190. Is That Who I Think They Are? RICHARD GOMEZ and GRETCHEN BARRETTO for BIC Ballpens, 1986

RISING STARS IN THEIR OWN WRITE: Richard Gomez (age 20) & Gretchen Barretto (age 16).

To a high school student growing up in the 1970s, BIC Ballpoint Pens were a must-have lust when shopping for school supplies. The ubiquitous BIC Cristal---created in 1950 by Société Bic of Clichy, France (founded by Marcel Bich with oartner Edouard Bouffard)—was brought to the U.S. in 1959. The ballpoint pens, with tiny metal sphere tip that allowed ink to flow freely helped shift the world market for from fountain pens to ballpens.

BIC Ballpoint Pens—in Orange and Cristal--were widely available in the Philippines by the late 60s and 70s though a local distributor.  They were the dominant brand until papermate of Gillette came along. BIC was promoted on TV and print ads, with focus on product features.

In 1986 however, BIC thought it needed the help of influential celebrities, so a local ad agency created these ads using the endorsement of the two rising showbiz personalities of the day.

RICHARD GOMEZ, (b. 7 Apr. 1966) a former McDonald’s fastfood attendant and the son of 60s sex bomb Stella Suarez, was the toast of tinseltown at the start of the 90s decade. His career was masterminded by Douglas Quijano who urged producer Lily Monteverde to include the 19 year old in her movie “Inday Bote” starring Maricel Soriano. GOMEZ became a megastar in no time at all—not just as a matinee idol, but also as a A-list celebrity endorser. He would star as a sculler in the iconic 1990 commercial of Bench, a signature role he is best remembered for.

But 4 years before Bench, GOMEZ was cast as a model-endorser in a ‘chismis-sy’ BIC print ad. He was already making heads turn for his bit roles in the movies and his potentials were being recognized. By 1990,  the handsome GOMEZ was lording it over the silver screen, starring in hit movies, winning major acting awards while squiring the likes of Dawn Zulueta,  Aiko Melendez,  Sharon Cuneta, and yes, GRETCHEN BARRETTO.

GRETCHEN BARRETTO (b. 6 Mar. 1970) was launched as one of the Regal Babies in the movie “14 Going Steady”, where she also sang the film’s theme song, a radio hit. Her stock rose when she started doing sexy movies produced by Seiko Films, (“Tukso, Layuna Mo Ako”, “Paminsan-minsan”, “Ama, Bakit Mo Ako Pinabayaan?”), erasing her teenybopper image.

But that didn’t seem to faze the advertiser, BIC, as the company employed her services to star in a second BIC ad. In the next years, BARRETTO would be involved in the 1994 Metro Manila Filmfest envelope-switching scam and also with Tony Boy Cojuangco, who would give her a child, Dominique.

Photo: R.Gomez (FB Page)/ G. Barretto (inquirer.net)

Like BIC, the two celebrities have weathered their own personal storms, RICHARD GOMEZ would find a second career as an athlete, meet his wife Lucy Torres while filming a  commercial and dabble in politics. He is currently the mayor of Ormoc, and is seeking re-election in the 2019 election.

GRETCHEN BARRETTO occasionally appears on TV, and runs her own personal charities. She and her partner are still maintaining their relationship.

Meanwhile, BIC Ballpoint Pens  today are considered as the best-selling pens in the world, with over one billion sold. Since 1993, they are distributed in the Philippines by Filstar Distributors Corp.

SOURCES:

BIC Cristal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bic_Cristal

Richard Gomez: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Gomez

6 Things You Didn’t Know About Richard Gomez: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/publicaffairs/tunaynabuhay/356538/six-things-you-didn-t-know-about-richard-gomez/story/

Gretchen Barretto: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gretchen_Barretto