352. Pitoy Moreno, "Asia's Fashion Czar" for BAN ANTI-PERSPIRANT, 1974

JOSE 'PITOY' MORENO FOR BAN ANTIPERSPIRANTS, 1974

BAN ROLL-ON DEODORANT was a deodorant brand developed by Bristol Myers Co., that was launched with a revolutionary packaging—a rol-on dispense. Bristol-Myers had acquired the makers of Mum deodorant--Mum Manufacturing Co.—and had wanted to add an antiperspirant brand to its product line.

The result was an effective antiperspirant packaged in a dispenser modeled on the ball-point pen mechanism that was earier desined by employee Helen Leah Diserens (1919-2008). It came out under the name Mum Rolette in 1952, but problems with the applicator caused it to be removed from the market. 

After extensive product and packaging improvement, the anti-perspirant was reintroduced in the U.S. as BAN ROLL-ON in 1955, with massive advertising and marketing support for its national roll-out.

It would take almost 2 decades before BAN ROLL-ON was introduced in the Philippines, and the fashionable ads made use of the “fashion czar of Asia”—Jose “Pitoy” Moreno as an endorser, supported by the appearance of top models Ping Valencia and Eva Reyes, also Miss Republic of the Philippines-World 1972.

The connection between body odor and fashion was explained in the copy:“Perspiration marks can ruin even the most fashionable look…BAN stops perspiration effectively---no sweat to ruin your style”.

PITOY MORENO / PING VALENCIA, BAN ROLL-ON AD, 1974

The uppity-looking ads complemented the premium price of BAN, which, aside from the Roll-On, included  a Dry BAN Cream. To underscore the importance of its flagship product, the campaign ended with the tagline “BAN. America’s No. 1 Roll-On Antiperspirant”, to appeal to the target’s sense of colonial mentality.

PITOY MORENO / EVA REYES, BAN ROLL-ON AD, 1974

BAN slipped into obscurity towards the end of the 70s decade, and the BAN products available in the market today are made by Kao Brands Co. As for Pitoy Moreno, he was accorded a National Artist Award by Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, only to be revoked by the Supreme Court in 2013 after finding that it had been given without due process as stipulated by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

PITOY MORENO / EVA REYES, BAN ROLL-ON AD, 1975

SOURCES: 

Ban website: https://www.bandeodorant.com/en-us/

Deodorant History and its invention: http://omenter.com/deodorant-history/#:~:text=The%20small%20company%20was%20bought,the%20name%20Ban%20Roll%2DOn.

Pitoy Moreno, Wikimedia.com, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitoy_Moreno