153. Creative Guild Print Ad of the Year 1988: LUX BEAUTY SOAP, “Starcare Skincare Originals”

Creative Guild Print Ad of the Year 1988:  LUX “Starcare Skincare Originals”

The 1988 Print Ad of the Year blrew competition away through sheer star power. The stunning ad, a full color magazine spread for LUX Beauty Soap, featuredthree of the year’s most recognizable faces in Philippine show business: Movie star Sharon Cuneta, singer Kuh Ledesma, and then up-and-coming starlet (and presidential daughter) Kris Aquino. “Starcare” was a creation of J. Walter Thompson, which has had LUX manufacturer. Multinational heavyweight Philippine Refining Company, as a worldwide client since the 1950’s.

“LUX has always been about celebrities,”says JWY Executive Creative Director Socky Pitargue,”and it has always been important to choose the right names and faces.” The last Filipina endorser Pitargeue recalls was screen actress Hilda Koronel, and the launch of three new variations for normal-to-dry, oily, or sensitive skin was the perfect excuse to go beauty-hunting. The idea was clear: three superstar faces using there classy variatons of one glorious product.

The original plan had been to shoot three separate print ads for each of the models, but Pitargue had a more ambitious idea.”Why not get them together? Why not come out with one big ad two or three times for maximum impact?” Pitargue even predicted the fans, especially young girls, would tear the ad out and use it as a poster—which research shows they did.

After PRC had closed deals with three celebrities, chosen for their individual styles as well as their beautiful complexions, Pitargue, creative irector Adele Estrada and executive art director Edwina Arroyo confronted another logistical hurdle: how to get the three stars together for a photo session. “That’s when we decided to get a fourth superstar to take the photograph,” Pitargue says. Millionaire businessman, philanthropist, and high profile hobby photographer Jaime Zobel de Ayala had never done any commercial photography before, and he welcomed the project.

The strategy worked. With a reputation bigger than those of his subjects, Don Jaime called the shots. “He asked the ladies to be at his studio at 7 pm. sharp,” Pitargue recalls,”or he would close the doors. The trio complied, and the shoot was over in less than three hours. Don Jaime’s professional fee, Pitargue reports, was subsequently donated to charity.

Bare arms and shoulders for the subjects were decided upon early, to do away with the problem of coordinating outfits. Neither did the agency ant anything to distract from the glowing complexions. The three LUX variations were photographed for the same poster and reinforced with copy in small text, but the yes remained rivettted on the unmistakable stars of the spread.

KRIS AQUINO, KUH  LEDESMA, AND SHARON  CUNETA TODAY

The print ad ran alongside three slick TV commercials, individually featuring Sharon, Kuh, and Kris. JWT git the media exposure they wanted, and LUX is still happily riding on the fame of cinema’s most stellar skins.

CREDITS:

ADVERTISER: Philippine Refining Co.

PRODUCT: Lux Beauty Soap

AGENCY: J. Walter Thompson Co.

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Adele Estrada

COPYWRITERS: Adele Estrada / Carol San Pedro

EXECUTIVE ART DIRECTOR: Edwina K. Arroyo

ART DIRECTOR: Bobby Canlas

PRINT PRODUCTION: Jun Jamolangue

PHOTOGRAPHERS: Jaime Zobel / Neil Oshima

SOURCE:

PERFECT 10: A Decade of Creativity in Philippine Advertising. Ed. by Mr. Butch Uy. Published by the Executive Committee of the Creative Guild of the Philippines, 1995. “Superstar  spread,” p. 26
PHOTOS: Kris Aquino (pep.ph), KuhLedesma (Inquirer Entertainment), Sharo Cuneta (fanpix.net, Showbiz Central)