313. WHITE BAND SHORTENING, Philippine Refining Co.’s (PRC) Answer to PMC’s Purico

 

WHITEBAND  SHORTENING PRINT AD, 1955

In the  early 1950s,  PMC’s (Phil. Manufacturing Co.)  Purico was lording it over as the no. 1 shortening in the Philippines—good for frying, baking and cooking.  PRC (Philippine Refining Co.) was in direct competition with most of the products of PMC, particularly beauty bars, health soaps and detergents. Not to be outdone, the company came up with WHITEBAND SHORTENING, for frying, baking and sautéing. Instead of being packed in cartons, WHITEBAND initially came in tin pails.  Later, the shortening was packed in colorful and re-usable plastic pails. 

WHITEBAND RECIPE AD, 1957

To differentiate it from Purico which featured everday dishes and recipes, WHITEBAND touted its promise of giving luxury-taste to dishes. It even resorted to copying Purico’s recipe ads, endorsed by a ‘a famous home economist, Betty King. It is interesting to note that Betty King was also used in Australia by World Brands Pty Ltd and promoted as one of the leading ladies of Australian cookery. In  reality, she doesn’t exist. She was, no doubt, inspired by the equally fictional Betty Crocker in America. WHITEBAND ceased to exist by the early 1960s, soundly trounced by Purico’s effective and massive marketing and advertising support.