424. Where Are They Now? JIM ARANETA: The Colgate PROOF Boy, 1975

JIM ARANETA, THEN & NOW. From a kid talent, to a proud grandfather!

In 1975, Colgate launched a new Fluoride toothpaste called PROOF, a revolutionary toothpaste that promised to reduce tooth decay. The introductory Colgate PROOF ad featured a cute, bright-eyed 10 year old boy which left quite an impression on the newspaper reading audience.

That boy with his signature bangs was JIM ARANETA. He recalls that a talent scout went to his grade school at Colegio de San Agustin sometime in 1974. This caster went through most of the classrooms looking for the right young boy to appear in the print and TV ad, and singled out then nine year old Jim.

 Before he knew it, Bates-Alcantara, the ad agency assigned to Colgate advertising, scuttled him off to a studio to shoot the Print and TV ad for New Colgate PROOF. Little JIM also did a TV version of Colgate PROOF ad (which, unfortunately has not been found yet), but he recalls he only had a one-liner –“Ang sarap!”.

JIM, A BUSINESSMAN TODAY, CALLS TAGAYTAY HIS HOME TODAY.

Today, JIM is a 58 year-old father of 3 children,  and a doting grandfather of an equally cute and look-alike kid, Diego, son of his eldest daughter. At one time, he was married to a commercial model who was one of the high-profile 1990s Pantene Ladies of Procter and Gamble.

PROOF OF SUCCESS: with look-alike grandkid Diego

He keeps himself busy with his real estate projects and his company called Simple Fix, which provides handymen for building projects. He divides his time between Vancouver in Canada where some family members reside, and Tagaytay, which he considers his primary home.

JIM DIVIDES HIS TIME BETWEEN THE PHILIPPINES & CANADA
where members of his family reside.

The project he did for Colgate PROOF in 1975, was his first and last commercial. In the 1980s, Colgate PROOF revitalized its advertising, as P&G’s CREST Toothpaste made significant inroads into the Colgate market. A series of commercials were produced, using a new kid model with the same bowlcut hairstyle that JIM ARANETA sported in his commercial, as the image he created was so well remembered.

It's in the bangs! JIM & GRANDSON DIEGO. Casters, take note! 

Today, JIM ARANETA has lost those trademark bangs, but he has kept those pearly whites shining after all these years, thanks to New Colgate PROOF!

SOURCES: Personal interview with Mr. Jim Araneta, 30 Apr. 2023.

All photos, used with permission from Mr. J. Araneta.