BEAR BRAND Sterilized Milk is an iconic milk brand with a long history in the Philippines, one of the first brands to be imported locally at the turn of the 20th century. It is no wonder that “Marca Oso”, as it was popularly called, became a part of the everyday life of Filipinos for many generations. The heritage story also inspired the creatives of Advertising and Marketing Associates (AMA) Consolidated to use this angle in crafting BEAR BRAND’s new campaign around 1981, producing a "Decades" TVC that used vignettes to show how the milk brand played a role in nourishing Filipino families, under the theme--"The special milk trusted for generations"/
Few years down the road, around 1988, a refreshed campaign was launched again for BEAR BRAND, usin te same thematic line, but executed differently.
The result was an epic, jingle-based commercial that was unprecedented in terms of length (a minute and a half!) and cost—a novel idea at that time. The agency came up with a series of period commercials situating BEAR BRAND in the lives of Filipinos through decades, adding the line, "So much a part of our lives", to the original positioning statement "The special milk trusted for generations”.
The commercials were noted for their grand production design, period sets and wardrobe, plus wonderful casting. The main commercial was pure nostalgia, prefaced by the jingle line “I remember yesterday, the world was so young….” , shows a 1930s scene where family members visit grandma. A young boy is prodded to “dance with Lola”, with courtesy shots of family members drinking the milk.
A picture is taken by the boy’s father as lola and grandkid dance. Fast forward to the 1980s. A young girl points to the same picture, now old and framed, and points to the young boy. She asks an oldish man by her side—“Is that you Lolo?”. To which the senior citizen replied—“Yes…Look at my mole!”. We realize he was the same little boy 5 decades ago! The story comes full circle when the Lolo starts dancing with her granddaughter.
The BEAR BRAND “Generations” commercial not only became famous for its jingle, and memorable dialogues, but an urban legend developed around the other girl talent (the one wearing a ribbon) who is allegedly a ghost. Her face, people say, is never seen in the commercial, and in the end shot, she mysteriously is not present!
The campaign lasted through the early part of the 1990s.
There has never been another BEAR BRAND ad that reached the level of prominence
and popularity that this campaign has achieved;
in fact, most children of the ‘80s are quick to recall and sing the
jingle that began wistfully with—“I remember yesterday..”
CREDITS:
ADVERTISING AGENCY: AMA Consolidated / CREATIVE DIRECTOR; Eva Perez
ART DIRECTORS: Franz de Castro, Roel Sunga / COPYWRITER: Joyce Bustamante
CLIENT: Nestlé Philippines
SOURCES:
Bear Brand old Commercial, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBCguyjreXs, uploaded by Marwin Manuel, 17 Dec. 2009.
Dela Torre, Visitacion. Advertising in the Philippines, Its Historical, Cultural and Social Dimensions. Tower Book House. 1989.
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