In 1994, BASIC
Advertising set a record with 9 finalists in all media categories at the Creative Guild Ad of the Year Awards held on 6 April 1995 at Louie’s Cinema,
Makati. For the Radio Ad of the Year alone, Basic had 3 entries reaching the
finals: two Kleenex ads, and 1 Miral 3g Insecticide.
******
Bingbong Infante on KLEENEX “Achoo” & Break Radio
“The two spots are based on the copywriter’s personal
experience that no hanky alive can withstandone day’s onslaught of allergic rhinitis. At least the sickness got the
ads a finalist slot. The sneezes are authentic. Very professional talent.”
(NOTE: The Creative Guild's 1994 Radio Ad of the Year went to Jimenez Advertising's "Parrot" Radio Commercial, for Cinderella clothing store, written by Lilit Trinidad)
One of the most well-remembered campaigns from the trove
of JOLLIBEE’s winning advertisements was created in 1990s by their
newest ad agency, Ace-Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising—“I Love You Sabado”.
The account was formerly handled by Basic Advertising, but in 1992, an
executive decision was made to pitch the business out to other agencies in an
effort to gain new perspectives and fresh points of views on how to improve the
company’s creative marketing communications.
Of course, the news made quite a buzz in the industry as Jollibee,
with its multi-million peso promotional budget,
was considered a premiere client in the same league as Procter &
Gamble, PRC Unilever, and San Miguel Corp.
The invited agencies were briefed for a Kids’ campaign,
to sell their Chicken Joy and Yumburger, with parents as
secondary targets. Ace-Saatchi & Saatchi brought their depth of
experience in strategic thinking by creating a campaign hitched on a consumer
insight—hidden truths about a consumer’s deep feelings, habits, values and
sensitivities that can affect his actions and decision-making. The challenge for the agency was to
ferret these insights out of their consumers, and use these to create a bond
with them thru creative storytelling.
The consumer insight was so surprisingly simple: Working
parents are out in their offices and work places 5 days a week, eking out a
living, leaving little time for their kids, except on weekends. Kids have also
come to accept this reality--that they can only enjoy moments with parents when it’s their day-off.
Hence, Saatchi’s creative team sought to dramatize the
specialness of weekends, by thoughtfully creating eager anticipation for
Saturday: when work stops for parents, and when kids become the center of
attention—and their world again. Thus the catchphrase ,”I Love You Sabado!”—an
expression of kids’ love for their favorite day of the week, when they become
special again in their parents’ eyes, with hopes answered and wishes granted. It was woven seamlessly into an existing Jollibee theme "Alagang Pilipino, At Home sa Jollibee".
The Saatchi Client presentation was auspiciously
held on Saturday, in the agency’s Makati office. In attendance were all the Tan
Caktiong brothers, as well the marketing director, who were convinced of
the agency’s proposition. The pitch material was approved as is, straight for
production. (The only minor revision was to include Sunday as well, whuch was
solved by just tweaking the jingle: (“I Love You Sabado..pati na rin Linggo”)
WATCH THE 1992 "I LOVE YOU, SABADO" TVC HERE:
The ”anticipation” story was charmingly told in a TV
commercial starring a little boy dreaming and yearning for Saturday to arrive,
his thought voice set in a wistful jingle that starts with “Isang tulog na
lang ang hinihintay buong Linggo… dahil nandy’an na ang araw na ako’y
mabubusog…. Yayayain si mama’t papa, mag-enjoy ng chicken joy!...I love you
Sabado, pati na rin Linggo/Hintay ka lang Jollibee nandy’an na ‘ko, /Sabado and
araw ko, masusunod ang puso ko!”.
Cast as the Boy who lives for Saturdays was Boy2
Quizon, Epy Quizon's nephew and grandson of the legendary comedian Dolphy.
The “I Love You Sabado” jingle itself, written by agency creative Marci
Reyes and composed by Bob Serrano, was a blockbuster hit. Soon, the
catchy jingle could be heard on both TV and radio airwaves, in malls and in
theaters. Filipino kids began singing it in their classrooms, school events,
and in sing-alongs.
I LOVE YOU SABADO was incorporated in ads for other Jollibee products like this 1993 Kiddie Pack TVC
The campaign would be sustained with several follow-up TVCs
under the same “Sabado” theme, used for such other products as the Kiddie Pack meal (1993). This particular commercial had a female kiddie talent. A dance routine was also choregraphed for shows, events and TV
appearances by Jollibee and Friends. Thecampaign line also spawned a Viva movie of the
same title “I Love You Sabado”, starring Mikee Cojuangco, Janno Gibbs, and
Geneva Cruz.
I LOVE YOU SABADO, the movie. Source: Video48
As if that was not enough, a special derivative print ad
for Mother’s Day won for the Agency a Print Ad of the Month for May
1994. The copy was cleverly lifted from the campaign line itself, but given
a twist: ”Mommy, I love you Sabado, Linggo, Lunes..Martes..Miyerkoles..Huwebes, Biyernes…Happy Mother’s
Day! Punta tayo sa JOLLIBEE!”.
Creative Guild Ad of the Month for May 1994
“I Love You, Sabado” ran for some many years, remade
again in 1998-2002, then again in 2015. but many would continue to recall long
after the campaign was over, as it evoked memories of childhood and pleasant Jollibee
weekend visits. The campaign was last resurrected in 2015, featuring basically
the same story—that of a homebound boy who longs for the weekend so he could go
biking with his school-age siblings and get treated to Jollibeeby his
parents.
WATCH THE 2015 RE-MAKE OF THE "I LOVE YOU SABADO" TVC HERE:
Fueled by nostalgia, the campaign continued to live on
and work wonders for the brand. To this day, it is one of the most memorable
Jollibee campaigns ever made for the brand, a classic commercial which reset
new benchmarks in creating empathy, connecting with consumers, and in pushing Jollibee
to a while legion of Filipino kids and their parents, in a way that’s fun,
truthful and real.
CREDITS:
Advertiser: JOLLIBEE FOODS CORP.
Products: Jollibee Chicken Joy/ Yumburger
Agency: ACE-SAATCHI & SAATCHI ADVERTISING
Executive Creative Director: JIMMY SANTIAGO / Creative Director: ROBERT LABAYEN
J.
WalterThompson scored a consecutive victory the
following year with another pioneering ad, this time using the delightful,
painstaking Claymation technique mastered by the Alcazaren brothers. The
campaign “Asal Hayop “ series involved four 15 sec. public serice
plugs by the manufacturer, Sime Darby.
There
was an urgent need for the ads to be different, Pitargue recalls. “Sime
Darby was a latecomer in the business of advertising,” she recalls. “Goodyear
and Firestone had established reputations in terms of technology, and
they had been advertising for quite awhile.” What little material Sime Darby
had so far had been very product-oriented, and the brand lacked the human
touch, which Goodyear was then exploiting in a major way in its “Coming
Home” commercials full of emotionally-charged reunions scenes.
The
decision was to go for a public service campaign , and Pitargue looked
to the streets of Manila for an idea that would work well with the envisioned Claymation
execution. The creative team agreed upon the subject of bad driving habits. “People
don’t behave like human beings when they drive,” Pitargue
explains, “so we singled out the most interesting prototypes.”
WATCH THE 1991 TV AD OF THE YEAR "Asal Hayop" HERE:
Source: Youtube, Sime Darby "Asal Hayop" uploaded by Miguel Alcazaren, 25 Apr. 2012.
The four
ads, which all ends with a specific piece of advise (like “keep a safe distance”)
and an exhortation from Sime Darby—“Mag-asal Tao. Drive Intelligently”—stars
4 different creatures with distinct personalities, demonstrating different
dangerous habits to the accompaniment of graphic Pilipino copy by Nonon del
Carmen and appropriate music by Charo Unite. The sleepy eyed green “pagong”—“Yung
sobang kupad dumiskarte”—has his signature honky-tonk, comic music, while
the flaming red “toro” (“Kahit pula na ang ilaw, sugod pa”) zoomed to
bullfight music playing in the background.
Sime
Darby achieved high
recall because of the ads, which were immediately notice fo their novelty
value, and which showed how an interesting execution could be used to gain
attention for a basically staid, serious message.
AGENCY: J. Walter Thompson Phils. / CREATIVE
DIRECTOR: Socky Pitargue
ASSOCIATE
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Raymund Villaruel
COPYWRITER:
Nonon del Carmen / ART
DIRECTOR: Ghizelle Miguel
PRODUCER:
Mila Bibat / DIRECTOR:
Mike Alcazaren
MUSIC
ARRANGER: Charo Unite
PRODUCTION
HOUSE: Lacelli/ Alcazaren Brothers
SOURCES:
Perfect 10, A Decade of Creativity in Philippine Advertising, published by the Exceutive Commitee of the Creative Guild of the Philippines, 1995, edited by Butch Uy.
Video Source: Youtube, Sime Darby "Asal Hayop" uploaded by Miguel Alcazaren, 25 Apr. 2012.
SWISSAIR offered flights to New York World's Fair visitors in 1964
After New York successfully staged its first world’s fair
in 1939, it Once again played host 25 years later to another international
exposition known as the 1964–1965 New York World's Fair.
The venue was at a 646-acred fairground at Flushing
Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, and the fair attracted 80 nations
that put up their own exhibitions, activities, performances, films, art, crafts,
and food presentation. "Peace through Understanding" was the fair’s
theme and its symbol was the Unisphere, a stainless-steel model of Earth.
Among the 139 pavilions was the Republic of the
Philippines building. Designed by national architect Otilio Arellano, the Philippine
Pavilion was a circular structure made to look like a traditional salakot sun
hat.
AMONG MY NY WORLD'S FAIR SOUVENIRS. Capiz token and shell key chain.
This structure was widely praised and officially judged as one of the top
ten most popular and visited international pavilions, highlighting the
country's rich arts and culture.
Advertisers, particularly airlines an film outfits, cashed
in on the international event, using the fair’s imagery for films and print
ads. The Philippine Pavilion was also promoted through merchandising souvenirs
that were sold on site.
SOURCES:
Movie print ad,”Romansa sa World’s Fair”, courtesy of Video 48.
It’s ironic that the Philippines was one of the top
producers of root crops in the world—from kamote (sweet potato), ube (purple
yam), gabi (taro) and even potatoes—yet, the country relied on America for
potato chips!
Thanks to the PX goods coming out surreptitiously from
Clark beginning in the mid-60s, Filipinos finally had a taste of these crunchy
potato chip snacks that were American pantry staples. Early ‘60s brands
available from PX Clark included Laura Scudder’s, Granny Goose, Pik-Nik
Shoestring Potatos and Lay’s. Pringles, made from molded dehydrated
potatos, were popular with Filipinos in 1975.
It was only in 1964, that the first commercially made
potato chip made their appearance on Philippine market shelves: CAROL-ANN’s
Shoestring Potatoes and Potato Chips. The maker is not indicated on their
plastic packaging, but identified itself as a member of the Potato Chip Institute
International, later known as the Snack Food Association, a major
trade organization founded in the 1930s.
CAROL-ANN’S come plain or salted, but it has other
flavors worth tasting: Barbecue,
Salami, Onion, Garlic, Chinese Flavored. In single bags or bigger
institutional sizes, CAROL-ANN’s were promoted as perfect for picnics,
parties and other social gatherings. Being the only potato chip snacks
available, CAROL-ANN’s gain enough following to merit it own modest
advertising.
Two years after, the Universal Robina Corporation
introduced its own line of snack foods in 1966, with flagship brand Chiz
Curls, along with its Jack ‘n Jill branded Potato Chips. By 1968, URC
was a major market player in the filed of snack foods. CAROL-ANN’s
continued its potato chip business until the 1980s-1990s, until the brand just
disappeared.
To this day though, the maker remains a mystery—who made CAROL-ANN’s?
Who is CAROL-ANN? Whatever, people still remember CAROL-ANN’s
Shoestring Potatoes and Chips in their classic, clear plastic
packaging—thinly sliced, perfectly fried, full of crisp, potato goodness from
the first bite to the last!
In the mid 70s, Cosmos Bottling Corp., makers of
the famous Cosmos Sarsaparilla soda drink, or SARSI, made bold
move to expand their portfolio by introducing a new cola drink. The result was POP
COLA, that had a refreshing sweet taste more aligned to Pinoy’s preference,
and most of all, cheaper than the icon brands Coca Cola and Pepsi
Cola.
The imageries used in advertising were still foreign
though, with a Charlie Chaplin and Laurel & Hardy-look-alike
characters, with a smattering of mestizo models. POP COLA took off
slowly, with many Filipinos trying the products. Marketing and promotions was a
bit spotty, and other than the fact that it was the “cheaper cola”, it failed
to win the imagination of the audience on media, what with not-so-memorable
ads, unclear brand character and image, without any emotional benefit that Coke
and Pepsi have successfully translated in their advertising.
Then in 1989, food and beverage giant RFM Corporation
of the Concepcion family bought Cosmos and infused their newly
acquired beverage brands with massive marketing budgets to push their relaunch,
starting with the omnibus campaign “Bagong Tunog” (New Sound)
created by Basic FCB for Sarsi, Cheers, Sunta, and POP COLA.
The 2 minute campaign song was heard on primetime TV, ushering an-all new image
for the Cosmos products.
Eventually, individual brand campaigns were launched,
clearly delineating the brand image. SARSI’s “Angat sa Iba”,
capitalized on its distinctive taste, the only sarsaparilla amidst a sea of
colas.
POP COLA’s problem was a bit more complex. These
ads from its early years, show an attempt to create a favorable image by for
the brand , latching on to its U.S.-made ingredients as its point of
superiority. At that time in the 70s, colonial mentality was still strong among
Pinoys, who believe everything U.S.-made was better and therefore, more
expensive. That, however, was in complete dissonance with its cheap pricing, which
muddled consumers’ minds: Is POP COLA Pinoy or Kano?
To settle the confusing signals that marketing communications
wrought, POP COLA was clearly positioned as the Cola made by Pinoys,
for Pinoys—translated on screen as the commercial, “Bilib Sila Sa
Pinoy”, and in its follow-up sustaining ads “Tayo’y Mga Pinoy”.
The new, improved COSMOS brand image worked
wonders for the individual brands, with POP COLA peaking in popularity.
It even had a popular professional basketball team, the Pop Cola Panthers, in
the Philippine Basketball Association from 1990 to 2001.
Of course, Coca Cola took the POP COLA
threat seriously, but instead of competing head-on, it decided to negotiate
with RFM for a buyout, resulting in the latter’s selling its stake in Cosmos to a joint venture between Coca-Cola
Bottlers Philippines, Inc. and San Miguel Corporation. This move gave
Coke control of 90% of the
Philippine softdrink market.
POP COLA’s resources were moved to support the
flagship brand Coca Cola. With reduced funds for advertising, sales and merchandising
support, POP COLA lost shelf space and market share, until it was pulled
out of the market altogether.
Before he became sensationally famous in the 70s as the
undisputed “Jukebox King”, singer Victor Wood was a struggling
showbiz aspirant looking for his own place in the sun. By 1967, diminutive
singer Nora Aunor was starting to blaze trails, breaking barriers for
small, brown, Filipino looking talents, who had been bypassed for fairer
mestizos and mestizas. She paved the way for the rise of more-Filipino looking
singing stars like Tirso Cruz, Edgar Mortiz, Manny de Leon, Perla Adea,
Espie Fabon, and many more.
Refusing to be tagged as just another American mestizo
singer-actor, Victor Wood joined the showbiz bandwagon, and took every
available job he could find that would elevate his visibility. He started
joining casting calls for advertising models and in 1967, actually bagged a
supporting role for an ANGEL FACE print ad.
ANGEL FACE was a major brand of cosmetic products introduced
successfully in the late 1950s in the Philippines. Its most popular brand was
the ANGEL FACE Foundation Powder, and by the mid 60s, was one of the country’
best-selling brand, supported by bid advertising budget, and with advertising
professionaly handled by leading ad agency J. Walter Thompson.
“All set for an afternoon sail at the Yacht Club is Diane
Berrier and friend Victor Wood on board the Trident”—so says the
caption. The 21 years old Victor cut a lean, striking figure beside the
American model—even if he seems fascinated more by the ocean view than the
fresh natural look of her ANGEL FACE.
After this ad was launched, Victor Wood bagged a
few small parts in 1968 films by Sampaguita pictures: “May Tampuhan
Paminsan-Minsan”, “Magic Guitar”, “Donata”. In 1969, he did lightweight
teenybopper films: Teenage Escapade, the Mad Generation, Born to be Wild,
Paula.
But it was in his recordings that Victor Wood
gained notice. In 1970, he launched his Vicor album “I’m Sorry My Love”, which
became a hit. This was followed by “Mr. Loney” , “In Despair”, “Fraulein”, “Eternally”, “Lonely
Teardrops’, “Vaya con Dios”, “Crying Time”—all certified monster hits. Suddenly, Victor Wood became a hot star, and soon
he was ding movied in starring roles with his hit songs as titles: “Malaguena,
(1972), “Innamorata”, and “You Are My Destiny” (1973).
He appeared in big movies like “Annie Batungbakal”, and
he was in the title role in “Victor Wood, Disco King” (1979), and covered
Freddie Aguilar’s international hit, “Anak” in Indonesian. When his career
cooled off, he migrated to the U.S. with his family (he was married thrice). He
made news again when Wood ran for the Senate of the Philippines in 2007 under the KBL, but lost. He died due to
COVID-19 complications on 23 April 2021.
SOURCES:
Victor Wood, wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Wood
Victor Wood, Filmography: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1047421/
The Victor Wood Playlist: https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2021/05/12/2097497/victor-wood-playlist
In 1994, BASIC
Advertising set a record with 9 finalists in all media categories at the Creative Guild Ad of the Year Awards held on 6 April 1995 at Louie’s Cinema,
Makati. For the Radio Ad of the Year alone, Basic had 3 entries reaching the
finals: two Kleenex ads, and 1 Miral 3g Insecticide.
