436. Retro-Story: IVORY SHAMPOO & CONDITIONER TVC, 1995, by Chairmom Merlee C. Jayme

ANG GAAN-GAAN NG FEELING, with Ivory model Bianca Araneta, 1995

MTV’s golden age lasted from the early 1980s to around 1992, but endured longer in music-loving Philippines. At its peak, MTV had a significant impact not only on our music landscape, but the format was also borrowed and used in advertising production. Agency creatives would often propose executions “a la MTV” to capture the interest of youth who were very much into music videos popularized worldwide by the MTV cable network.

WATCH AND LISTEN TO IVORY'S"ANG GAAN-GAAN NG FEELING" MTV, 1995 HERE:

Courtesy of Merlee Jayme, uploaded on youtube 30 Dec. 2021, 

One of the most memorable campaigns that used this longform MTV format was the IVORY Shampoo and Conditioner campaign created by Ace-Saatchi & Saatchi in 1995 for Procter and Gamble. It spawned a jingle-- “Ang Gaan-Gaan ng Feeling”, which became a hit pop song for the singers DV8, a fairly new music band. It also introduced us to a fresh new model, Bianca Araneta, whose mother (Maritess Revilla)  and grandmother (Paquita Goyena)  had strong Procter & Gamble ties, being former Camay Girls.

Chairmom Merlee Cruz Jayme, then copywriter for IVORY at Ace-Saatchi& Saatchi shares her recollection of the now iconic music video, with the hit jingle that turned into a mainstream monster hit, ruling the TV and radio airwaves for quite awhile, nationwide.

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As a Copywriter in Ace Saatchi & Saatchi, I worked on the launch of IVORY Shampoo & Conditioner. IVORY is gentle on hair and scalp with no harsh and heavy ingredients. So, hair feels light and not weighed down.

It was the 90s, and music videos were a big thing. Targeting young teens, I started writing a song. When I wrote the first line, “Dati ang aking buhay ay kulang sa sigla…” I tried to set the mood for heaviness and the need for lightness. Then the mood changes with a happy, catchy, breezy refrain that perfectly captures the feeling of lightness: “Ang gaan, gaan ng feeling.” The famous composer Jimmy Antiporda did the melody.

We searched and discovered the perfect talent to embody the pure, gentle, and light brand persona: the 14-year-old Bianca Araneta, the daughter of the 70s actress Maritess Revilla and businessman Iking Araneta. I remember that day when I had to go to their condominium in Mandaluyong with my Accounts Director to convince her parents to allow her to be our Ivory girl.

The music video made her an instant star, and her signature hair shot. She was blowing her wispy bangs away.

Today, what surprises me is the fact that carolers and choirs sing “Ang gaan, gaan ng feeling” during Christmas. I didn’t think the lyrics I wrote for a shampoo had a deeper religious meaning.

 About the Guest Writer: MERLEE CRUZ JAYME is the Chairmom & Chief Creative Officer at Dentsu Creative Philippines and Chief Creative Officer APAC at Dentsu. Before that, she co-founded  DM9 Jayme and Syfu. She started her illustrious career as a Copywriter at Ace-Saatchi & Saatchi advertising, where she met and married her colleague, Timmy Jayme, then an account executive. They have 4 daughters. Merlee is also a founder of a school, The Misfits, a training camp for autistic and deaf creatives.

 CREDITS:

AGENCY: ACE SAATCHI & SAATCHI ADVERTISING

COPYWRITER: MERLEE CRUZ JAYME

ART DIRECTOR: JAKE TESORO

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: MELVIN M. MANGADA

ECD: JIMMY F. SANTIAGO

PRODUCER: NANETTE RAMIREZ

 CLIENT:PROCTER & GAMBLE PHILS.

BRAND MANAGER: CHRISTINE ANGCO

CATEGORY PRODUCT HEAD; CITO ALEJANDRO / ISCA  ABAYA

 PRODUCTION HOUSE: UNITEL PRODUCTIONS

PRODUCER: MARIJO CLAUOR

DIRECTOR: JOEY AGBAYANI

MUSIC COMPOSER: JIMMY ANTIPORDA

 MANY THANKS to Ms. Merlee Cruz Jayme, for the background story of the Ivory campaign, and for the use of her youtube video.