483. Sampaguita Stars BERT LEROY JR. & LIBERTY ILAGAN for COCA COLA, 1963

TEEN STARS OF THE 60s, BERT LEROY JR. & LIBERTY ILAGAN, FOR COKE, 1963

COCA-COLA has been using local movie stars as endorsers and models of print ads as early as the late 1950s. Early models included Gloria Romero, Juancho Gutierrez and Fred Montilla.

In the 60s, local film studios began building up their own stable of artists, and Sampaguita Pictures was the most successful, securing for its stars lucrative commercial endorsements for Coke. Many appeared in Coke’s 50^th anniversary ads and in subsequent ads of the 60s like Eddie Gutierrez, Josephine Estrada and Jean Lopez.

These ads from 1963 show two popular Sampaguita teen stars of the decade: BERT LEROY  Jr. and LIBERTY ILAGAN.

BERT AND LIBERTY, part of the COKE ad series, 1963

Bert Leroy Jr. was born as Albert Leroy (25 Apr. 1944, Manila), one of 3 children of showbiz couple Nicanor (Bert) Leroy Sr. and radio personality Luz Mat. Castro. It was natural that he was introduced to films early, appearing at age 9 in “Diwang Kayumanggi”. He put his budding film career on hold to concentrate on his grade school in Sta. Rita Colleges where he was an honor student, and took up high school at San Beda, where he was an honor student.

Bert enrolled at the University of Santo Tomas to take up Commerce but only stayed for a year. It was said he re-entered showbiz in 1961, and, as he says "so I could buy my own car". The 18 year old was introduced in 1962 in a supporting role in “Tugtuging Bukid”. There must have been an attempt to cast him with Liberty Ilagan as a love team in these Coke ads from 1963, but in 1966, Bert found bigger fame when he was teamed up as Gina Pareño’s partner as part of the popular teen group of Sampaguita Pictures’ “Stars ‘66”. One highlight of his career is earning a FAMAS nomination as Best Actor in the 1967 drama, “Kung Bakit Pa Ako Isinilang”.

LIBERTY ILAGAN, solo ad for Coke, 1963

LIBERTY ILAGAN , on the other hand was born (6 Jul. 1943) was born to showbiz royalty; her father is National Artist and actor-director Gerry de Leon, famed for his nationalistic films like “Sisa”, “Diego Silang” and screen adaptations of  “Noli Me Tangere,” “El Filibusterismo,” “Diego Silang,” and “Sisa.” Her mother, Fely Vallejo, was an actress, sister of 1930s violin prodigy, Ernesto Vallejo.

Like Bert, Liberty started as a 3 year old child actress, appearing in “Isumpa Mo Giliw”in 1946. She stopped to take up pre-Law at Arellano University. But she was lured back to showbiz in her teens by Sampaguita and did many teen flicks like “Joey, Eddie, and Lito” (1961) , “The Big Broadcast” (1962), “Sweet Valentines” (1963) and “Jukebox Jamboree” (1964).

Eventually, she married Rod Ongpauco, an ex-actor who became a successful restaurateur (founder of Barrio Fiesta) , with whom she had 3 kids: Happy, Love and Soeng Ongpauco.

Both Sampaguita stars Bert and Liberty migrated to the U.S. after their fruitful showbiz careers. Bert  Leroy Jr., , now 80 years old, is marred with 2 sons and a daughter. Liberty, who had separated with Rod, remarried a U.S. lawyer, Carlos Lardizabal, and passed away on 17 Mar. 2020.

SOURCES:

Information about B. Leroy Jr. and L. Ilagan: Wikipedia

The Movie Database: https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1355492-bert-leroy-jr

Rappler: Former Sampaguita actress dies at 76 https://www.rappler.com/entertainment/254920-actress-liberty-ilagan-dies/

Phil. Daily Inquirer: https://entertainment.inquirer.net/189427/stars-66-50-golden-years-later

482. . SHARP (PHILS.) CORP. "Very Sharp, Very First" Print Campaign, 1989

By the end of the 80s, SHARP (Phils) Corp. entrusted to Ace-Saatchi & Saatchi its corporate advertising, as they entered a new decade with plans to launch more products and expand its robust business.

The project was assigned to Ace-Saatchi’s winning-est Concept Team, Mario Monteagudo (AD) and Robert Labayen (Writer). Just 2 years before, the duo had won a 1987 Print Ad of the Year award for their Visine Eye Drops print ad for client Pfizer. 

The result was a stunning Print Ad series that focused on the amazing pedigree of success that the company enjoyed over the course of 4 decade, through pioneering inventions, trailblazing products and state-of-the art innovation. 

“Our generation grew up with Sony”, recalls Robert Labayen when asked about the SHARP campaign background. “So, Mario and I were excited when we learned that our account, SHARP, scored many firsts in the history of the world’s tv technology. 

The brief came from our account person Timmy Jayme. We used illustrations that looked like Japanese characters to present SHARP as THE name behind Japanese TV technology.

 I made the illustrations because that was the time that I was into doodling. Mario came up with the line “Very Sharp. Very First.” That was another instance when Mario and I exchanged roles.”

The Print series delighted SHARP clients and marketing man, Mon Bermeo so much that the client not only ran the complete series in regular dailies, but also appeared in Visitacion dela Torre’s history book about Philippine advertising.

 Mario and Robert would go on to enjoy a 3-year Print AOY award-winning streak from 1991 to 1993, earning Creative Guild nods for  British Airways, Philippine National Bank and Petron. After their sterling career with Ace, Mario formed his own agency, while Robert joined ABS-CBN to become its VP-Head of Creative Communication in 2004.

CREDITS:

Many thanks for Robert Labayen for his recollections about making this SHARP Ad series; likewise to Mario Monteagudo, for his inputes.

481. MILO ENERGY DRINK, 1980 Moscow Olympics Ad

GO MILO! BUT WE'RE NOT GOING! Olympic Ad, 1980

Nestlé’s MILO began wresting the title of “Olympic Energy Drink” from arch rival  OVALTINE in 1968, when the popular chocolate malt beverage began running an ad that proclaimed itself as the “Choice of the ’68 Olympics”. On the other hand, OVALTINE had touted in its 1972 ads that it had been in every Olympics since 1932. It was to be the last time that OVALTINE—an aging brand on a decline--would call itself “the official energy drink of the Olympics since 1932”.

MILO took over that claim that same year, bannering that “modern day athletes need a modern energy drink”, while casting shades on Ovaltine as “old stand-bys are simply not enough”. MILO’s Olympic Energy campaign thus began officially in 1972 (Munich) followed by the next edition in Montreal (1976).

In 1980, the Summer Olympics were scheduled to happen in Moscow, Soviet Union, from Jul. 19-Aug. 3, 1980, the first games to be held in an Eastern bloc country. It was to be one of the most controversial stagings in the history of the Olympics. 

A year before, Soviet had invaded Afghanistan,  causing the United States and other Western countries to boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Sixty six countries boycotted the games entirely, including the Philippines, and only 80 nations converged at the Moscow Games, the smallest number since 1956.

In retaliation, the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries (except Romania) boycotted the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. An alternative international sporting event, the Goodwill Games, was created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s.

Nevertheless, Filipro Inc., Nestlé’s local manufacturer in the Philippines, came up with their MILO Moscow Olympic Ads in 1980, despite the country’s non-participation. 

The ad was austere in its message, preferring to “salute the Olympic Year”, with the Moscow reference as just as subhead. Perhaps to make up for the lost Olympic momentum, MILO launched a SUPER ATHLETES Promo, with collectible plastic figures of athletes in action in every can. These were to be played using SUPER SPORTS gameboards published in select magazines and newspapers.

MILO SUPER ATHLETES TOY PROMO, 1980

SOURCES:

Moscow Olympics logo: Wikimedia commons

Moscow Olympics 1980: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_Summer_Olympics

Goodwill Games 1986: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodwill_Games