209. PUREFOODS HOTDOGS: Tender, Juicy, Tasty, Just Right to the Bite, 1980-81

PUREFOODS HOTDOGS, the country's largest-selling hotdog, is a well-loved brand with a long advertising history. It was made by PUREFOODS CORP., beginning in 1956, along with other processed meats.

Before it was acquired by San Miguel Corporation in 2001, PUREFOODS engaged agencies to do their advertising, particularly for their flagship brand, PUREFOODS HOTDOGS.

One memorable campaign launched in 1980 showed an animated hotdog running across the screen as active kids enjoyed their hotdog treats in various vignettes. The cartoon hotdog character sang a catchy jingle that praised his own merits:

“I’m Tender,Juicy, Tasty, that’s right to the bite…I’m you’re PUREFOODS HOTDOG!”

The happy, easy-to-sing jingle caught the fancy of TV viewers, kids and moms.  The “Tender, Juicy” campaign  became a successful one for PUREFOODS HOTDOGS, ensuring its hold on market leadership. On this spread are the print counterparts of the “Tender, Juicy” campaign.

PUREFOODS HOTDOGS would go on to have more memorable and award winning campaigns in the next few years, courtesy of the charming “Dear Diary” TVC (“Carlo sat beside me today…) and the trio of award-winning commercials featuring Purefoots hotshots Alvin Patrimonio, Jojo Lastimosa and Jerry Codiñera. "Tender, Juicy" became so associated with these hotdogs that they were, at one point, nicknamed "TJ Hotdogs", for many years.