Wednesday, January 3, 2018

145. Happy Three Kings! PHILIPPINE CHARITY SWEEPSTAKES OFFICE (PCSO) ADS

LEFT, PCSO, the Blessedness of Giving", with a 1 Million Pesos First Pirze. Print ad. 1965.

“Loterias” were revenue-generating activities employed during the Spanish colonial times; in fact. Dr. Jose Rizal won a Php 6,200 windfall in 1892.  But it was only in 1932 that the first Sweepstakes draw was conducted by the government to finance various sports projects. 

So successful was the venture that a similar sweepstakes draw was held for the benefit of the Philippine Anti-Tuberculosis Society, held by a group called National Charity Sweepstakes.

This led eventually to the institutionalization of  the Sweepstakes as an official funds-raising events to promote public health and welfare.  Thus, in 1935, the PHILIPPINE CHARITY SWEEPSTAKES OFFICE was created with pres. Manuel L. Quezon’s approval of Act 4130. 

The new agency held the first Sweepstakes draw on Sept. 8, 1935. Backed by Filipinos for its humanitarian and charitable  missions, the PCSO has not stopped holding Sweepstakes draw ever since,

PCSO embarked on regular advertising to drum up interest for its Sweepstakes draws, and the biggest prizes were often reserved for the holidays season—when people had more disposable income. The print ads had seasonal themes—for example, Summer draws featured Maytime festivals, and the Christmas draws had ads that featured local holiday traditions.

Draws in January predictably had a New Year’s theme, and another favorite then was the Feast of 3 Kings, which had more significance to Filipinos until the late 1960s. 

In fact, it extended the Yuletide season by a good week, with a fixed date of January 6. Today, of course, vacations end after January 1.

These two ads, from 1956 and 1965 respectively, celebrate the Feast of three wise and generous men, and the blessedness of giving—which was what the PCSO is all about. 

Like the Three Kings, the ads say, the PCSO is driven by the same spirit—“to help many a hapless soul in charitable institutions not only on Christmas day, but the whole year round.

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