491. THE LADIES OF LUX, 1965-1969

SUSAN ROCES, LUX LADY 1965

One of the leading beauty soaps for many decades in the country since the 1950s was LUX. LUX was launched way back in the U.S. in 1923 by the Lever Bros, (Unilever), that aimed to develop a richly-scented soap with an affordable cost. LUX was the result, sold at 10 cents when introduced. Its early advertising proudly stated that it was ‘made like the expensive French soaps’, offering a luxurious experience.

LUX’s ad agency sent complimentary samples to 425 Hollywood actresses and majority of them were won over by the exquisite scent, thus earning their endorsement, and starting the claim that 9 out of ten Hollywood stars used LUX. Actresses like Ava Gardner, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn became the faces of LUX, and the same formula was used and cascaded worldwide, including the Philippines.

 The localized campaign of LUX in the Philippines began in the late 1950s, but the idea of a series began in the mid 1960s, and the ads from that era are featured here, created by J. Walter Thompsosn (Phils)., with the country’s famously beautiful actresses as celebrity endorsers.

DAISY ROMUALDEZ, LUX LADY 1965

MARLENE DAUDEN, LUX LADY, 1965

LIBERTY ILAGAN, LUX LADY, 1965

MAGGIE DE LA RIVA, LUX LADY, 1966

JOSEPHINE ESTRADA, LUX LADY 1967

ROSEMARIE SONORA, LUX LADY 1968

AMALIA FUENTES, LUX LADY, 1969

490. I CAN SERVE, “Bowls” TVC 30s, 2002

2 BOWLS AND A MARBLE. Photoboard of the "I Can Serve" TVC, July 1922

Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala, a breast cancer survivor, is the Founder and President of I Can Serve Foundation Inc. (ICS)  Its mission is to arm women with breast care health and breast cancer information so they can make informed decisions about their health. It also provides access to special services that will help the breast cancer survivor recover and heal more effectively.

Jimenez D’Arcy (the future PublicisJimenez Basic) partnered with her foundation, to create its promotional materials for its programs, pro bono. PJB Co-CEO Ramon Jimenez Jr. (+), who was a close relative of Kara (her mother Letty Jimenez-Magsanoc was a cousin), would assign ICS projects to all his creative teams so they would get a chance to work with “more creative clients”—as Alikpala was cut from the same creative cloth—she was also a broadcast journalist, documentarian, producer, and foreign media correspondent.

Some of the promotional materials done by Jimenez D'Arcy for ICS

In July 2002, ICS rolled out its breast cancer education program with a low budget, 15 sec. commercial conceived by the creative team of Jenny Lao and Raoul Panes.

 WATCH "I CAN SERVE" BOWLS TVC HERE:

The short but stunning commercial entitled “Bowls”, used a simple parallelism story to send its important message: To have your breasts checked so you can stop guessing  stop guessing and worrying about cancer. The spot won an ‘Ad of the Month’ citation and was entered in international ad competitions and showcases worldwide.  The Creative Team went on to achieve bigger things: Jenny Lao, now married her cinematographer Jessie Pastor, became a sought after film director for commercials, while Raoul Panes went on to become the Chief Creative Office or Publicis Groupe-Leo Burnett).

CREDITS:

AGENCY: JIMENEZ D'ARCY

CLIENT: I Can Serve

CREATIVES: Jennifer Lao, Raoul Panes

AGENCY PRODUCER: Paul Suarez

PRODUCTION HOUSE: FILMEX

EEXC. PRODUCER: Ginny Vizcarra

DIRECTOR: Jennifer Lao

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jessie Pastor

SOURCES:

I Can Serve FB Page

4 As Philippines youtube channnel

489. TAKAYAMA GARDEN RESTAURANT, "Senses", Print Ad Series, 1990

From the mid 1980s to the 1990s, TAKAYAMA Garden Restaurant was one of the most renown Japanese fine dining places in Manila, known for its innovative Japanese menu like their Love Boat Special (a mixed platter of authentic Japanese specialties) and tempuras made from real, edible flowers.

The restaurant was started by the De Mesa sisters (Diana de Mesa Santamaria and Erlinda de Mesa Yap) of Tri-Chef Foods Corporation, They opened the 1^st TAKAYAMA Restaurant on August 1985, along Wilson St., Greenhills, named after the saintly Japanese samurai, Justo Takayama Ukon, who died in the Philippines. A statue of the blessed Japanese once graced the TAKAYAMA  branch in Greenhills.

Early Takayama ads show different looks.

The restaurant business took off, and because a favorite of businessmen, office workers,  and families in the area. A 2^nd branch sprouted in Makati Greenbelt. With business doing very well, the company went the rounds of small agencies to handle their advertising. The output was rather inconsistent and not cohesive, as there was no distinctive TAKAYAMA design look.

The company sought out the services of powerhouse agency ACE-SAATCHI & SAATCHI, which was assigned to the team of Melvin Mangada, Art Director, and Lilit Trinidad. Copywriter. They created these stunning black and white “Senses” campaign featuring reworked old Japanese prints, and copy written in the style of Japanese haiku.

The TAKAYAMA Garden Restaurant chain flourished for a decade more, closing in February 2002, after 37 years of bringing the tradition of fine dining to its satisfied clients.

CREDITS

CLIENT: Tri-Chefs Food Corporation

PRODUCT: TAKAYAMA GARDEN RESTAURANT

AGENCY: ACE-SAATCHI & SAATCHI ADVERTISING

ART DIRECTOR:  Melvin M. Mangada

COPYWRITER: Lilit S. Trinidad

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Ramon Jimenez Jr.

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.