Monday, May 30, 2022

374. OFF! INSECT REPELLENT, by SC Johnson, Print Ads 1962-1975

OFF! Insect Repellent Print Ad, 1962

S. C. Johnson (S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc.), previously known as S. C. Johnson Wax (and earlier on, Johnson Wax), is a global manufacturer of household cleaning supplies and other consumer chemicals based in Racine, Wisconsin.

WATCH THIS U.S.-PRODUCED OFF! TV AD STOCK FOOTAGE

Other than wax, one of the earliest S.C. Johnson products sold in the Philippines was OFF! Insect Repellent, first produced and sold in 1957. Just 5 years after, OFF! became available in the Philippines, in bottles and aerosol spray. Its active ingredient is N, N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide, known as DEET, which is the most common and safest  ingredient in insect repellents, of which S.C. Johnson is considered a pioneer.

OFF! "Your Invisible Mosquito Net", 1972

OFF! had the endorsement of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, calling it “the most effective product of its kind.  OFF! Insect Repellent was marketed via advertising and promotions, like during the H-Fever months that happened in 1975. (Slogan: “Your invisible mosquito net”.) It’s last advertising agency in the Philippines, was FCB. 

OFF! Insect Repellent continues to manufactured by the same company today, one of the more enduring brands of S.C. Johnson.

OFF! In 1960s liquid form and in the 1970s aerosol spray can.

SOURCE:youtube, OFF!Insect Repellent Commercial , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WVxG4zZ_OQ, uploaded by FilmArchivesNYC, July 24, 2013.

Sunday, May 22, 2022

373. Helene Curtis SUAVE Hairdressing Crème and Lotion, Print Ads 1960-1969

SUAVE Print Ad, 1969, featuring Terry Aldeguer of the Aldeguer Sisters

Helene Curtis was a company formed from National Industries, which had originally produced personal care products, but which had to shift to making products for the war efforts. After World War II, National Industries resumed making personal care products and was renamed Helene Curtis, after the first names of partner Louis Stein's wife and son. 
The first products to come out from the Helene Curtis plant was SUAVE Hairdressing, in Crème and Lotion, which was launched for general retail sale, and proved to be a sales success. It went on to create more revolutionary products like hairsprays, with the brand name, Spraynet, spray-on deodorant Stopette, and a dandruff shampoo called Enden. 

Hairdresser Nomer Pabilonia for SUAVE. Model: Conchitina Sevilla 

But in the 1960s, Helene Curtis would eventually go back to build on the success of its SUAVE brand, introducing shampoos, creme rinses, and wave sets. As early as the 1960, Helene Curtis SUAVE was marketed in the Philippines, and was actively pushed with regular advertising campaigns. 

The earliest examples show SUAVE print ads featuring well-known fashion icons modeling the latest styles (“The Bob”, “The Bell”) created by leading hairdressers of the day, like Nomer Pabilonia and Moises Sia, who readily endorsed the product. 

Hairdresser Moises Sia for SUAVE, 1960 Print Ad

SUAVE had a great run in the Philippines and in the 1980s, it was repackaged in cost-efficient plastic with caps, as hair control products became more popular. Today, the SUAVE brand is owned by Unilever, and has expanded to include hair grooming essentials for men and women, like gels, shampoos, mousse, aerosol anti-frizz and other hair-control products.

Sunday, May 15, 2022

372. BALINTAWAK BEER, ca. 1937

People in pre-war Philippines would surely remember BALINTAWAK BEER, a beer brand that came to be, thanks to Japanese investors who pooled in funds to establish a beer factory in Polo, Bulacan. This was the Balintawak Beer Brewery, founded in 1937, which launched its BALINTAWAK Pilsener Beer to the local market, bottled in amber bottles similar to San Miguel’s, with paper labels.

BALINTAWAK BEER was supported with print and radio advertising, and early ads focused on the beer’s relaxing, comforting qualities that’s perfect for social entertaining.  The KZRM airwaves was filled with songs and music from featured performers like Alicia Garong, pianist Rafael Artigas, and even a  BBB Mystery Singer.

In 1938, BALINTAWAK BEER  added its ‘Black Beer’ version, the counterpart of san Miguel’s Cerveza Negra. Like San Miguel, BALINTAWAK BLACK BEER was positioned as the drink ideal for women for its health-giving attributes.

World War II put an end to the operations of Balintawak Beer Brewery, as the plant was taken over by the Japanese forces, along with San Miguel beer plant. BALINTAWAK BEER, however, continued to be available to Filipinos.

In the 1950s, San Miguel Corporation bought the Polo plant and converted BBB into their primary brewery for their world-renowned San Miguel Beer.


 Vintage Bottle collectors are always looking for BALINTAWAK BEER bottles today for their rarity, as many of their identifying paper labels have been worn away by time.

 SOURCES:

Graphic Magazines, 1937-1939 issues

Kasaysayan, Vol. VII.  "Prewar Pesos for Japanese Goods," Yu Jose, Lydia.



Tuesday, May 3, 2022

371. JAG JEANS, , “Tripping”, TVC 30s, 1999

JAG JEANS TVC featuring FatBoy Slim's "Gangster Tripping"

From the mid 1990s to 2000, JAG JEANS, a product of Fil-Pacific Apparel Inc., invested in advertising to level-up its image in the crowded jeans market that included known imported brands and rising local, quality brands. 

TWO JAG MODELS MEET

It was during this period that it churned out a slew of commercials that began turning head—from the 1996 “Merman” TVC, that won a Creative Guild Award, to the “Senses” TVC for it female jeans line that captured a significant number of production/technical awards (best in cinematography, art direction)  at the Philippine Advertising Congress in 1998.

In 1999, JAG JEANS took another risk by launching a campaign that was shot in Sydney, Australia for 9 days, using Aussie talents and a production house. In this  casually cool commercial, the city becomes the ramp on which our JAG JEANS strut their fashion stuff.


 We follow them around, walking and posing nonchalantly on the graffiti-lined streets,  inside a train, a male’s shower room. The music of FatBoy Slim provided the track for this commercial with his big beat,  electronic new funk rock song. “ Gangster Tripping”. 

The 30 sec. JAG JEANS had even shorter 15 sec. versions, one of which is featured here.


CLIENTS & AGENCY CREATIVES WITH SYDNEY PRODUCTION CREW

 CREDITS:

AGENCY: JIMENEZ DMB&B

Copywriter: ALEX R. CASTRO / Art Director: DON SEVILLA III

Producer: PAUL SUAREZ / Account: ANNA DOMINGO

ADVERTISER: FIL-PACIFIC APPAREL INC.

Marketing Manager: Veng Taningco / President: Angeline Siy

 SOURCES:

Jag Jeans 1998 TVC Philippines, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LsJXP88vvU,

uploaded by Russel ES Royeca 17 June 2017