213. Brand Stories: GREGG SHOES, 1937

GREGG SHOES, 1955 Print Ad

The very popular shoes with a reputation for long-lasting durability and excellent craftsmanship were firs made in 1937, by couple Julio Gregorio and Francisca Garcia. Gregorio, a native of Marikina—the country’s shoe center—gave  his name to his creation—GREGG Shoes---that would find a niche in the large school shoes market.

He had started with American Hike Shoe Factory, making patterns for the American-owned shoe line, founded by United States Shoe Co. owner,  R.A. McGrath, a former soldier. At the same time, he was also a teacher. The factory would be razed to the ground during the War in 1941, but Gregorio had the sense to buy the shoe-making machines from McGrath’s widow ( McGrath died at age 68 on 25 March 1935) through a bank loan, and keep them safe in hiding, until the hostilities ended.

 

GREGG MEN'S SHOES, 1953

By then, the Gregorios had moved to San Juan, where he located his home, his main shoe store and factory. He began making his GREGG Shoes and gained enough patronage to warrant the setting up of shops along Mabini St., and in Baguio City.

A small shoe store owner by the name of Henry Sy once approached him to ask if he could supply his fledgling shops with his well-known GREGG Shoes.  The gracious Gregorio gave him Sy full support and began supplying his shop that would become the country’s giant SM retail chain.

 

LADIES' SHOES by Gregg Shoe Co., 1953

GREGG Shoes made shoes for everyone, of all ages—including ladies’ shoes, but these have since been discontinued in 1993. But it still the school shoes that comes top-of- mind when the GREGG brand name is mentioned. From the 50s through the 70s, GREGG Shoes shod the feet of hundreds of thousands of Filipino schoolers.

The shoe business still flourishes today, thanks to two of Gregorio’s granddaughters, Christine Golez and Lilia Almario, who have taken the shoemaking mantle of their lolo Julio. Saved for the N. Domingo store, all the GREGG Shoes outlets have closed shops. The SM Department Stores still carry the line, in gratitude for the founder whose act of kindness propelled the once-humble Shoemart store to great heights never before imagined.

SOURCES:

Lila Almario; The Shoe Princess: https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/fashion-and-beauty/2003/03/26/200378/lifestyle

Thanks to Isidra Reyes for her Gregg Shoes FB article.

Constantino, Renato. A History of the Philippines, from the Spanish Colonization to the Second World War, Monthly Review Press, NY and London

212: Is That Who I Think He Is? ANTHONY N. VILLANUEVA for TONDEÑA RUM (1966) and TERYLENE (1967)

CELEBRATED BOXER ANTHONY VILLANUEVA. Highest-placed Filipino Olympian, 1964

BOY BOXER, Anthony Villanueva

The 19 year old boxer who became a household name in 1964 with his triumph at the Tokyo Olympics was born Anthony N. Villanueva (b. 18 March 1945)  to an Olympian father, Cely Villanueva, a bronze medallist at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics.

His pugilist father influenced his interest in boxing, so much so that at an early age, he became an accomplished athlete. 

Boxing aficionado and businessman Eugenio Puyat saw his potential and supported him, such that by 1962, at age 17, the FEU teen became a national boxing titlist.

This qualified him to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics where he competed in the Featherweight Division, where he defeated boxers from Italy, Tunisia, Poland and the U.S. before facing the Russian  Stanislav Stepashkin in the finals. In the controversial Gold medal match, Villanueva lost 3 to 2.

Nevertheless, Villanueva came home to a hero’s welcome—the highest-placed athlete in Philippine Olympic history. Showbiz beckoned, and Villanueva starred in at least 5 action movies, including the boxing-inspired “Malakas, Kaliwa't Kanan” with Nida Blanca and the bio-flick, “The Pancho Villa Story”.

 

VILLANUEVA AND STEPASHKIN in the controversial finals.

As he lost his amateur status due to his lucrative acting career, Villanueva turned professional in 1965, debuting in a fund-raising event called “Fiesta Fistiana” at the Araneta Coliseum, matched against the Japanese, Shigeo Nirasawa. He would hang his boxing gloves after only 5 bouts.

Capitalizing on his Olympic fame, advertisers sought out the acclaimed boxer, who signed up with two clients.

 

VILLANUEVA FOR TONDENA RUM, 1966

For La Tondeña, Villanueva did an ad for TONDEÑA NATURAL RUM in 1966. The B&W print ad featured a close-up photo of the boxer, holding a glass of “smooth as velvet” TONDEÑA RUM.

Villanueva also appeared in a TERYLENE ad that was part of  a campaign series. TERYLENE, a fabric perfect for suits, was a revolutionary clothing material made of a combination of viscose rayon and terylene. The thematic ad series featured active men in heroic James Bond roles, coming to damsel in distress, unmasking enemies, delivering karate chops—that tests the fabric for durability, comfort and strength.  

 

VILLANUEVA POSING FOR A TERYLENE AD,1967

Villanueva’s version shows him as a travelling photographer, smartly dressed in a suit—“so neat, so masculine, so elegant”-- flitting to and fro to his shooting assignments.

When his boxing and acting days were over, Villanueva became a boxing coach, until 1976, when he decided to go find his future in the U.S.  

SOURCES:

https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/15/14/villanuevas-death-puts-spotlight-poor-retired-athletes

211. An Orange Avalanche from PepsiCo: MIRINDA, 1966-1967

DRINK FRESH M-M-M-MIRINDA ORANGE, 1967 campaign

Pepsi Cola’s fruit-flavored soda—MIRINDA—was launched in the mid 1960s in the Philippines and soon became a major player in the local softdrink market.

Originally produced in Spain in 1959, MIRINDA came in distinctive swirl bottles with a a bubbly green “M” emblazoned in front.

The name MIRINDA was said to have been derived from the pidgin language, Esperanto, which means, “wonderful”.

MIRINDA orange was the first flavor introduced, aimed at Royal Tru-Orange, then the market leader in the category. There were also cheaper price brands of orange sodas like Avenue and Ideal, but nothing beats the fizz and fruiter, orangier flavors of MIRINDA and Royal.

Supported fully with the massive marketing resources of Pepsico, MIRINDA made waves as it was positioned as a fun-flavored, thirst-quenching drink for teens and young adults.  

The product was pushed full-color lifestyle ad series, that captured the interest of the ‘60s Now Generation.

Though available in limited areas, MIRINDA was soon giving a Royal Tru-Orange a run for its money. The “More Fun” campaign lasted from 1966-61, and was replaced by “M-M-M-Mirinda” with the introduction of a short-lived flavor variant, MIRINDA Grape. This campaign ran until 1968.

MIRINDA 'BADMINTON' PRINT AD, 1966

MIRINDA 'BOWLING' PRINT AD,1966

MIRINDA TV advertising in the late 1960ss included the U.S. produced “Orange Avalanche” campaign that was used and aired in the Philippines.

MIRINDA ' FISHING' PRINT AD, 1966

MIRINDA 'SWING' PRINT AD,1966

In 1976, a head-on collision with market leader Royal Tru-Orange became national news when MIRINDA dared come out with an ad that claimed that nearly half of Royal Tru-Orange drinkers preferred the taste of MIRINDA in a blind taste test.

MIRINDA ORANGE, AND WITH NEW GRAPE FLAVOR, 1967

In a  time when comparative advertising wasn’t allowed (the mere mention of a competitor’s name in an ad was subject to strict regulation), MIRINDA’s move was considered unethical, and the claim insufficiently backed. The MIRINDA ad was banned, but Pepsico retaliated with a nationwide taste challenge to determine which tasted better— “Let your taste decide!”, was MIRINDA’s battlecry.

MIRINDA ORANGE & GRAPE THERMOMETER, 1967 STORE PREMIUM

MIRINDA now represents the majority of Mirinda sales worldwide following a major repositioning of the brand towards that flavor in the early 1990s. It is still being sold in the Philippines in PET bottles and cans, though not as briskly as before with the advent of similar juice drinks, twisters, flavored tea and powdered orange drinks. Recently, a MIRINDA Fun Mix powder drink was introduced in 2018.

A 1960 MIRINDA COOLER.

210. Health is Life: LIFEBUOY SOAP, Philippine Ads, 1936-1966

EARLY 1936 PHILIPPINE AD, LIFEBUOY HEALTH SOAP & SHAVING CREAM.

LIFEBUOY Health Soap  has a long history in the Philippines, available here in the Philippines since the Commonwealth years. Originally introduced by the Lever Bros. in England in 1895, it made a splash in America, becoming one of the country’s most popular soaps from 1923 to the 1950s.

The first LIFEBUOY Soaps in the country were imported from the U.S. by Smith, Bell & Co.Ltd. in the 1930s. The soaps—which were phenol-based carbolic soaps—were advertised on a “health” platform as the mediciney-smelling soap had germ-fighting qualities.

The Philippine Refining Company (PRC, founded 1916, incorporated 1927) became the manufacturers and marketers of Lever Brothers products when the company ventured into bath and beauty soaps. The first soap product introduced was LUX in 1950.  By 1951, LIFEBUOY was the best selling health soap in North America , prompting PRC to launch the soap here that same year.

 

WASH DAILY WITH LIFEBUOY! 1953 AD

The first illustrated, locally-made ads came out in 1953, touting the germicidal properties of the soap. The octagonal shaped LIFEBUOY  came in red and yellow packaging.

 

LIFEBUOY, KILL GERMS--GUARDS YOUR HEALTH,1953

Sometime in 1951 or 1952,  Lever Bros. experimented with adding perfumes to the soap, and made the changes permanent in 1954. Thus LIFEBUOY was repositioned as both a health and beauty soap. It is credited for popularizing the term “B.O.”for ‘body odor’ in it advertising.

 

MARLENE DAUDEN AND TONY MARZAN, LIFEBUOY SOAP, 1955

Advertisements from 1955, featured the coral-colored LIFEBUOY Soap endorsed by local showbiz love teams as a family soap. The ads made mentioned of LIFEBUOY’s exclusive purifying ingredient—Puralin—which keeps body safe from sweat and perspiration. The same ingredient also clears skin of blemishes. The first romantic pair featured were Marlene Dauden and Tony Marzan.

 

MARLENE DAUDEN AND TONY MARZAN, FOR LIFEBUOY, 1955

The use of the country's leading love teams turned out to be very successful, as beauty soaps made use of the same celebrity formula for their ads. The no #1 tandem of Nida Blanca and Nestor de Villa,  joined the LIFEBUOY bandwagon in 1957. 

NIDA BANCA AND NESTOR DE VILLA, FOR LIFEBUOY, 1957 Photo: VIDEO48

Sampaguita Pictures was contracted by PRC to provide wholesome romantic pairings to appear in the LIFEBUOY print ads, and they were employed for regular as weall as seasonal promotions,

NATION'S LEADING LOVE TEAMS, LIFEBUOY ENDORSERS,1957

Other leading love teams of the country who pushed the product in the 50s decades included Amalia Fuentes and Juancho Gutierrez, Shirley Moreno and Zaldy Zshornack, Maruta Zobel and Robert Campos, and Lita Gutierrez and Willie Sotelo.

MARITA ZOBEL AND ROBERT CAMPOS FOR LIFEBUOY SOAP, 1961

 In the 1960s, the love team formula in LIFEBUOY advertising was continued by the new toast of Philippine movies, Susan Roces and young, matinee idol, Romeo Vasquez,  Marita Zobel and Robert campos also pushed the products to new height in 1961

SUSAN ROCES AND ROMEO VASQUEZ, FOR LIFEBUOY SOAP, 1960

LIFEBUOY surged in popularity in  late 1960s through the early 1970s, with the introduction of LIFEBUOY White.

 

GLORIA ROMERO & JUANCHO GUTIERREZ, FOR LIFEBUOY SOAP, 1961.

By 1966, LIFEBUOY began modernizing its look, and upgrading its formulation, with its Double Care  Action, which protects against skin bacteria, and which gives a longer-lasting feeling of after-bath freshness. This was at a critical time when Procter & Gamble decided to launch its bacterial skin soap, Safeguard, internationally, beginning with the Philippines.

LIFEBUOY'S DOUBLE-CARE ACTION, for all-day protection, 1966

LIFEBUOY's original anti-bacteria platform had been diluted through the years with added promises of complexion care due to the proliferation of beauty soaps. This proved to be LIFEBUOY's undoing, as Safeguard would latch on to this single-minded "germ protection', and built it with credentials from medical authorities. By the new 70s decade, SAFEGUARD had a stronghold on the bacterial soap market.

LIFEBUOY, Double-Care campaign, female version, 1966

LIFEBUOY advertising continued till the early 2000s, until the product itself was totally phased out from the U.S. market in 2006, though it still is produced in some parts of the world, including India—for the Asian market.

AN ATTEMPT TO PRE-EMPT SAFEGUARD'S LAUNCH, Note tagline. 1966

SOURCE:

NIDA-NESTOR LIFEBUOY PRIINT AD, courtesy of Video 48.http://video48.blogspot.com/2008/04/terrific-tandem-of-nida-and-nestor.html

209. PUREFOODS HOTDOGS: Tender, Juicy, Tasty, Just Right to the Bite, 1980-81

PUREFOODS HOTDOGS, the country's largest-selling hotdog, is a well-loved brand with a long advertising history. It was made by PUREFOODS CORP., beginning in 1956, along with other processed meats.

Before it was acquired by San Miguel Corporation in 2001, PUREFOODS engaged agencies to do their advertising, particularly for their flagship brand, PUREFOODS HOTDOGS.

One memorable campaign launched in 1980 showed an animated hotdog running across the screen as active kids enjoyed their hotdog treats in various vignettes. The cartoon hotdog character sang a catchy jingle that praised his own merits:

“I’m Tender,Juicy, Tasty, that’s right to the bite…I’m you’re PUREFOODS HOTDOG!”

The happy, easy-to-sing jingle caught the fancy of TV viewers, kids and moms.  The “Tender, Juicy” campaign  became a successful one for PUREFOODS HOTDOGS, ensuring its hold on market leadership. On this spread are the print counterparts of the “Tender, Juicy” campaign.

PUREFOODS HOTDOGS would go on to have more memorable and award winning campaigns in the next few years, courtesy of the charming “Dear Diary” TVC (“Carlo sat beside me today…) and the trio of award-winning commercials featuring Purefoots hotshots Alvin Patrimonio, Jojo Lastimosa and Jerry Codiñera. "Tender, Juicy" became so associated with these hotdogs that they were, at one point, nicknamed "TJ Hotdogs", for many years. 

208. Celebrity Endorser: AURORA MCKENNEY PIJUAN, Miss International 1970

MISS INTERNATIONAL 1970 AURORA PIJUAN

Just as Gloria Diaz was winding her reign as Miss Universe of 1969, Aurora McKenny Pijuan of Bacolod extended the winning streak of ur beauty queens when she won the 1970 Miss International title in Osaka, Japan on 16 May 1970.

IBA NA'NG MATANGKAD. Pijuan starred in a tar margarine commercial tha highlighted her height
advantage. "Magaganda sila..matatangkad...buti, ako rin..." so went the establishing opening copy.

The southern belle (b. 11 Nov. 1949)  daughter of Marcelo Pijuan and Lucielle McKenney. was a St. Scholastica student when she joined her first contest-- Miss Teen Philippines 1966 contest. She placed second behind Mary Jane Madamba.  Four years later, she joined the Bb. Pilipinas Pageant and bagged the Bb. Pilipinas-International title, alongside Simonette delos Reyes who won Bb.Pilipinas-Universe.

PAL INTERNATIONAL AD WITH OUR INTERNATIONAL QUEEN. 1970.

Au-au, as her friends called her, was sent to Osaka, Japan for the international contest, as a side event of the Expo ’70 of Osaka. She was singled out from among 47 beauties to succeed Valerie Susan Holmes of United Kingdom. Her runners up included Argentina (Margarita Briese), Australia (Karen Papworth), Toshie Suda (Japan) and New Zealand (Susan Greaves).  The initials of the countries that placed coincidentally spelled out J-A- P-A-N.

WATCH AURORA PIJUAN'S CROWNING MOMENT

AS MISS INTERNATIONAL 1970 HERE:

The tall Filipina beauty stood out for her regal bearing, and stunning mixed American-Irish-Native American-Filipino and Spanish features, scoring the first double win for the Philippines  in the popular pageant (Gemma Cruz had won the crown 6 years before).

ESKINOL GIRL AURORA, 1970

It is also interesting to note that when crowned at the Exposition Hall Fairgrounds,  Au-Au was wearing a beaded midi-dress (a mid-calf dress worn with a pair of pants) instead of a gown—a non-traditional outfit for a royal crowning. While in Japan, she graced the Philippine Pavilion in Osaka and created a sensation.

PIJUAN DOES PEPSI. ca. 1970. Her Miss Universe counterpart modelled for Coke. 

She received a welcome fit for a queen, with beau Tommy Manotoc, in attendance. She was greeted by the First Lady, Imelda Marcos, whose daughter, Imee, would be involved controversially with Tommy, a few years after her marriage to the top golfer and basketball coach. As Au-au refused to grant a divorce, Imee’s status was that of a mistress.

Her Miss International reign was so hectic that she lost weight and often fell sick due to lack of sleep. Still, she was the toast of her proud country, and appeared in a number of high-profile ads long after her queenly duties were over. She had actually dabbled in commercial modeling even before she became a national beauty figure, doing ads for Eskinol.

MR. & MRS.MANOTOC FOR LOYOLA LIFE PLAN, 1974.

Au-au went to Long beach to crown the new Miss International 1971, Cheryl Jane Hansen of New Zealand. Her Bb. Pilipinas successor, Evelyn Camus, placed 3rd in the finals. 

Au-au had two children with Tommy Manotoc—Mavis (now Fuentebella) and sportscaster TJ Manotoc. An activist who supports many political and social advocacies, the former beauty icon is a member of  Gawad Kalinga, that works for the upliftment of people’s lives in rural Philippines.

PITCHING FOR FILSYN. Pijuan in a Christian Cordero outfit, 1979 

SOURCES: 

Miss International 1970 Aurora Pijuan from the Philippines, via Manny Tonogbanua, posted Oct.  22, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeoBAh7lQzc

207. “Super KJ” Campaign, JOHNSON WAX, SC JOHNSON Phils., 1979

SC Johnson Philippines was founded in 1957, and operated as a subsidiary of S. C. Johnson & Sons, one of the olet family-owned business in the U.S. The American enterprise began in 1886 when Samuel Curtis Johnson bought the parquet flooring division of Racine Hardware Mfg. Co., and was soon offering floor care products. The most popular were the floor wax line.

JOHNSON PASTE WAX was among the first products the SC Johnson Philippines introduced to the local market. Over the years, it offered insect control, home cleaning, air care, home storage, and car care products. But it would always be the waxes that would be their flagship brands.

JOHNSON PASTE WAX began advertising in the 1960s, and gave us classic commercials that featured “shining moments” in floor cleaning, punctuated by the memorable slogans  “JOHNSON yata ‘yan!”.

WATCH JOHNSON WAX  "SUPER KJ" TVC HERE:

In 1979, the brand was relaunched using the A“Super KJ” superhero character who came to the rescue of a housewife harassed by 2 men. When thrown to the floor by  Super KJ to the floor, the men couldn’t help the wooden floor’s  impressive sheen---attributed by the hero to JOHNSON PASTE WAX, punctutated by a stinger: “Kintab JOHNSON yata ‘yan…tumatagal”. 

SOURCES:

Super KJ 1980 SCJ Philippines Commercial, “youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VbbtWSMklc, uploaded by Greg Traupmann,

Published on Aug 13, 2013