465. LEA SALONGA, for AVON "Let's Talk" TVC 30s, 2000

FROM MISS SAIGON TO MISS AVON, Lea Salonga, ca.1999-2000

By the new millennium, LEA SALONGA was already an established star of the musical theater stage, having conquered Broadway when Cameron MacKintosh’s  Miss Saigon opened in 1991, after her West End stint. She again played the role of Kim in the U.S., winning the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Theatre World awards—and the most coveted of them all, a Tony Award, the first actress of Asian descent to be so honored.

Salonga would return to Broadway again sometime in 2000, to rehearse with the cast, for the closing of the Miss Saigon production in 2001. While there, she was contacted by AVON, the direct-selling American-British multinational cosmetics, skin care, perfume and personal care company. 

WATCH LEA SALONGA'S AVON AD HERE:

Credit:  Rafi Sison, "Lea Salonga-Avon Commercial) posted 2018"

AVON was in the midst of pitching the promotion of its cosmetic products. In the end, the company decided to produce in-house their  first-ever global advertising campaign, under the banner “Let’s Talk”. The ads focused on AVON’s relationship with women and its latest beauty innovations.

 LEA SALONGA was one of the celebrities handpicked by AVON to talk to women everywhere in ways they understand. A simple format was used to accommodate the busy schedule of the Broadway sensation.  A representative from Jimenez DMB&B, the Makati-based agency that was handling the AVON business in the Philippines, flew over to New York, during the quick shoot, using an all-American production crew.

AVON PHOTOBOARD, "LET'S TALK" TVC 30s

The campaign was rolled out internationally in 2000, at a cost approximately $90 million in 2000, 50% more than the over 1999 budget allocation. Salonga’s slick, fashion-forward AVON Commercial was aired in the Philippines for a brief period, another addition to her portfolio of major advertising accomplishments that was driven by her  historic international success on the world stage, which remains unequalled to this day.

SOURCES:

Lea Salonga-Avon Commercial, uploaded by Raffy Sison, 2018.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_GO0GDBpA0

1999 Avon Annual Report, https://www.annualreports.com/HostedData/AnnualReportArchive/a/NYSE_AVP_1999.pdf