366. Creative Guild’s 1990 TV Ad of the Year: DEL MONTE SPAGHETTI SAUCE, “Novices” TVC 45

The 1990 Ad of the year reeks of foreign (specifically Italian) flavor, but was actually a locally-written, locally-produced effort full of recognizably Pinoy values and pushing a product that is an apparent bestseller among Filipino housewives.

“Novices” was a 45-sec. TV ad created by McCann-Erickson for Del Monte Philippines’ unadulterated spaghetti sauce, touted as having the most authentic Italian flavor because of its generous serving of herbs and spices.

“Del Monte had been a McCann client “forever”, recalls president Emily Abrera, who was both writer and creative directors for the ad. “When I joined the agency 17 years ago, they were already here.”McCann had already launched the product a couple of years earlier with a hugely successful spoof entitled “Godfather” featuring a Vito Corleone/Marlon Brando deadringer an won raves for the ad’s production values,

“Clients wanted something just as good,”Abrera says, “and the idea was still to do something sort of Italian,” to again underscore the product’s authentic flavor.”

 A commercial full of nuns was not the first storyboard approved for productions; the original idea was to stage a raucous family gathering in the true Italian tradition.

“My father is Italian”, Abrera asserts,”so there was certainly a lot of noise in my family!”. Everybody thought that the nuns would be more unusual, however, and then account manager Rosanna Henares went as far as consulting real-life sisters about the idea.

 WATCH DEL MONTE SPAGHETTI SAUCE "Novice" TVC Here:

Uploaded by Kape WithCream

The images were ideal; the convent  setting, with its cast of hard-working, industrious residents, stressed the points of ready-made product that tasted as heavenly as the traditionally-prepared favorite. (“Two hours, mother!”, one of the novices exclaims), and the Mother Superior, sublimely played by stage actress Benita Steiger (the production had to wait until Steiger returned from a London vacation), was the epitome of domestic authority whipping up meals with divine mandate. “Remember, it’s a Christian country,: Abrera says of the Philippines, ‘and nuns are always taught never to take credit.”

 As the possibility of offending the religious sensibilities of viewers, Abrera changed the final line from”Praise the lord”, to “Praise Him”, which Steiger delivers with upturned, knowing eyes in response to the novice’s compliment,  “Praise you Mother.” 

BENITA STEIGGER, with Repertory Phils. Actors

The end copy, “Preferred by mother” is the ideal double-entendre endorsement  from both the domestic and religious sectors. “There was definitely a chuckle factor, but we didn’t want to make fun of anybody,”Abrera says. It was certainly more charm than humor.

The ad was shot in 3 days in te arched ruins of an abandoned Manila bank building that looked appropriately solemn with proper lighting and set design. Once again, casting proved critical. “We wanted young girls who looked absolutely virginal,” Abrera says, “and this was one of those cases where, if you didn’t have the right faces, the ad wouldn’t work, even if you had a good idea.”

The youngest talent was 12 years old, and the carefree lasses were not above lifting their heavy cheesecloth costumes between takes to air their sweating legs. Smoke, camera filters, Joey Luna’s ethereal; production design on a low budget, and Butch Perez’s inspired direction contributed to the making of a polished, truly different commercial with an underlying Filipino sensibility.

“Oh, but we have a lot of common with the Italians, don’t you think?”, Abrera asks, Enoighto proper; Del Monte Spaghetti Sauce to the top of its market.

CREDITS:

AGENCY: McCann-Erickson    /    ADVERTISER: Del Monte Philippines

PRODUCT: Del Monte Spaghetti Sauce

CREATIVE DIRECTOR/ COPYWRITER: Emily Abrera

ART DIRECTOR; Ding Villamor   /   PRODUCER: Baby Enriquez

DIRECTOR: Butch Perez

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Rody Lacap  /   EDITOR: Billy de Leon

PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Joey Luna

PRODUCTION HOUSE: Electromedia

 REFERENCES:

Article lifted from: PERFECT 10: A Decade of Creativity in Philippine Advertising, edited by Butch Uy, p.54

Photo of Benita Steiger: FB page of J. Virata.

DEL MONTE SAUCE NOVICE 45s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfujgpORNCA, uploaded by kapewithcream