251. LION’S SODA CRACKERS by M.Y. San, Print Ads 1940-1987

Soda crackers or “saltines’ are thin, square cracker made from white flour, yeast, and baking soda, with surface perforations and with a distinctively dry and crisp texture. They were known as early as the mid 19^th century.

 

A very early pre-war LION SODA CRACKERS Ad

One Philippine cracker classic  is the LION BRAND SODA CRACKERS, manufactured by M.Y. San Co., Inc. The  Mar family, whose patriarch Mar Yuck San had come to the Philippines from Guangdong in 1900, had established a soda fountain business. Like Clarke’s Ice Cream Parlor, they put up a bakery headed by Mar Chew, a relative who had learned baking in Hawaii.

 

LION'S SODA CRACKERS, Print Ad, 1966 

One of the first such products that were served in the restaurant were soda crackers known for their crispy quality that were perfect for eating with jams, butter, and marmalade. By the ate 1930s, they were so popular that they were sold commercially under the brand name LION BRAND SODA CRACKERS, with the familiar lion trade character. The earliest advertisements came out in 1940.

 

LION'S SODA CRACKRS, print ad, 1969

The brand name was eventually shortened to LION’S SODA CRACKERS in the 1960s, and the LION brand was also used for its mixed biscuits offerings. M.Y. San the produced another line of soda crackers named ‘SkyFlakes” in the 60s that proved to be a bigger hit than LION.

LION'S SODA CRACKERS, Print Ad, 1971

LION’S SODA CRACKERS though continued to be produced all the way thru the 1990s, metamorphosing as LION’S Cream Crackers.  Nissin Monde now owns M.Y. San, as its subsidiary Monde M.Y. San, which continues to produce its bestsellers like SkyFlakes, Fita, Graham Crackers—but LION brand of crackers and bsicuits have been discontinued with the phase-out of the LION’S Cream Cracker line.

OMNIBUS M.Y. SAN Ad, with LION'S SODA CRACKERS, 1987

250. Where Is He Now? JAIME GARCHITORENA, Commercial Model, Singer, Actor

From the late 70s to the 80s, the physical fitness craze hit the Philippines, fanned by aerobics phenomenon, plus the renewed interest in jogging,  running and working out. Athletic shoes suddenly became status symbols—they were not just functional, but also fashionable and cool to wear. Those decades saw the unprecedented rise of scores of multinational brands in Philippine sports and department stores—Grosby, World Balance, Nike, Converse, Asics, Adidas, and PUMA.

The brands Adidas and PUMA are intertwined as the latter was founded in 1948 by German Rudolf Dassler, who, with his brother, Adolf, had jointly formed the Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik ( Dassler Bros Shoe Factory) in 1924. But their business relationship was contentious, so the two brothers split , leaving Adi Dassler to form Adidas while Rudy established PUMA.

It was in 1980s decade that PUMA athletic shoes were marketed and promoted in the Philippins as thousands of  fitness buffs took to the roads to run. In 1984, PUMA launched its PUMA Running Shoes, which had technologically advance features based on their barrier-breaking footwear research. The design incorporated shock-absorbing cushion on the shoe edge, and took into consideration foot and heel pressure that led to the integration of soft, micro-cellular rubber  into the forefoot wedge.

The PUMA Running Shoes print ad featured a relatively unknown mestizo model, JAIME GARCHITORENA. Jaime is the son of Sandigan presiding judge Francis Garchitorena and Vicky Garchitorena of Ayala Corp. His siblings include sisters Teray,  Isabel, and brothers Rafael and Carlos. He spent his high school years at Xavier School, his college eyears at the Ateneo.  In his teens, Jaime was more into music, singing jingle studies for composers; his excursions into commercial modeling were few and occasional.

In 1990, Jaime finally had a breakout hit as a singer when he sang the jingle for a Close-Up commercial in 1990, entitled “Just a Smile Away”, composed by APO Danny Javier, who insisted on writing a full song, and not just a 30 sec. jingle. The jingle became his signature song which appeared in his first album of the same title, produced by OctoArts International. There were two other hits from that album”  "Would It Matter" and "You Are".

With his trademark ponytail, good mestizo looks on a lean frame, Viva offered him a recording as well as a movie contract in 1992 , that saw the release of his self-titled Pilipino album.  His movie career was shortlived, however, completing 2 movies for Viva Films: Jesus dela Cruz at ang mga Batang Riles (1992) and Andres Manambit: Angkan ng Matatapang (1992 Metro Manila Film Festival Best Picture). In both movies, he was lumped with actor Joko Diaz, Keempee de Leon and Kier Legaspi.

WATCH JAIME GARCHITORENA AT RYAN MUSIKAHAN 1990

Other than occasional guestings, Jaime’s showbiz career really never took off, opting to finish school instead. His last appearance was in an obscure film called The Dominant Eye (2000), an action-drama that starred Robin da Roza.

SOURCES:

THROWBACK: Jaime Garchitorena - Just A Smile Away (Ryan Ryan Musikahan, 1990), uploaded on youtube by Sunflower Madness Channel 14 Sep. 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-G3_5sMv8Q

Jaime Garchitorena: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1114025/bio

249. Brand Stories: CINDERELLA Specialty Store, 1956-1984 Print Ads

CINDERELLA LOGO, 1956 to present

The premium fashion specialty store CINDERELLA was started some 70 years ago by an enterprising Kapampangan mother, Mrs.Florencia Guanzon Coronel, who began dressing up her daughter, Therese, with smart fashionable clothes she created herself. An expert dressmaker, her baby clothes and dresses were noteworthy for their intricate sewing and sophisticated design, that soon, she was being asked by friends to design  their children’s wardrobe. This led the enterprising Mrs. Coronel to start her small business of supplying department stores with her stylish children’s dresses.

Early 1956 CINDERELLA Strip Ad

Together with her husband, Eduardo Coronel, they registered their business under the name CINDERELLA Children’s Dresses and opened an office at Rizal Avenue Ext., in Caloocan. CINDERELLA became known for their varity of fashions, churning out shorts, cotton casuals, pedal pushers, pajamas, coats and party dresses. It even produced boys’ suits and sport shirts.

 

CINDERELLA Children's Dresses, 1974

To their surprise, their homegrown business flourished through the 60s and by the 70s, CINDERELLA had stores in Makati, Harrison Plaza, Cubao, Quezon City, Caloocan  and Greenhills. It quickly earned a reputation as an innovative fashion-forward store, especially when it began bringing reputable foreign brands while championing top local talents.

 

CINDERELLA Ali Mall store opening ad, 1980

Things became more exciting in 1984 when Cinderella Marketing Corporation was put up to push the CINDERELLA stores and their lifestyle products, that included children’s wear, men and women’s wear, plus fashion accessories, shoes and gift items. CINDERELLA was known for carrying foreign labels such as Esprit, Clarks, British India, OshKosh B’ Gosh, NafNaf  among others. 

CINDERELLA Seventeen Line, 1984

Under the helm of Therese Coronel-Santos, CINDERELLA had transformed into a one-stop shopping place where one can find both the best in private labels and local designer brands in its  189 stores and affiliate stores nationwide.

 

THE HEROES ARE BACK! Men's Line, 1984

The advent of new giant malls, and the arrival of new global players that began in the new millennium impacted the growth of CINDERELLA, slowing it down, almost to a standstill. 

THE HEROES ARE BACK, Print Ad, 1984

Led by Arthur Coronel, CEO of Cinderella, the retail chain tapped Redgoodss Design Integrity Ltd.  of Hong Kong to redesign the stores in 2013, beginning with its Alabang Town Center branch. CINDERELLA continues to assert its role in the evolution of Philippine’s fashion history as it responds to the imperatives of change in the market and consumer tastes.

 SOURCES:

Cinderella FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/mycinderella.ph/photos/?ref=page_internal

Cinderella Reborn: https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/130491/cinderella-reborn/

248. Ad Memoriam: EDDIE GARCIA (1929-2019) as a Celebrity Endorser

EDDIE GARCIA, at age 49,"the greatest Filipino actor of all time", 1978

The veteran actor (and former Philippine Scout) Eduardo “Eddie” Verchez Garcia ( b. 2 May 1929/d. 20 Jun 2019), had a long illustrious 7-decade career in showbiz, and was on the side, a director, producer and TV personality.

The character actor was initially known for his villainous portrayals, but through the years, these  have come to include gay, father, grandfather, superhero, kitschy and other offbeat roles.  Garcia’s last appearances before his untimely death in a filming accident were in “Hintayan ng Langit” and  “Rainbow’s Sunset” (2018).

WATCH ANDY PLAYER SPECIAL AD

with EDDIE GARCIA, ca. 1985

(youtube upload: aianchan)

Later in his career, Garcia found fame starring in TV programs including Little Nanay (2015–2016) and Ang Probinsyano (2016–2019). He is the only one to be inducted in three categories in the FAMAS Hall of Fame: for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Director, and the only Filipino to win the Asian Film Award for Best Actor.

WATCH BEER NA BEER TVC

with EDDIE GARCIA, ca. 1990s.

(youtube upload: Commercial Muna!)

It was only at this stage in his life that advertisers took note of his appeal and pulling power. Garcia did a few commercials, like the ones you see on this spread.  You can see why Eddie Garcia was widely revered as the "greatest Filipino actor of all time".

WATCH BENCH TVC #lovelocalsuperstitions 

with EDDIE GARCIA HERE:

(youtube upload: Benchingko/Films)

 SOURCES:

1985 Andy Player Whisky TVC feat. Eddie Garcia (Reuploaded; now WITH AUDIO), uploaded by alanchan80/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEEgIWqP1Nk

Beer Na Beer Philippine TVC "Sagot Namin", uploaded by Commercial Muna, May 12, 2017: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_jqUc3ytfM

Benchingko/Films Presents: Fantastic Forks ft. Eddie Garcia, uploaded by BENCH/Jan. 24, 2017: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_jqUc3ytfM

247. Champion talaga! CHAMPION CIGARETTES of Fortune Tobacco Corp.

CHAMPION TALAGA! Print Ad, 1971

One of the most successful local brands to be launched at the end of the 1960s is the popular CHAMPION brand, made Fortune Tobacco Corp. (now Philip Morris-Fortune Tobacco Corp. or PMFTC), owned by business magnate, Lucio Tan.

CHAMPION’s early advertising programs were handled by Convey Advertising, which was responsible for creating the "CHAMPION talaga!” abbreviated from the longer “CHAMPION sa lasa, Champion sa halaga, CHAMPION talaga” selling line.

The repetitive line, incorporated in a simple, but unforgettable jingle, raised awareness for CHAMPION to an all-time level that made the brand one of the most well-known in the 70s. 

All the agency needed to do was to refresh the commercial with sub-themes like “The CHAMPION Generation”, “CHAMPION dumiskarte”, “The Brand of Champions”,  but always retaining the “CHAMPION talaga” element.

CHAMPION BROWN, introduced in 1974

CHAMPION Mild Menthols were joined in 1974, with the more fashionable slim, brown versions called CHAMPION Brown.

WATCH A 1974 CHAMPION TVC HERE:

However, since January 1, 2007, when Republic Act 9211 was passed, all cigarette commercials on television, cable television and radio have been prohibited. CHAMPION, which celebrates its 50^th anniversary this year, continues to be produced and has its own following despite the absence of media advertising.

SOURCE;

Champion Philippine Classic TV Ad ( 1974 ), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxHQPuh0Cvk

Posted by: ADman 1909, 12 July 2007

Convey Advertising FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/Convey-Advertising-Inc-249378005075156/

246. Hunt for the Best: HUNT’S PORK & BEANS, 1958-1970 Ads

HUNT'S PORK & BEANS PRINT AD, 1970

HUNT’S, a name associated in the Philippines with Pork and Beans, began as the Hunt Bros. Fruit Packing Co., in Sebastopol, California, founded by brothers Joseph and William Hunt. It originally was a canning company that canned fruit and vegetables from California farms, but by 1941, it was into canned soups, fruits, vegetables and juices.

HUNT'S PORK & BEANS, CATSUP AND FRUIT COCKTAIL Omnibus Ad, 1958

In 1943, Norton Simon's Val Vita Food Products of Fullerton, California merged with the packing company, and the new business was incorporated as Hunt Food and Industries, Inc.  It also streamlined its operation by focusing on canned tomato products.

In fact, the first HUNT’S products that were distributed in the Philippines in the mid 1950s were HUNT’S Tomato Sauce, HUNT’S Tomato Catsup and HUNT’S Pork & Beans. HUNT’S Fruit Cocktail  was the only fruit-based canned product it sold here in the Philippines 1957. The print advertising carried the famous slogan “Hunt-- for the best”, which would be used for many years.

 

HUNT'S PORK & BEANS, PRINT AD, 1960

In 1956, a group of businessmen formed a company known as the Pure Foods Corporation, which manufactured processed meats and food products under the Pure Foods brand name. Ayala Corporation acquired substantial shares in the company in 1965. It also acquired the right to manufacture HUNT’S Pork & Beans, made from high quality Great Northern Beans and real pork bits covered in rich, thick, sweet tomato sauce. It was distributed by Atkins, Kroll & Co. Inc., along with HUNT’S Tomato Sauce and Catsup, but HUNT’S Pork & Beans would remain its best seller and flagship brand.

 

HUNT'S PORK & BANS, 1960

HUNT’S Pork & Beans became a sort of a favorite “emergency food”,  as it was affordable and could be eaten straight from the can. It had very little competition in its time, so it became the country’s largest-selling canned pork and beans for many years.

But the decades that followed saw major changes with the mother company, HUNT’S Food and Industries Inc. In 1960, it merged with Wesson Oil & Snowdrift Co. to become Hunt-Wesson Foods.  A series of mergers happened in through the 80s, until Hunt-Wesson, the company which included the Hunt's brands, was sold in 1990 to ConAgra Foods, a leading packaged food company of North America.

 

HUNT'S PORK & BEANS, 1960

Meanwhile, Pure Foods dropped HUNT’S as it began making its own brand of pork & beans in the early 1980s. Around 1984, Universal Robina Corp, came to an agreement with ConAgra Foods to manufacture and market HUNT’S Pork and Beans  in the Philippines under this 50-50 joint venture.

 

HUNT'S PORK & BEANS, PRINT AD 1969

More recently, in May 2017, Century Pacific Food, Inc., the country’s canned food-producing leader,  acquired the Philippine license  for HUNT’S Pork and Beans, from the URC group. The deal includes the right to manufacture, sell and distribute Hunt’s branded products in the Philippines from Hunt’s-URC. HUNT’S Pork & Beans continue to lord over the ready-to-eat canned beans product category, with a commanding 86% share of the market.

SOURCES:

 Hunt's-Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunt%27s

245. Brand Icon: Republic Flour Mills’ PAPA PICCOLINO

In 1968, the country was introduced to PAPA PACCOLINO a jolly, portly Italian chef with his trademark mustache. He was the brand character for a new line of “Real Italian” boxed pasta products for dishes and soups.

PAPA PICCOLIMO, 1968 AD

 

PAPA PICCOLINO NOODLE AD,1968

 It was by Republic Flour Mills (now RFM Corporation), which ventured into flour manufacturing in 1957, even though wheat wasn't being grown in the Philippines.

LISTEN TO THE SONG THAT INSPIRED

THE BRAND NAME OF PAPA PICCOLINO

The name  PAPA PACCOLINO was reworked from the title of a 1953 hit song, “Poppa Piccolino", sung by Diana Decker The brand was active throughout the rest of the '60s, its line expanding to include soup varities and pizzas.

 

PAPA PICCOLINO SPAGHETTI AD, 1972

PAPA PCCOLINO SPAGHETTI & MACARONI, 1960S, source: Pinterest

Papa Piccolino appeared practically in all print materials, but the novelty wore off as the '70s rolled in. PAPA PACCOLINO was replaced with a real endorser, host-singer Pepe Pimentel, who more or less exuded the same chirpy, friendly vibe as the cartoon character.

PAPA PICCOLINO ENDORSED BY PEPE PIMENTEL, 1973

SOURCES:

DIANA DECKER-POPPA PICCOLINO (1953), uploaded by GoldenOldiesOn45RPM,June 8 2010.