488. Got Ink? Parker QUINK , Various Ads 1935-1965

An indispensable office and school staple for students and workers in the 1930s is Parker QUINK INK. Back in those days, before the advent of ballpoint pens, fountain pens were used for office and classroom writings.

Unlike disposable ballpens, fountain pens were a sort of a status symbol, not only to be used and refilled with ink, but also to show them off, as fancy ones that had silver and gold fittings, trimmed with mother-of-pearl, and precious gems like diamonds and sapphires! But the ink remained the same favored  Parker QUINK INK.

QUINK INK is a coined term from  'quick' and 'ink' developed by the Parker Pen Company in 1931 and continues to be produced today. Chemist Galen Sayler is credited for its development creation, and  Quink was launched  on 17 March 1931—and its superior qualities—continuous flow, non-cloggging, smooth writing, quick-drying—drove its commercial success worldwide.

A myth grew out of QUINK INK’s origin in that it was a U.P. Filipino chemical engineer  Francisco A. Quisumbing who invented the world-famous ink. After receiving his Ph.D. from Columbia in 1921, he returned to the Philippines to teach Industrial Chemistry at his alma mater, U.P. (1922-1934).In 1923, he founded the Quisumbing Ink Products, that was not connected with Parker, in any way.

Though the popularity of fountain pens gradually dipped during the second half of the 20th century, Parker QUINK INK bottles and refills continue to be available today to a whole market legion traditional fountain pen users worldwide.

SOURCE

Quink Ink, Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quink

487. Channeling Travolta: VICTOR LAUREL, for TOP SEED Casual Wear, 1978

Victory “Cocoy” Laurel (b. 1 Jul. 1951) is the middle child of former Vice President Salvador Laurel and  stage actress Celia Diaz-Laurel. Cocoy  entered showbiz via the “Search for the Philippines’ Romeo & Juliet”, a contest to promote the Franco Zefirelli movie “Romeo and Juliet” in 1969. The 8 year old bagged the “Romeo” title  to Lotis Key’s  “Juliet”. 

He debuted in the 1971 film, “Lollipops and Roses and Burong Talangka”,  where he became a screen idol appearing opposite superstar Nora Aunor. At his peak, he recorded songs, performed in a live concert and made a film with Miss Universe Margie Moran in “Oh, Margie, Oh!”  

It came as no surprise that advertisers sought hims out for endorsemenr, becoming the first face of ESKINOL MASTER in 1974.

In 1977, the film "Saturday Night Fever" starring disco king John Travolta became an international blockbuster. Showbiz people started to see a bit of Travolta in Laurel, what with his facial resemblance and his dance moves (Laurel had studied in dance and portraiture abroad) that were so "Tony Manero", the main character in "Saturday Night Fever". 

Laurel looked the part even in his TV guestings where he showed off his dancing prowess  while wearing a white 4-piece suit--the same style won by Travolta. It was definitely for this reason that TOP SEED Casual Wear got him for a print ad. Even the pose he assumed was copied from the iconic Travolta pose on the movie soundtrack album cover. 

LAUREL AS THE PINOY TRAVOLTA, 1978

Did the Travolta gimmick worked for TOP SEED? Only the sales figures would tell for sure. But Laurel obviously enjoyed the exposure, and continued to embrace the Travolta image throughout the popularity of the movie and its star. 

486. Long Lost favorite: MAGNOLIA ICE CREAM CAKES AND ROLLS, 1979

One of the novelties introduced by MAGNOLIA Ice Cream in the 1970s were the line of MAGNOLIA ICE CREAM CAKES and ROLLS that were produced in limited numbers made for special occasions. They were basically ice cream that were frozen in molds that had special shapes (mortarboards, toys, logs, flowers and fruits)  to mark Birthdays for adults and kids, Graduations, Weddings, Debuts, and other milestones. They were airbrushed with food coloring by hand and individually decorated. 

The Ice Cream Cakes could also be pre-ordered if one wants customization of the cakes. These were created at the MAGNOLIA Dairy Plant along Aurora Blvd. where visitors can even see their production on the ground floor, next to the Magnolia Flavor House. These novelties had a niche market and were popular treats that continued through the 1980s. Eventually, the production of MAGNOLIA Ice Cream Cakes and Rolls were phased out as the manual process proved to be not cost-effective, making the products premium-priced. But for followers of these ice cream novelties, they were one of the best ideas ever to come out from the finest name in ice cream, MAGNOLIA.

485. 1988 Creative Guild's Radio Ad of the Year, ROYAL TRU-ORANGE "Ganito Talaga Ang Buhay", RC 30s

KID STUFF. In 1988, the Radio Ad of the Year was part of a best-selling campaign that hepled endear a softdrink to its young Pinoy market in an unprecedented way. The softdrink was Royal Tru-Orange, a purebred Pinoy product of faithful old McCann Erickson client Coca-Cola Bottling Co. The campaign debuted in TV and introduced a character destined to be one of the immortals of local Philippine advertising, an amiable, wonderfully regular adolescent named Joey, played by a charismatic young La Sallite named RJ Ledesma.

The very first ad began with the jingle strain: “Ganito talaga ang buhay…”, and the first words of Joey’s lighthearted, causally delivered flashback narration which proved to be the durable and permanent opening salvo for a series of ads harping on the natural goodness of the product and how it fitted in, just as naturally, with the ups and downs of a wholesome young protagonist’s life.

The campaign extended into radio advertising , of which the winning “Mantika” was an involving example. As he McCann creative director Letty Javier recounts, she and copywriter Kathleen Mojica collaborated on a scenario straight from everyman’s childhood experience.

The TV ads have Joey mingling with friends, going to school, and eventually falling in love and maturing over a span of several memorable years. RJ Ledesma practically grew up under the consumer’s watchful eye.

The radio commercial however, harked back to those embarrassing, pre-pubescent moments where every boy would die before being caught running a sissy errand for mom  in this case, buying a bottle of cooking oil from the neighborhood sari-sari. A bottle of Royal Tru-Orange proves the ideal cover-up in the presence of Joey’s pal, Jake, who, it turns out, was set to buy something just as sissy—bagoong. The pals are on equal footing, such all too familiar chores and the very real feelings of apprehension and relief, and the viewer concludes, are part of growing up. It’s a good thing that the softdrink is around to provide company, or even security, in the face of the possible bad trips of this complicated age.

Even without the powerful TV visuals, “Mantika”  effortlessly  captured the awkwardness, as well as the little triumphs  of Filipino adolescence, and softdrinks guzzlers everywhere were invariable touched.

CREDITS:

CLIENT: Coca-Cola Bottling Co.

Product:  Royal Tru-Orange

AGENCY: McCann Erickson, Phils.

Executive Creative Director: Emily Abrera

Associate Creative Director: Letty Javier

Copywiter:  Kathleen Mojica

Producer: Jing Abellana

SOURCES: PERFECT 10: A Decade of Creativity in Philippine Advertising, published by the Creative Guild of the Philippines,1995. Written and edited by Butch Uy and Alya Honasan.

 

484. 1960s LAUNDRY SOAPS THAT BECAME WASHED-UP BRANDS

Four laundry detergent brands from the 1960s decade no longer with us. For one brief, shining moment, FAS, GLOW, SUNLIGHT and MARVEL had promising benefits that soon got washed away, for reasons we do could only assume as poor sales due to marketing, promotion, product or company issues.

1960 SUNLIGHT Print Ad

SUNLIGHT, introduced in 1960, was Lever Bros. brand that was created back in 1884, the world’s first packaged product. Despite being touted as “the world’s largest selling household soap”, it did not catch on with the public”.

FAS, 1966 Print Ad

FAS, with “the fastest cleaning power” was a product of Philippine Detergent Products introduced in 1966, but was killed when their other brand “Marvel” made greater strides in the market, so resources were put behind that brand instead.

 

GLOW, 1965 Print Ad

GLOW “Fights Stubborn Dirt” was the very first laundry product manufactured and launched by Peerless Products Manufacturing Corp. (est. 1963). It did not last long in the market dominated by Tide and Breeze. The company had their biggest success in 1977 when it launched “Champion” detergent, which continues to be a pillar of laundry care products for the company,

MARVEL, ca. 1967 Print Ad

MARVEL , a brand of Philippine Detergent Products introduced in 1967 had better success as it was pushed with TV commercials and print ads (“Relax Lang” campaign)  that saw it thru the early 1970s, before it fizzled out.

483. Sampaguita Stars BERT LEROY JR. & LIBERTY ILAGAN for COCA COLA, 1963

TEEN STARS OF THE 60s, BERT LEROY JR. & LIBERTY ILAGAN, FOR COKE, 1963

COCA-COLA has been using local movie stars as endorsers and models of print ads as early as the late 1950s. Early models included Gloria Romero, Juancho Gutierrez and Fred Montilla.

In the 60s, local film studios began building up their own stable of artists, and Sampaguita Pictures was the most successful, securing for its stars lucrative commercial endorsements for Coke. Many appeared in Coke’s 50^th anniversary ads and in subsequent ads of the 60s like Eddie Gutierrez, Josephine Estrada and Jean Lopez.

These ads from 1963 show two popular Sampaguita teen stars of the decade: BERT LEROY  Jr. and LIBERTY ILAGAN.

BERT AND LIBERTY, part of the COKE ad series, 1963

Bert Leroy Jr. was born as Albert Leroy (25 Apr. 1944, Manila), one of 3 children of showbiz couple Nicanor (Bert) Leroy Sr. and radio personality Luz Mat. Castro. It was natural that he was introduced to films early, appearing at age 9 in “Diwang Kayumanggi”. He put his budding film career on hold to concentrate on his grade school in Sta. Rita Colleges where he was an honor student, and took up high school at San Beda, where he was an honor student.

Bert enrolled at the University of Santo Tomas to take up Commerce but only stayed for a year. It was said he re-entered showbiz in 1961, and, as he says "so I could buy my own car". The 18 year old was introduced in 1962 in a supporting role in “Tugtuging Bukid”. There must have been an attempt to cast him with Liberty Ilagan as a love team in these Coke ads from 1963, but in 1966, Bert found bigger fame when he was teamed up as Gina Pareño’s partner as part of the popular teen group of Sampaguita Pictures’ “Stars ‘66”. One highlight of his career is earning a FAMAS nomination as Best Actor in the 1967 drama, “Kung Bakit Pa Ako Isinilang”.

LIBERTY ILAGAN, solo ad for Coke, 1963

LIBERTY ILAGAN , on the other hand was born (6 Jul. 1943) was born to showbiz royalty; her father is National Artist and actor-director Gerry de Leon, famed for his nationalistic films like “Sisa”, “Diego Silang” and screen adaptations of  “Noli Me Tangere,” “El Filibusterismo,” “Diego Silang,” and “Sisa.” Her mother, Fely Vallejo, was an actress, sister of 1930s violin prodigy, Ernesto Vallejo.

Like Bert, Liberty started as a 3 year old child actress, appearing in “Isumpa Mo Giliw”in 1946. She stopped to take up pre-Law at Arellano University. But she was lured back to showbiz in her teens by Sampaguita and did many teen flicks like “Joey, Eddie, and Lito” (1961) , “The Big Broadcast” (1962), “Sweet Valentines” (1963) and “Jukebox Jamboree” (1964).

Eventually, she married Rod Ongpauco, an ex-actor who became a successful restaurateur (founder of Barrio Fiesta) , with whom she had 3 kids: Happy, Love and Soeng Ongpauco.

Both Sampaguita stars Bert and Liberty migrated to the U.S. after their fruitful showbiz careers. Bert  Leroy Jr., , now 80 years old, is marred with 2 sons and a daughter. Liberty, who had separated with Rod, remarried a U.S. lawyer, Carlos Lardizabal, and passed away on 17 Mar. 2020.

SOURCES:

Information about B. Leroy Jr. and L. Ilagan: Wikipedia

The Movie Database: https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1355492-bert-leroy-jr

Rappler: Former Sampaguita actress dies at 76 https://www.rappler.com/entertainment/254920-actress-liberty-ilagan-dies/

Phil. Daily Inquirer: https://entertainment.inquirer.net/189427/stars-66-50-golden-years-later

482. . SHARP (PHILS.) CORP. "Very Sharp, Very First" Print Campaign, 1989

By the end of the 80s, SHARP (Phils) Corp. entrusted to Ace-Saatchi & Saatchi its corporate advertising, as they entered a new decade with plans to launch more products and expand its robust business.

The project was assigned to Ace-Saatchi’s winning-est Concept Team, Mario Monteagudo (AD) and Robert Labayen (Writer). Just 2 years before, the duo had won a 1987 Print Ad of the Year award for their Visine Eye Drops print ad for client Pfizer. 

The result was a stunning Print Ad series that focused on the amazing pedigree of success that the company enjoyed over the course of 4 decade, through pioneering inventions, trailblazing products and state-of-the art innovation. 

“Our generation grew up with Sony”, recalls Robert Labayen when asked about the SHARP campaign background. “So, Mario and I were excited when we learned that our account, SHARP, scored many firsts in the history of the world’s tv technology. 

The brief came from our account person Timmy Jayme. We used illustrations that looked like Japanese characters to present SHARP as THE name behind Japanese TV technology.

 I made the illustrations because that was the time that I was into doodling. Mario came up with the line “Very Sharp. Very First.” That was another instance when Mario and I exchanged roles.”

The Print series delighted SHARP clients and marketing man, Mon Bermeo so much that the client not only ran the complete series in regular dailies, but also appeared in Visitacion dela Torre’s history book about Philippine advertising.

 Mario and Robert would go on to enjoy a 3-year Print AOY award-winning streak from 1991 to 1993, earning Creative Guild nods for  British Airways, Philippine National Bank and Petron. After their sterling career with Ace, Mario formed his own agency, while Robert joined ABS-CBN to become its VP-Head of Creative Communication in 2004.

CREDITS:

Many thanks for Robert Labayen for his recollections about making this SHARP Ad series; likewise to Mario Monteagudo, for his inputes.