267. Borden’s HEMO Chocolate Drink, Print Ads 1951-61

BORDEN'S HEMO,1951.

Borden, Inc., was once America’s  largest  producer of dairy and pasta products, founded by Gail Borden Jr. back in 1857. Its first product was condensed milk, and then began selling evaporated milk in 1892.  

In due time, Borden also forayed into ice cream, for which it was well-known. Other products included Meadows Gold Milk and the popular pre-war brand HEMO Chocolate-Flavored Food Drink.

Borden’s HEMO was introduced as a new way to drink milk, with its deep, rich, malty flavor. It was fortified with vitamins and minerals and was positioned as a family drink that fights fatigue, renews energy and vitality. 

The brand name was thought to have been derived “hemoglobin”, as HEMO contain vitamin B11 or folic acid, folate and Iron which is good for the blood and for anemic people.

Borden’s HEMO reached the Philippines beginning in the 50s decade, imported  by Borden  Co. International which put up a Philipine distribution office. 

BORDEN'S HEMO AD,1951

The chocolate product was sold in cans. It actively advertised in magazines,  and its simple, black and white advertising were a far cry from the full color ads in the U.S. that featured the Borden mascots, Elsie and Elmer the cow.

BORDEN'S HEMO 'STAMINA' AD,1957

The small ads also featured the bovine character, who vouches for HEMO’s great chcolatey test and health-giving benefits.

HEMO "Active Lady" 1951 AD, AND HEMO "NAMARCO" AD,1961

“It’s good,!” says Elsie the Borden Cow. The product was marketed nationwide, with its own roving delivery trucks. Borden;s HEMO, however, did not last a decade in the Philippines.

 

BORDEN'S HEMO DELIVERY TRUCK IN ANGELES,1950s

In later years, Borden, the company suffered significant loses and was sold  by KKR and American global investment firm in 1995. It divested itself of its various food products operations and the Borden dairy brands were used by Borden Dairy Co. for milk and by Dairy Farmers of America for cheese. On January 5, 2020, Borden Dairy Company and 16  affiliated companies filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.

266. Brand Stories: PURICO, Procter & Gamble PMC, 1917

The Philippine Manufacturing Co. is largely the history of modern vegetable shortening in the country.

ALWAYS PURE, ALWAYS RICH, PURICO! 1940 Ad

In 1917,  it employed a chemist whose assignment was to start production of shortening and other edible products.  Near the end of 1919, the first-ever vegetable shortening manufactured in the Philippines was launched. It was noted for its purity and richness that it was named PURICO—a term coined from combined words “puro” (pure) and “rico” (rich), as Spanish was still widely spoken then.

SO PURE, SO RICH...PURICO COOKS MORE! A pair of print ads, 1955

These qualities were underscored in slogans and headlines like “Always Pure. Always Rich,” and “So pure..so rich..Purico cooks more!”PURICO was sold in carton blocks with the familiar yellow label, and were widely available nationwide—from the tiniest sari-sari stores, to the biggest groceries in the islands.

EVERYDAY FOODS WITH PURICO, 1953 PRINT AD

PURICO MAKES IT PERFECT,a pair of PURICO Print Ads, 1954

The products of PMC were promoted over the radio, then the leading mass medium before the advent of television. PURICO sponsored "The PURICO Amateur Hour,

TOLINDOY, CONDE UBALDO, PURICO FAN PHOTOS, 1950S

The PURICO Amateur Hour featured the brightest stars of the radio, dishing out songs and skits and what-have you--from Tolinday and Chichay, announcers Ira Davis and Conde Ubaldo, actresses Rebecca Gonzales, Lily Miraflor and singing discoveries like Milagros Bernardo.

PURICO FAN PHOTOS OF CHICHAY, REBECCA GONZALES, ETC.

The radio program attracted bigtime stars (Rogelio de la Rosa, Rosa Rosal, among others) and gained a nationwide following. PURICO and other PMC brands are credited today for ushering in the golden age of Philippine broadcasting.

PURICO FREE XMAS FREE PROMO, 1955

PURICO FREE EASTER GIFT PROMO, 1953

Fan photos of the performers and stars were issued for adoring fans to collect in albums. An example is shown above, made perhaps, by an ardent follower of the radio show.

TAWAG NG TANGHALAN TV PROGRAM, hosted by Lopito and Patsy, 1950s.

When PURICO Amaterur Hour was  renamed Tawag ng Tanghalan/Call of the Stage), it was staged for the new television medium,  for which the first TV advertising contract was  signed, after PMC was bought by Procter & Gamble. This further solidified the hold of PURICO on the shortening market. 

UPLIFTING THE PURICO IMAGE WITH A MANILA HOTEL AD,1960

The rise of liquid cooking oils eased out PURICO from the store shelves by the 1970s, until it totally disappeared altogether in the 1980s.

SOURCES:

PROGRESS Magazine 1956,

Radio Stars from Purico Radio Show, www.flyandfleablogspot.com

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

264. DRINKING GLASSES from CAFÉ PURO, BLEND 45 AND NESCAFE, BLEND 45, 1966-1975.

Before the 1960s decade, there were just a handful of coffee brands in the market—like Hills Bros. and Chase & Sanborn, which were American imports. Then, Commonwealth Foods, Inc. began manufacturing the post-war brand CAFÉ PURO, and by 1951, it had become the no.1 selling coffee brand nationwide, a position it held until the 1960s came along.

This was when more coffee brands came into the fray--Consolidated Food Corporation (CFC), founded in 1961 by John Gokongwei Jr., introduced BLEND 45, an affordable coffee that became known as “the people’s coffee”, with its budget-friendly price and favorable taste. 

NESCAFE, was introduced in the mid 50s decade by Nestlé, and aggressively advertised in the 60s.

With more competitors coming into the picture, all sorts of promotions were launched to entice customers and add more product value. Using a reusable packaging as added product value was an old—but a proven tried and tested idea. It came naturally for coffee brands too. In the post-war 50s, coffee brands still came in round tins, including NESCAFE.  

Then, with the advent of instant coffee brands, wide-mouth glass jars were utilized, and discarded or sold after use. But what if the packaging had more utilitarian value after the product has been consumed?

CRYSTAL ANNIVERSARY GLASS WITH FLIP-OFF CAP, 1966 Print Ad

This led to the  idea of packaging instant coffee in drinking glasses that could be used long after the last coffee drop has been sipped. The glass serves also as a remnder of the pleasure of the coffee-drinking experience. It also helped that specially-designed, set-building glasses encouraged repeat purchases as they became collectibles.

 

CRYSTAL ANNIVERSARY GLASSES, 199 Print Ad

The free, giveaway glasses were given fanciful names to appeal to consumers’ eye. As expected, market leader CAFÉ PURO came out first with its “Crystal Glasses”--to celebrate its 15th anniversary-- with flip-off plastic caps in 1966. 

GLASSES, PITCHER AND SHAKERS FROM CAFE PURO, 1967 Ad

The promotion was so enthusiastically received that the next year, CAFÉ PURO launched  their “Philippine Dance” glass series—with not just 12 glasses but also coffee shakers to collect.

 

CAFE PURO RAINBOW GLASSES, 1969 Print Ad

In 1969, CAFÉ PURO offered its “Rainbow Glasses” collection, with “colors a-glow-glow”! There were 6 colors of glasses to choose from.

 

IMPERIAL CRYSTAL GLASSES FROM BLEND 45, 1967 Ad

Not to be outdone, BLEND 45 came up with its “Windsor Crystal Party Glasses” and “Crystal Imperial Glasses” offer, which were all successful.  The more premium NESCAFE introduced its decaffeinated brand in squat "diamond" glasses with repeating diamond shapes in raised relief. Many of these glasses could still be found being used in many Filipino homes to this day, still stored and kept in glass cabinets after all these years.

 

NESCAFE ESPRESSO IN DIAMOND GLASS, 1975 Ad

Eventually, the promotions came to include storage jars, pitchers,--and with the surge in popularity of coffee houses—coffee mugs in glass and ceramic, like what NESCAFE and CAFÉ PURO use.  BLEND 45, meanwhile, has done away with glass bottles and uses only foil packs today.