223. The Cream and Sunshine Butter!” ANCHOR BUTTER, Print Ads 1966-1981

SPREAD...TASTE...ENJOY, ANCHOR AD, 1966

Would you believe that ANCHOR BUTTER has been around for over 130 years? Yes, the fresh, creamy butter that has always been a favorite in the Philippines is the creation of English farmer Henry Reynolds, who settled in  New Zealand and established a dairy factory at Pukekura in the 1880s with the help of American David Gemmel who also provided him with a butter recipe.

Reynolds invested in  modern dairy machinery and turned out butter blocks made only from the finest milk from Waikato.  It was said that he used an anchor as a logo after seeing an anchor tattoo on the arm of a sailor who had been his regular supplier of milk. That was how ANCHOR BUTTER came to be in 13 November 1886

Initially , the factory managed to churn out only 45 kilograms of ANCHOR in one year, but as his butter gained widespread popularity  and recognition.  It was even awarded a gold medal at the Melbourne Exhibition in 1888. Business boomed and he put up more factories—8 in all by 1896. He sold his products also in London where he had also built a cool store there.

Reynolds sold his lucrative business to the New Zealand Dairy Association in 1896, which was instrumental in the promotion of NZ of dairy products in the United Kingdom.  Up to 90% of New Zealand’s dairy exports were being sold in UK, where ANCHOR became  a best-selling butter.

ANCHOR,  “the leading brand of the choicest butter from the loveliest dairy pastures in the world” and “fresh as a sea breeze, pure as the sunshine”, was ready to expand globally, and was pushed into new markets like America and Asia.

 

THE CREAM AND SUNSHINE BUTTER--ANCHOR! 1970

It was in the mid 1960s that ANCHOR BUTTER became available in the Philippines. As it was distributed here, the ANCHOR had a premium image and sold at a higher cost. It found a niche among the uppity class, even at that time,  Filipinos were into margarines and pseudo-butter that were decidedly cheaper. It was sold in blocks wrapped in paper, and cheaper ½ and ¼ pound block  sizes.

 ANCHOR BUTTER print ads began appearing in weekly magazine in 1966, but placements were intermittent. It was only in the 1970s, when the local NZ Dairy distributor assigned ANCHOR to a full-fledge agency, J. Romero & Associates, which created ANCHOR’s memorable TV commercial.

 

THE PHILIPPINES' LARGEST SELLING BUTTER. 1970

It was a simple series of product application shots---a pat of ANCHOR BUTTER sliding on a hotcake, or on toast, interspersed with eating and reaction shots. What made the commercial appealing was the jingle, sung by the chanteuse Nelda Navarro:

“Fresh, ANCHOR BUTTER

The cream and sunshine butter

Spread…taste…enjoy…

Fresh, ANCHOR BUTTER!”

True to its classy image,  Englih-speaking radio and TV personality Leila Benitez, provided the voice over, extolling the virtues of the pure, creamery New Zealand butter with a diction so polished and perfect. The vintage 70s jingle would be resurrected again in the 1987-88 campaign “Butters Better” campaign.

IT'S WORTH THEIR LOVE. ANCHOR Butter Ad, 1981.

ANCHOR BUTTER would have sporadic advertising on print and TV in the 1980s, especially as it became the No. 1 selling butter in the Philippines in 1981.

 

IT'S WORTH THEIR LOVE. ANCHOR Butter Ad, 1981.

In 2001,  the New Zealand Dairy Group which owned ANCHOR  merged with Kiwi Co-operative in 2001 to form Fonterra Co-operative in 2001. It is a New Zealand multinational dairy co-operative owned by around 10,500 New Zealand farmers, the largest NZ company that supplies  for approximately 30% of the world's dairy exports.

WATCH THIS 1987-88 ANCHOR TVC 30s 

USING ITS 1970S JINGLE SOUNDTRACK 

Copyright Fonterra Brands Philippines, Inc. source: https://www.facebook.com/Viewonthe3rd/

Fonterra, which, in Latin means “spring from the land”, continues to market ANCHOR branded dairy products in the Philippines today, that has come to include not just ANCHOR BUTTER, but also powdered milk, cheese, and culinary butter.

SOURCES:

Fonterra Website: https://www.fonterra.com/ph/en/our-brands.html, accessed 5/28/ 2019

Anchor Butter: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchor_(brand)

Anchor 1988 Commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSAeaiQiOBY

Copyright Fonterra Brands Philippines, Inc.

source:

https://www.facebook.com/Viewonthe3rd/

Birth of Anchor Butter: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/birth-of-iconic-anchor-butter-brand

Anchor Butter 1936 Poster: https://teara.govt.nz/en/ephemera/39134/anchor-butter-poster-1936