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| KATIALIS, formulated by Dr. Lorenzo Reyes, B&W print ad, 1946. |
The most successful local skin ointment in history was
formulated in the 1930s by Dr. Lorenzo C. Reyes (b.?/d. 1985) and mixed by his
chemist brother, Manuel, at his Locre Laboratorio in San Lazaro, Manila. The
name of KATIALIS topical ointment was
coined from “KATI”(itch) and “ALIS” (go away), and was widely marketed as an
effective solution to skin diseases such as “tagihawat,
anan, anghit, buni, alipunga, bungang araw, bulutong tubig, balakubak, sunog sa
araw, masamang butlig, ulsera, sugat, pekas, galis, pigsa, butlig pagkatapos
mag-ahit, sigid ng lamok, surot at iba pang maliit na hayop”.
KATIALIS was available in small jars, and was one of the
first medicine brands advertised as being Philippine-made. Its whimsical ads
showed allegorical figures like angels, biblical characters (the 3 Kings, for
instance, bearing KATIALIS jars as gifts) and wild animals (to represent
various skin ailments). After over 80 years, KATIALIS is still available in the
market today.
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| BALATKINIS, formulated by Dr. Manuel C. Reyes, B&W print ad, 1948 |
After concocting Katialis for 10 years for his brother,
Manuel struck it on his own and came up with a copycat brand, BALATKINIS in 1947. Like KATIALIS, the new BALATKINIS was
guaranteed to effectively remove “galis,
buni, pigsa, tagihawat, butlig, anan, pekas, alipunga, sugat na maliliit at
kagat ng hayop tlad ng lamok, surot, pulgas, atbp.”
BALATKINIS also had its share of print advertising, going
as far as capitalizing on the fact that its maker is the same Manuel C. Reyes, ”na sa loob ng 10 taon ay siya rin ang
gumawa ng Katialis (pormula ni Dr. L. C. Reyes). Despite following the same
marketing formula of the pioneering skin ointment, BALATKINIS did not quite
take off, and failed to replicate KATIALIS’ pedigree of success.