What the hell do that suppose to mean, if he looks like him then so be it. It is not a free meal ticket because he still have to work for it. You all should what ever issue that you have with Obama being the President just put aside and let it be because Obama is here and he is here to stay.
Comment by gordon
January 19th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
yes thats right being a look a like to famous person would draw alot
of attention
Comment by Reverend Zapanaz
January 19th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
I think it was Arthur C Clarke who said that, given enough time, all races will eventually merge and look more or less like South Pacific races.
Which, personally, I think is a nice thought.
The womens are hot.
Comment by Reverend Zapanaz
January 19th, 2009 at 11:03 pm
Uhm … the above was supposed to be a reply to the top comment,
Comment by Karen
2009-01-17 23:06:27
Hahaha. They’re two completely different races yet look really alike. Cool.
It’d kind of suck to be a lookalike, IMO….
Reply to this comment
Comment by user1
2009-01-18 00:27:53
Come on. Think of all the free sex from dumb women who really think he’s Obama.
I clicked “reply to this comment” but it didn’t show up nested.
We at the BBC apologize for any confusion to which this may have led.
We now return you to our regularly scheduled jello-wrestling tournament with special guest, Oprah Winfrey.
Comment by gibibi
January 20th, 2009 at 3:24 am
yes thats right being a look a like to famous person would draw alot
of attention.
Comment by kaye
January 20th, 2009 at 3:37 am
The advert is from the Philippines. It shows “Philippine president Gloria Arroyo” hosting a dinner with “Barack Obama” who in turn experiences dyspepsia from overeating.
Comment by Ligaya and Itawag Ninyo sa Akin
January 21st, 2009 at 2:20 am
That “woman” is not really a girl but a gay who is impersonating the Philippine president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. The commercial is in fact a mocking of the two presidents of USA and Philippines.
Comment by Kane
January 21st, 2009 at 12:50 pm
maybe he should get intouch with Obama’s Parent to know if you are not His Twin brother….lol
am really sure that he’s from Indonesia and will never be Obama twin brother and shouldn’t try to be…
Comment by Maureen
January 21st, 2009 at 1:50 pm
How is he indonesia…?
unless he’s from there and he’s shooting some kind of commercial in
the Philippines…
I’m filipino..so i understood that..
Comment by Discount Coupons
January 21st, 2009 at 10:11 pm
LOLz! this is interesting.
Comment by atif zain
January 21st, 2009 at 10:13 pm
You have one obama we have hundreds of, You can find all of them at Karachi’s area Lyari.
Comment by James
January 21st, 2009 at 11:23 pm
So I heard Obama’s mother lived in Indonesia, what if? He is not Kenyen? and really Indonesian, she just did want to tell him?
Comment by James
January 21st, 2009 at 11:26 pm
He is indonesian because they are showing him on BBC, no I trust BBC over your dumb pilipi ass!
Comment by ChaCha
January 22nd, 2009 at 3:20 pm
So now we know there are 2 ugly mugs in this world. Big Whoop.
Comment by J
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:16 am
He favors Obama, but he will never be him. I wonder how Obama feels about this? Have you noticed the news reporters saying Mr. Obama instead of President Obama? I have quite a few times and I can’t ever recall when they called George Bush Jr., Mr. Bush.
Comment by YankeeDoodleDee
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:56 am
He’s Indonesian you idiot. The flip lady is the only one talking and she is talking in flip-English…until ‘Obama’ gets a heartburn (or diarrhea?) from her food, then she started flipping out in ‘flip’ (Tagalog). The guy’s an Indonesian photographer, but then the Filipinos wants to claim all things Asian.
Comment by paul
January 24th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
hes kenyan and american also i heard.
Comment by Onyx YAYAYA
January 24th, 2009 at 10:54 pm
OMG the woman looked exact like Obama, WTF!!
Comment by Onyx YAYAYA
January 24th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
I heard he was Half Spanish and 1/3 German, true story
Comment by Onyx YAYAYA
January 24th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
WEENER!!
Comment by Onyx YAYAYA
January 24th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
I think hes ok, or maybe a little greased up about the issue, who knows, lets ask
Comment by dumb american
January 28th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
what’s the difference?
Comment by zato
January 29th, 2009 at 2:22 am
hear that ilham? a blackberry add!!!
Comment by Brock MacLean
January 29th, 2009 at 9:10 am
I thought it sounded Filipino also, and I am married to a Filipina. The woman in the ad looked like a real dike though, or a ladyboy…He might look more like Barack if he had been given an opportunity to smile more in the ad, instead of grimacing over lousy food.
Brock
Vancouver, Canada
Comment by Brock MacLean
January 29th, 2009 at 9:15 am
The Canadian comedian, Russell Peters is of Indo-Canadian decent and he makes a joke about in about 300 years we will all be a certain shade of beige! So we may as well start going for it now….hilarious comic….I agree darker skin is nice and smooth compared with light skin with freckles…I got hairy legs and freckles and there is nothing sweeter than Asian skin.
Comment by Ferrari Guy
January 31st, 2009 at 9:19 am
that is awesome. he really does look very similar
Comment by Rose
February 5th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
Everyone and I mean everyone has seven look alikes in the world. So it is not surprising that Obama has a look alike, albeit a frail one. One down six to go! But Obama has a p[resence that cannot be matched. And he is more handsome, ha ha ha!
Comment by Rose
February 5th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Know ye all, Obama is a Kenyan!
Comment by DARKWING DUCK
February 10th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Hehe. Macaroni.
Comment by insaner
February 14th, 2009 at 8:42 am
twins……… O.o
Comment by Anonymous
February 16th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Which should prompt the question, is race relevant anymore?
If two individuals from so called different “races” can look alike, doesn’t that invalidate the concept of race, since each “race” supposedly has a very distinct and marked look?
Comment by rommel
February 25th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
the woman is a famous impersonator for gloria arroyo, the phil president. his (or her screen name) is ate glow. this is a famous ad here in the philippines.
i thought Ilham was a filipino until the net confirmed that he is indeed an indonesian.
Comment by Kunderemp
February 26th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
He is an Indonesian. A photographer from my city, Bandung. Due to his popularity, Philipine company ask him to be a star.
Comment by Kunderemp
February 26th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
I am an Indonesian and I don’t have mixed blood (at least both of my grandfather’s father were Indonesian) and in Australia, people thought me as a fiji or hawaians. While in Florida to Alabama, people thought me as Hispanic. While I met a Nepalese, they though I am a Nepalese.
Comment by Maki
March 8th, 2009 at 6:40 am
yeah.. that’s ate glow.. and her (his) bubbly personality,
the obama look-alike is indonesian…… i thought he’s a philippino not until now… ^___^
Comment by ToN1
March 19th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
Since when he is a Filipino?,
For 2 year I’ve been work with Ilham in potograph dept. At local magazine office in Jakarta..
Comment by GuNaWaN
March 29th, 2009 at 1:29 am
Ilham Anas Are In Indonesian Television Commercial Too
In The Tango Indonesian Wafer Company Advertising 2 Version
Tango 1 VERSION
a kID Say Obama Hia Mother Glad Him And He Go To
Obama
And Second TV ADVERT Tango A PatiEnT Enter A Drug Shop He Want A Stomachace
Drug And He Say Obat Maag (Stomachace Drug)And The Shopkeeper Say Obama?
And Obama Come And say can i help you?
and Telkomsel Advert A Band OF Men Playing Golf He Call Obama By Murahansell(cheapsell) and oNE cALLED uSE Telkomsel
Comment by annie
March 29th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Its really cool,loved it !
Comment by Jonn
April 11th, 2009 at 11:00 am
Now our look a likes are getting outsourced to India.
Comment by jasmine
April 18th, 2009 at 8:28 am
haha I was stunned for a moment ;D
Comment by john
April 22nd, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Now, just pray that osama is not fooled by ur disguise! Obama Lookalike = Obama – Security!!
Comment by QueenBee
June 24th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
lol ha HA!!!
Comment by QueenBee
June 24th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
totally! but that's sick
Comment by QueenBee
June 24th, 2009 at 8:12 pm
wow if i saw him i would get my picture taken with him and then show it to all my friends like "i met Obama in Indonesia!"
lol not rly tho
Comment by Ali
July 11th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Scorpion
Hey American, run DNA test for your president before you carch the wood since the second huspand of his mother was Asian.
Comment by Ryan
July 11th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Why the fuck did the women glide across the floor
Comment by Drew McFarthington
August 3rd, 2009 at 6:30 am
The resemblance is uncanny! Hope you have much luck with your new 'fame' and what comes for it will certainly be great. Congratulations!
Comment by two-faced joel
September 14th, 2009 at 11:39 am
of course!!!!!!!! President Barack Obama is the most powerful man in the universe!!!!!
Comment by bob
October 10th, 2009 at 10:52 am
get your facts straigh people…
the obama look alike is indonesian..
but the commercial is filipino…
and the person you see playing a lady..
is.. well, not a lady…
Comment by nani
October 10th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
All that pictures are indonesian actors – definitely
Comment by ---
October 18th, 2009 at 7:53 am
lol, she's an impersonator (and a very good one at that) of the Philippine's current president, Gloria Arroyo.
Comment by victor
October 20th, 2009 at 1:06 am
lol. people we all know what is it like to look like Obama. this guy must be proud, we know that he can fuck Obama’s wife. If I was him I would take that chance