265. The Gas Range War: LA GERMANIA AND TECNOGAS, 1974-1981

LA GERMANIA VS. TECNOGAS,  BERMONT (1979) VS. MORENO (1980), PRINT ADS

In history of Philippine advertising, there were the so-called Cola Wars (Pepsi vs. Coke) Beauty Soap War (Lux vs. Camay) and Detergent War (Tide vs. Breeze) –all brands outdoing each other in their quest for market leadership through advertising and promotions initiatives.

Who would think that in the mid 70s thru the 80s, LA GERMANIA and TECNOGAS would be caught up in a contentious fight to win market dominance of the gas range market?  Each came up with campaigns, though not creatively significant, became memorable for their catchy jingle with kitschy lyrics, memorable taglines and use of star power.

LA GERMANIA AD, with Jimmy Fabregas as model, 1975

LA GERMANIA GENERATES LOVE

LA GERMANIA is a century-old brand, put up in 1909 by the Italian Francesco Bertazzoni, who built the stoves after World War I, which evolved into gas stoves after 1953. In 1958, an oven was added to the stove, and hundreds of thousands of  units were sold internationally in 1959, resulting in success worldwide.

LA GERMANIA DUAL OVEN, 1979 AD

LA GERMANIA stoves and ranges made their appearance in the Philippines in early 1970s when General Heat Corp. was given a license by La Germania, Italy to manufacture it complete line of LA GERMANIA gas ranges.

LA GERMANIA WITH PANCHITO & CARIDAD SANCHEZ, 1977 AD

The first ads were nondescript, with actors Panchito and Caridad Sanchez as celebrity endorsers, positioning the range as “completing the dream of every housewife for a modern home”.

WATCH VILMA SANTOS LA GERMANIA TVC HERE:

Source: OPM MTV Video

 Apparently, LA GERMANIA felt a it needed a bigger star so it contracted Vilma Santos to do a commercial which capitalized on the status of owning a LA GERMANIA gas range--"more than a matter a pride"--so goes the tagline.

MARICRIS BERMONT FOR LA GERMANIA, 1979 PRINT AD

In 1974, LA GERMANIA came up with ads that heralded the outstanding features of the range included its beautiful design, a big oven, and a windproof pilot flame. The campaign line: “LA GERMANIA GENERATES LOVE”, was used for the first time.

ANOTHER MARICRIS BERMONT AD, FOR LA GERMANIA,1979

The campaign took off when singer Maricris Bermont, fresh from her victory at the Metro Pop Festival, starred in a commercial showing her strumming a guitar while singing the jingle “LA GERMANIA GENERATES LOVE…generates cooking that generates joy..”. The repetitive lyrics had a very simple tune, so it as no wonder that everybody started playing it back, and became so popular, it was used in the next few years, boosting Bermont’s career---as well as the sales of the gas range.

LA GERMANIA,'YOUNG BRIDE', 1978

At its peak, LA GERMANIA was the no. 1 selling gas range,  trusted by housewives than any other brand.

LOVE THE TECNOGAS TECHNIQUE, 1980

THE TECNOGAS TECHNIQUE

Not to be outdone was TECNOGAS, created by the Italian Contini brothers, a brand that came into fruition in the 1960s, with the help of the combined expertise of chefs, engineers, designers and artists. A TECNOGAS  range was known for its strong technical engineering and the magnificence of its art and design.

TECNOGAS TECHNIQUE TANDEM, 1979

TECNOGAS matched the marketing efforts of LA GERMANIA by coming up with a bandwagon campaign overlayed with an iconic  jingle that praised the brand’s ”TECNOGAS Technique”.

JANET BORDON FOR TECNIGAS, 1979 AD

If LA GERMANIA claimed to be the “no. 1 selling gas range”, TECNOGAS was “no 1 in many ways”: it was a prestige brand, with 150 models to choose from, with trendsetting features, at a wide price range. When LA GERMANIA introduced its “Dual Oven”, TECNOGAS came up with its “Double Oven Electro-Gas Range” that was issued a patent by the Philippine Patent Office.

TECNOGAS VALENTINE AD, 1979

TECNOGAS also had the combined pulling power of two top actresses of he late 70s—Alma Moreno and Janet Bordon. And, if LA GERMANIA was “trusted by more housewives”,  “the women love the TECNOGAS Technique”. 

WATCH THE TECNOFAN TVC WITH A VERSION

OF THE TECNOGAS TECHNIQUE JINGLE:

Source: Ness Masquito 

The campaign was such a big hit that, and the jingle was so "stickable" that it was used in other products line, including its electric fan brand--Tecnofan--in 1982. The commercial featurd starlet Pia Moran.

ALMA MORENO, FOR TECNOGAS,1980

TECNOGAS business dwindled in the 1990s, but the cooking appliance megabrand began making a comeback  in the Philippine market as it has tapped a new local distributor for its products--Appstar Global Distributors—which also now handles the sales and marketing of the Italian brand. 

SOURCES:
VILMA SANTOS LA GERMANIA GAS RANGE, uploaded by OPM MTV VIDEO, 13 April 2017
TECNOFAN, uploaded by Ness Maquito, 25 february 2019, Philippine Clasic Commercial Advertisement 1980s