301. VARIOUS APPLIANCE ADS FROM CHRISTMAS OF 1961

In the Philippines, there’s no Christmas without a Christmas bonus—and with Filipino consumers having extra money to spare,  it has been their habit  to  splurge on the latest appliances for their homes (the smart phones, tablets and laptops are still half-a century away from the 60s decade). No wonder, consumer durable advertisers become busier than usual during the holiday season, as proven by these ads from 1961,

YSMAEL STEEL was already already a byword in 1961, with a reputation for making high quality home appliances, especially those under the trademark “Admiral”. It was founded by the prominent Ysmael family, and was helmed by Felipe “Baby” Ysmael Jr.after his mother passed away.  

In its heyday, the Ysmael Steel factory along España Extension had a spacious lawn on which  a gigantic Ysmael Steel robot stood like a city landmark. It also fielded a winning basketball team called Ysmael Admirals, which competed in the MICAA (Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association), the forerunner of PBA.

Also an established appliance brand was RADIOWEALTH, founded in 1930 Camarines-born Domingo M. Guevara who took up a correspondence course to become a radio technician. He took his one-man radio repair shop and transformed it into an appliance manufacturing giant that made radio phonos, TV sets, and music cabinet entertainment systems.

On the other hand, AVEGON was the brainchild of Engr. Antonio Nepouceno Avecilla of  San Fernando. In 1953, noting the burgeoning radio industry thanks to its rising use as an entertainment and marketing medium, Avecilla teamed up with a friend, Joaquin l. Gonzalez of Baliwag, and pooled their money together to form a fledgling manufacturer and importer of electrical appliances called AVEGON INC., coined from their 2 surnames, AVEcilla and GONzalez. Their enterprise became a huge national success.

These are some of their ads that saw print during the season of refrigerators, air conditioners, stereos, radio phonographs, and TV sets--Christmas!!