237. Brand Stories: MODESS® Sanitary Napkin of Johnson & Johnson, 1962-1969

MODESS SANITARY NAPKINS, Intro Ad, 1963.

MODESS Sanitary Napkins was the result of a joint project of Johnson & Johnson Phils. and Metro Drug Corp., an alliance that aimed to produce a viable, attractively priced sanitary protection pads. The company they formed was called Philippine Medical Products (PMP) which manufactured the personal care product, MODESS.

The product concept itself was not conceived locally, but the subsequent improvements and innovations were led and developed by a team from J&J Phils. which enabled MODESS to achieve a high level of success in the Asian region.

But when it was officially launched in 1962, MODESS floundered, due to poor distribution and absence of advertising.  The joint venture ended and PMP was taken over by the local J&J company in 1964.

When MODESS  was finally advertised, its advertising agency, Ace-Compton, created some of the more memorable ads that began in 1969 with the “Dare Wear White” campaign. The campaign dares women to wear white during their period, as a test of the product’s new feature—“Blu Plasti-Shield” to absorb and protect.

 

PROTECTS AS IT ABSORBS, 1964

Parallel campaigns were also undertaken to converting traditional “pasador” (cloth pads) users into modern sanitary pad users. The TVC, which featured Gloria Sevilla and teen daughter Nadja Veloso, pointed out  the many inconveniences of using cloth pasadors versus using MODESS. “Laba..Kula…Plantsa---hassle!”, complains the teener. However, instead of shifting to MODESS, the market  shifted to cheaper pads.

With the business in doldrums, the head office pondered over the possibility of  closing the feminine protection line of J&J. But the local organization persevered and recommended to put up a line of sanitary napkins  made with locally-produced “non-woven” raw materials. 

PROTECTED BY MODESS, 1966 AD.

This proposal was given a go-signal, thus  J&J Phils. became the first affiliate in Asia to produce its own non-woven material requirements (which gave a cooler feeling unlike the “hot” Plasti-Shield of MODESS), which also made pads more affordable.

J&J introduced the product under the STAYFREE brand in 1975. A year later, a locally-developed beltless version of the MODESS was launched. These two products were well-received by the market and eventually became market leaders.

 

DARE WEAR WHITE SERIES, 1969

In a casting coup, J&J got reigning superstar Nora Aunor to appear in a new Beltless MODESS campaign that kept the “dare wear white” execution. In the end shot of the popular TVC, Aunor, resplendent in a white wedding gown, glances at her behind and say “ Sa MODESS ko lang ibibigay ang aking matamis na…OO”.

The Philippine-developed MODESS Beltless Sanitary napkin even went on to being successfully launched in other Asian countries. Today, MODESS has evolved further to offer a range of sanitary protection that caters to specific needs, with a younger target audience in mind.

SOURCE:

TRANSFORMATIONAL IDEAS: https://www.jnj.com.ph/about-jnj/company-history/healthcare-innovation

236. Brand Names That Became Everyday Pinoy Words #6: MONGOL PENCIL

MONGOL PRINT AD, 1964

Nowhere in the world is the MONGOL more popular than in the Philippines—where the name has become synonymous with “pencils”. MONGOL was a creation of John Eberhard Faber (b. 6 Dec. 1822/ d. 2 Mar. 1879), a German-American who founded  a pencil manufacturing company in new York in 1861.

There are different reported dates of its manufacture, but it started advertising in the U.S.in the early 1900. The best graphite used in the production of pencils supposedly came from the eastern parts of the globe like Siberia, which inspired manufacturers to name their pencils after easter and middle-eastern places like Mikado and Mongol. 

In the Philippines, it was introduced before World War II by American Rolland E. Thompson, who brought the pencils in their trademark woodcases through his Rennolds Enterprises Inc., a Philippine corporation that was working in tandem with H.G. Henares & Sons, Incorporated.

In 1963, 1963, H.G. Henares & Sons, Inc. formed a new company Amalgamated Specialties Corporation (AMSPEC). Resultantly, everything within the manufacturing facilities formerly owned by H.G. Henares & Sons, Inc. for the making of the woodcase "MONGOL" pencil were transferred to AMSPEC, which, thereafter,  was acquired by Rolland E.Thompson, his family and other local investors.

MONGOL TRADE AD, 1902. Source: contapunalism.blog

In the years that followed, AMSPEC spent considerable amount in advertising and promoting its MONGOL Pencils,  enabling it to gain market leadership. The MONGOL Pencil business flourished (MONGOL No. 2 was favored)  and the mark "MONGOL" through time was associated by the purchasing public with AMSPEC as the source and origin of high quality pencils.

MONGOL PRINT AD, 1965

 AMSPEC rose to become as a leading  manufacturer and distributor of the best quality and user-safe school & office supplies to the Filipino market such as Crayola, Li’l Hands, Jumbo Pencils, Magic Touch, Touch and Go, Gold Medal and  Old Town carbon paper.

For many years, AMSPEC was the authorized producer of MONGOL, under license by Eberhardt Faber U.S., in the Philippine market, then later acquired by Faber-Castell USA. MONGOL was also licensed to Eberhardt Faber de Venezuela for that market, which was sold separately to Newell.

Faber-Castell USA was next sold to Newell (Sanford). This license to AMSPEC continued, but Newell ended this agreement around 2008, after the principal owner and CEO of AMSPEC passed away.

LIMITED EDITION NINOY-CORY MONGOLS. Photo: penciltalk.org

AMSPEC ceased MONGOL production, but the brand didn’t disappear –a new supplier, Star Paper Corp. began distributing Venezuelan –made MONGOLs in the country. One of MONGOL’S distinctive limited edition product was the “iamninoy iamcory” MONGOL Pencils. AMSPEC, on the other hand, began making pencils under the brand name “T- Pencil”.

MONGOL STAMP, 1999. Photo: penciltalk.org

MONGOL Pencils continue to be popular in the Philippines and are highly regarded as part of the early education of Filipinos. In fact, stamp showing a MONGOL pencil, was issued by the Philippine Postal Corp. to mark the brand’s 50^th year in the Philippines.

MONGOL NO. 2. Photo: lazada.ph

There are so many imitators of MONGOL today, leading Berol Corp., a wholly owned company of Newell Rubbermaid, the trademark owner of MONGOL, to warn the public of fake MONGOL Pencils flooding the country. But to Pinoys, one thing is clear—it ain’t a pencil, if it ain’t a MONGOL!

SOURCES:

AMSPEC Case:

http://onlineservices.ipophil.gov.ph/ipcaselibrary/ipcasepdf/IPC14-2008-00135.pdf

Just When Was the Mongol Introduced: https://contrapuntalism.blog/2015/01/23/just-when-was-the-mongol-introduced/

235. Cosmos Orange Rebranded: SUNTA, “We Wunta Sunta”, 1972

SUNTA, 'KATAS-CALIFORNIA' RELAUNCH AD,1972

The new Cosmos Bottling Corp. came to be in 1945, rebuilt by Henry Gao Hong- Wong, that was originally founded as Maila Aerated water Co. back in 1918 by his father Wong Ning.  Unfortunately, the Guangdong migrant would pass away in prison during World War II.

Cosmos sarsaparilla was the company’s flagship product, which took the market by storm. To complement the root beer flavor, it also came up with Cream Soda, Lime, Lemon, Mulberry, Grape, Pineapple and Orange variants. By the 60s, only Sarsaparilla and Orange were the most viable of the Cosmos bottle beverage products.

Cosmos Orange was just a mere tag on mainstream “Sarsi” (short for sarsaparilla) advertising, casually mentioned as “Also available in Orange Flavor”, in the late 60s.  

In 1972, Cosmos reformulated its orange beverage, and improved on its orange flavor, dimensionalized as “Katas-California” (juice from California oranges). The company decided to rebrand it as it was also awkward to call it Sarsi Orange. Thus Orange Cosmos became SUNTA.

It was relaunched on the strength of its “Katas-California” taste, and sold at 15 centavos (up by 5 centavos in 1969), but the execution looked more like a fruit juice ad than a soft drink lifestyle commercial.

LISTEN TO THE SUNTA 

"I WUNTA SUNTA" JINGLE HERE:

The next year, a new SUNTA advertising campaign burst on TV screens featuring a catchy slogan, “We wunta SUNTA”, that certainly helped in creating brand awareness for the new reformulated product. It also gave the brand a new, distinct identity—pushed by a light, lilty jingle sung by Fides Cuyugan-Asencio and composed by the prodigious Jose Mari Chan.

SUNTA made use of the precocious child star Niño Muhlach, who lent his cuteness to the brand by way of TV commercial appearances. 

SUNTA enjoyed a short-lived boom as a price range soda brand, but by the early 70, the Philippine economy was floundering and the peso lost its buying power. From 10 centavos in 1969, its price increased to 25 centavos by 1975. But SUNTA stayed on, until the business floundered after Henry Wong’s death. RFM acquired the company in 1989.

SOURCE:
'Strictly Commercial", Jose Mari Chan "The Jingles Collection"CD.

234. Brand Stories: BLEND 45 of Consolidated Food Corp., 1963-1984

THE VERY FIRST PRINT AD OF BLEND 45, launched in 1962, as a price brand.

The Consolidated Food Corporation (CFC) was founded in 1961 by John Gokongwei Jr., and, after surveying the local coffee landscape, decided that there was room more for new coffee brands. The market leader then was the post-war brand Café Puro of Commonwealth Foods Inc., which, by 1951, had become the no.1 selling coffee brand, a position it kept till the 1960s.

BLEND 45 IN WINDSOR CRYSTAL PARTY GLASSES PROMO, 1967

Consolidated Foods’ first coffee brand was Presto, launched in 1962. But it was the second locally-made soluble coffee brand that made a major dent in the 1960s coffee market” : BLEND 45. It was so named as a cup of mixed coffee contains at least “45 choice coffee beans”.

BY 1968, BLEND 45 WAS THE NATION'S LARGEST SELLING COFFEE.

Filipinos took to the aroma and distinctive flavor of BLEND 45, but what made it really popular and attractive to consumers was its cheap price, much less than the regular coffee then available. At 3 centavos per cup, BLEND 45’s grew and became known as “poor man’s coffee”—in a good way.

BLEND 45 IS SO AFFORDBALE, YOU CAN DRINK IT DAY AND NIGHT!

As Mr. Gokongwei recalls in an interview, “The price was very good, and the product was very good. So we had good pricing, good product, and good presentation,”

BLEND 45, PERFECT FOR AFTER LUNCH.

In just 2 years after its launch, BLEND 45 overtook Café Puro and rose to become the largest-selling coffee brand in the Philippines (Presto was discontinued, but the Presto trademark was kept and reserved for the chocolate line of CFC).

EDDIE RODRIGUEZ, DRAMA ACTOR, FOR BLEND 45, 1973

BLEND 45’s advertising peaked during the 1970s and 1980s, employing the most credible and popular endorsers of that period: Eddie Rodriguez, Boots Anson-Roa,Ariel Ureta, and Susan Roces. Its unique selling proposition was set into a catchy jingle to remind coffee lovers of the “45 choice coffee beans in a cup of BLEND 45”.

BOOTS ANSON AND PETE ROA, CELEBRITY COUPLE, FOR BLEND 45, 1981.

The success of BLEND 45 paved the way for another successful CFC coffee brand—Great Taste Coffee—its first soluble granule coffee.

SUSAN ROCES, QUEEN OF PHILIPPINE MOVIES, FOR BLEND 45, 1984.
Photo: www.susanroces.blogspot.com

Today, the brand--as well as its success—endures. BLEND 45 is still sold at a price every Filipino can afford. Now, as part of the Universal Robina Corp.’s beverage portfolio, BLEND 45 even has a single-serve instant coffee pack and a 3-in-1 sachet at popular prices of P1.50 and P4.00  in sari-sari stores.

WATCH BLEND 45'S "SUSAN ROCES" TVC 1984

The product’s taste appeal  has been made more attractive with such as new flavor innovations as BLEND 45 Kondensada, Pula, Barako. Gokongwei’s vision to see a Pinoy brand on the breakfast table of every Filipino, has been achieved—with BLEND 45.

CREDITS:
BLEND 45 TVC 1984:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv4Nao3oo38, posted by Dateline Anime, 13 Sep. 2017.
SUSAN ROCES Blend 45 Ad: www.susanroces.blogspot.com