394. THE PREMIUM GLASSES OF CAFE PURO, 1966-1969

CAFE PURO RAINBOW GLASSES, 1969

 INSTANT CAFÉ PURO, the coffee brand produced by Commonwealth Foods Inc., had established its dominance in the coffee market in the 1950s, and continued to do so in the 60s, even as other brands like Nescafe and the relatively newer Blend 45 began to step up their advertising and promotional push in the 1960s. 

CAFE PURO ANNIVERSARY CRYSTAL GLASSES, 1966

To maintain interest in the brand, CAFÉ PURO offered many promotions in succession. Beginning in 1966, it began packaging its coffee in reusable, decorated drinking-glass type jars that became keepsakes for its customers, long after the coffee had been used up. The “collective glass” packages, as premiums, provided added value to the brand.

CAFE PURO SPARKLING CRYSTAL GLASSES, 1966

The CAFÉ PURO glasses were so popular that for 3 successive years, they were offered as bonus giveaways. The first of these were the CAFÉ PURO Crystal Glass Collection, given away on the occasion of CFI’s 5^th Anniversary, Decorated with applied “sparkle’ designs, the large glasses were also available wit their Café Bueno and Le Café variants.

CAFE PURO ANNIVERSARY CRYSTAL GLASSES, 1966

That collection were quickly followed by their most well received glass premiums ever—the CAFÉ PURO Folk Dance Collection, launched in 1967. The series featured glasses native folk dance illustrations like “Itik-Itik”, “Maglalatik”, “Tahing Baila”, “Pandanggo sa Ilaw”, and many more. But CAFÉ PURO went steps further by incorporating the sme folk dance them in giveway pitchers and shakers as well. The collection was so well received that the promo ran for 2 years.

CAFE PURO FOLK DANCE GLASSES, 1967

Finally, in 1969, CAFÉ PURO rolled out its products in eye-catching colored glass packaging, promoted as the CAFÉ PURO Rainbow Glass Collection. Again, the elegant glass set was snapped up as soon as they appeared on supermarket shelves. Its competitors quickly recognized the value of these innovative packaging that pretty soon, its chief rival, Nescafe, began offering glasses of different designs as well, like the nescafe Diamond Cut glass, as well as classic glass multi-purpose jars,

 But the CAFÉ PURO glasses were unrivalled for their creative design and durability, so it is no wonder that they can still be found today still in use in homes, or stored away in somebody else’s old “platera” or tableware cabinets.

318. CAFÉ BUENO, “No Nerves” Print Campaign, 1962

CAFE BUENO INTRO ADS, 1958

Commonwealth Foods Inc. was founded back in 1951 and its first flagship brand was  the popular CAFE PURO. It paved the ay for the opening of a new Comfoods plant in 1956,  the country’s first instant and soluble coffee manufacturing plant. Once established, new variants were added to the Café Puro line in 1958:  CAFÉ EXCELENTE, a premium brand known for its winey taste, and CAFÉ BUENO, the decaffeinated version. 

PARACHUTE JUMPER, Cafe Bueno, 1962

When CAFÉ BUENO was launched, its benefit of “having coffee as often as you want and wake up refreshed” was touted in the headline.  Since it had less caffeine, it caused no jitters—“no nerves”, as the copy noted. Four years later,  the “no nerves” story became the 1962 campaign’s central theme. 

HUNTER, Cafe Bueno, 1962

To visualize the benefit, critical situations in which alertness was pivotal were used in a series of ads: jumping with a parachute, hunting and shooting a wild animal, walking on a tightrope.

TIGHTROPE WALKER, Cafe Bueno, 1962

CAFÉ BUENO enjoyed a level of popularity with a niche market throughout the late 60s, longer than CAFÉ EXCELENTE, which was phased out by 1966.