The breakthrough Filipina actress who was the first to
win acclaim internationally was CHARITO SOLIS (b. 6 Oct. 1935/ d. 9 Jan, 1998).
In 1967, she won Best Actress at the Asian Film Festival held in Tokyo, Japan for her role in “Dahil
sa Isang Bulaklak”, of Nepomuceno Films.
Manila-born Rosario Violeta Solís Hernández was
introduced in LVN Pictures’“Niña
Bonita” (1955) with Jaime dela Rosa. Her maiden film was such a hit, paving the way for a career that spanned over
4 decades.
DAHIL SA ISANG BULAKLAK, Print Ad, 1966
Her stint with Nepomuceno Films was most memorable. From
1967 to 1971, she starred in some of the most critically acclaimed movies of
her career, starting with “Dahil sa Isang Bulaklak”, which became the country’s
1st entry to the 40thOscar Awards, and for which she got invited to attend the awards night.
Solis next
appeared in “Igorota” (1968), daring because of her barebreasted appearance.
She scored a FAMAS Best Actress for this film. The next year, she did “Ang
Pulubi”, released internationally as “The Beggar”. She would win an
unprecedented 5 FAMAS Best Actress nods,
the other 4 being for Her other
four FAMAS Best Actress wins were for “Kundiman ng Lahi “(1949); Emily (1960);
Angustia (1963); and Don't Cry for Me, Papa (1983). For this, Solis was
enshrined in the FAMAS Hall of Fame.
ANG PULUBI, print ad. Courtesy of Arch. Gerard Lico
She extend her career in television, beginning with “The
Charito Solis Show” (1966-68) , ABS-CBN) and “Obra Mestra” (1973). But it was
in the comedy sitcom “Okay Ka Fairy Ko”(1987) as the flamboyant and meddlesome fairy Ina
Magenta, that she found newfound fame in the 1980s.
CHARITO SOLIS FOR CAMAY, 1955
CHARITO SOLIS was tapped by a few, but well-known beauty
products of international companies. She was an early CAMAY beauty when the
best-selling Procter & Gamble PMC soap was launched, that used the
country’s biggest movie stars in its promotional ads.
CHARITO SOLIS FOR POND'S, 1975
Twenty years after, in 1975, she became a celebrity model
for POND’s, then from Chesebrough Manufacturing Co. affiliated with PRC (Phil.
Refining Co.). Solis’s testimonial ad was one of a series, that included teen
personality Jackie Lou Blanco, beauty queen Charina Zaragoza, and international
model Jolina Zandueta, among others.
CHARITO SOLIS died of a heart attack in Calamba, Laguna, age 62.
Her last appearance was for an episode in GMA Telecine Specials aired in 1998,
entitled “Iguhit mo sa Alaala”.
In 2002,
the Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies of the Philippines (4 A’s) chose
25 Best Ads out of 100 nominees. The nominees were culled from hundreds of
commercials spanning 5 decades, and these wentthrough the gruelling scrutiny of 3 generations of creative minds and
advertising practitioners, sieved through their stringent standards and
critical sensibilities. The 100 nominees were later pruned to 40.
CAMAY "Pres. Roosevelt", one of 25 PILAK Awardees
The
final 25 merited the distinction of being called “PILAK: Pilipino Advertising
Klasiks”. One of the 25 is the CAMAY SOAP commercial of Procter & Gamble
PMC, produced by Ace Compton Advertising Inc. It created quite a stir in 1967
as the first commercial to be shot on board the SS President Roosevelt American President Luxury Liner. The commercial was also unusually long (over a minute!),
with a cast of mostly foreign talents—except the lead, Camay Girl TINA ARTILLAGA, one of the country’s top-ranked fashion models.
WATCH THE 1967 CAMAY "Pres. Roosevelt Lines" TVC Here:
“Ang
barko….President Roosevelt. Ang dilag…kahali-halina..”
Thus
began the commercial where the creamy-complexioned Tina walks past male
passengers on the ship, entrancing them with her “malinis, mala-kremang
kutis”—repeated several times for emphasis! “Ang lahat ay napapalingon…” (everyone wants to take a look..) became
a memorable line from the TVC , and was retained in future CAMAY commercials.
THE COUNTERPART PRINT AD OF CAMAY "Pres. Roosevelt" Campaign
Inexplicably,
the print ad counterpart featured another model, but published in the same year. It had the feel as the commercial and even bears the logo of the American President Lines to lend further credence to the ad.
TOP MODEL TINA ARTILLAGA AT HER PEAK
Camay
Girl TINA ARTILLAGA modelled for Pitoy Moreno in his fashions shows abroad. In
1968, she travelled to Europe and walked the runways in Moreno’s creations,
along with Maita Gomez, Cherrie Pie Villonco, Pearrie Arcache, Jean Margaret
Lim, and Joji Felix Velarde. That same year, she joined Bb. Pilipinas and placed
4th to winner Charina Zaragoza. She did a couple of movies in the
mid 1970s like “Alas 5:00 ng Hapon, Gising Na Ang ga Angel”, “Hoy Mister, Ako
ang Mrs. Mo”, “Sekretaryang Walang Silya” (1976) ,and“Ako si Emma, Babae”, (1977)
CREDITS:
AGENCY:
ACE COMPTON ADVERTISING, INC
CREATIVE
DIRECTOR: CONNIE REID / COPYWRITER:
KEITH GAMBOA
DIRECTOR:
TONY SMITH / PRODUCTION
HOUSE: A.D. SMITH PRODUCTIONS
Many thanks to 4A's for the use of their youtube channel where many of these TV features were sourced.
In 1964, CAMAY
was relaunched to address the needs of a particular market segment—young,
married women. A new, reformulated CAMAY
was offered to them, promising only the softest, loveliest complexion—with
an exclusive cold cream to soften skin.
To dimensionalize the softness promise, a child was included
with the mother models—drawing parallels between their complexion. The first
ads show skin-to-skin contact via a kiss---describing a supple and lovely
complexion as “soft as a child’s kiss”.
New CAMAY, soft as a child's kiss. 1964
Succeeding ads show a mother
and child snuggling together cheek-to-cheek, visualizing the “cheek-to-cheek
softness” of the Mother’s skin washed with CAMAY.
The intimate portraits were a sharp departure from the CAMAY regular ads that showed young,
beautiful ladies, and made their full-page appearances in weekly magazines.
For the softest. loveliest complexion--new CAMAY, 1964
The new CAMAY
campaign effectively demonstrated the functional benefits of the beauty soap,
making it more relevant to a more mature market who are concerned with staying
beautiful even with aging skin. The new CAMAY
campaign lasted for over a year, until another total relaunch was mounted in
1967, which signalled the much awaited return of the young , modern CAMAY Girl.
Beginning in 1980, CAMAY, Procter & Gamble’s
leadingbeauty soap launched a more
hard-sell campaign to ward off its perennial arch-rival, PRC’s LUX. LUX had all
the glamorous stars at its disposal as it was globally positioned as “the soap
of movie stars”.CAMAY felt that perhaps, the soap would appeal to women on a more rational level, so sometime in
the 1980s, it launched a “blindfold ” tactical campaign to test its new
mildness.
The “blindfold challenge” was a format used before by CAMAY in the U.K. when it launched its
new scent—Camay Wildflower. A blindfolded woman was asked to figure out the
scent by smelling a perfume bottle int
which a soap has been inserted. Once she identified the “perfume scent”, her
blindfold is removed and her cheeks are lathered with CAMAY soap.
The format was borrowed and was used to challenge a
relatively unknown Filipina to test the gentleness of her beauty soap against CAMAY. She lathers one side of her
cheek with her current soap, the other cheek with CAMAY. At the end, she is asked to choose which side felt smootherand more “banayad” on the skin. Invariably,
the CAMAY side always won.
A parade of newfound girls were recruited to do the “blindfold
test” commercials, to draw in more mass appeal. They were not as well-known as
previous talents, but still were referred to as CAMAY girls. Some of the models included the fashion model Gina
Leviste, a band singer named EsperanzaTatlonghari (aka Zsa-Zsa Padilla), Angeli Pangilinan, member of the bandMusic and Magic (future talent management
agency owner and wife of Gary Valenciano). A few memorable lines came out if these popular
ads-- as a result of the models’ discovery of Camay’s superiority over their
current soap brands. Upon removing her
blindfold, for examples, a surprised Angeli squealed—“Hah? CAMAY? Akin na lang twooooohhhh!”
LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER, Rosa Rosal with only daughter, Toni Rose Gayda.
Rosa Rosal
(born as Florence Lansang Danon on 16 Oct. 1931) was one of the prized stars of
LVN Pictures. She often assumed the roles of femme fatales, sexy vixens,
wayward girls (but with a heart of gold) and a daring, seductive siren.
She was only 15 when she appeared in her first movie, “Fort
Santiago (1946) by the Nolasco Brothers Studio. Her performance impressed the
LVN bosses who got herand transformed
her into a fine actress in such classics as Biyaya
ng Lupa (1959) and Anak Dalita (1956).
She won the FAMAS Best Actress for Sonny
Boy in 1955.
ROSA ROSAL, Early CAMAY GIRL. Print Ad, 1953.
Offscreen, Rosa
Rosal led a quiet , purposeful life. She joined the Philippine National Red
Cross in 1950 and has actively promoted blood donation though the years. She
also engaged in charitable and humanitarian work on TV (Damayan, Kapwa Ko, Mahal Ko) that won for her the ramon Magsaysay
Award in 1999.
As such, she became a role model and early in her career,
she was chosen to be one of the 1950s CAMAY
Girls, that included such legendary screen beauties like Norma Blancaflor,
Gloria Romero, Nida Blanca, Nenita Cardenas, and Charito Solis.
ROSA ROSAL, for GENTLE Fine Fabric Deteregent, 1976.
In the 70s decade, Rosal became
active on television, and did dramas and sitcms like “Yan Ang Misis Ko”, opposite Ronald Remy.She also did one movie in 1976,”Sakada”, directed by Behn Cervantes,
that was banned by the Marcos government. Because of her familiarity to TV audiences, Rosal was persuaded to appear in a commercial
for GENTLE Fine Fabric Detergent.
Rosal’s daughter
with American pilot Walter Gayda whom she married in 1957, alo had a successful
run as a showbiz personality. Toni Rose
Gayda became a sought-after model, and was a CAMAY Girl, like her mom.She did at least ne campaign for JOHNSON’S
BABY LOTION, in 1979, with Ace Compton Advertising, Inc.
TONI ROSE GAYDA, for Johnson's Baby Lotion, 1979.
Toni Rose Gayda, later found fame as a
TV host of Eat Bulaga (1996-2014),
following her stint in Student Canteen
and Lunch Date. Gayda presently co-
hosts of A Song Of Praise MusicFestival on UNTV,gospel music TV program.
One of the most refreshing faces in the modeling scene in
the mid-70s to the 80s, was teen beauty MYRA MENDOZA. The winsome high schooler from St. Paul was but a teen when she started modeling for commercials; she
enjoyed the experience so much and never looked back—bagging major contracts
for Close-Up toothpaste, Camay Soap, US Shampoo and Clearasil in her heyday.
She was in high school when she performed in a
dance number for an event sponsored by the popular 1970s music magazine, JINGLE
Chordbook. She met the owner Gilbert
Guillermo, whom she credits as her “discoverer”.
MYRA, as she appeared ob JINGLE Music Magazine, 1977, Source: Nonoy Bonzon
Pretty soon, she was appearing on the pages of the
widely-readJingle magazine, along with
song lyrics set with guitar chords. Her posed pictures were just small
insets—strumming a guitar, reading the magazine,candid shots. But the readers were drawn to
her good looks—and she would become the unofficial sweetheart of the popular
youth-oriented music magazine.
Next thing Myra knew, she was being besieged by talent
agents and casters from major ad agencies. She recalls:“In those days , casting was not done as
efficiently and professionally as today. I would just get phone calls from
agents or ad agencies asking if I was available to shoot. Simple as that. No
try outs, no vtr’s(videotaped
auditions).
US SHAMPOO AD, 1979
Her earliest ad was a TV commercial for Clearasil,
directed by legendary commercial director Jun Urbano. In 1979, she also did an
ad for US Shampoo with conditioner, targetted at teens and young adults. This
turned out to be her busiest year, as she also was featured in the popular
Chiclets’ “Tsikletin Mo, Baby” TVC.
MYRA, Tsikletin Mo baby, TV Ad, 1980
Myra was also scouted by local women’s magazines, and she became a
cover girl i many of them, shot by the leading photographers of that time. She was still
finishing her communications course when she was cast to appear in one of the
most sought-after roles in the industry—that of being a Close-Up girl
for Close-Up Toothpaste, then a very popular youth brand. For many of the lucky
Close-up talents, the slick, well-produced commercials were springboard to TV
and movie stardom.
“The Close-Up ad was fun to do!” , Myra reminisced.Though she could no longer remember the name of her
male partner in the (“I think his last name is Rodriguez”), she found the
experience of shooting her commercial very easy and enjoyable. “Close-Up was
doing a campaign consisting of a series of ads. So all the lead talents --some
of them at least--came out in each other’s TVCs as background talents. Parang
barkada!”.
MYRA MENDOZA, on the cover of Women's Home Companion Magazine, 29 Nov. 1979
Incidentally,Loren Legarda, the future senator, was also part of that Close-Up batch. Years
later, when Myra was working for ABS-CBN, she would bump into Legarda, who, by
then, was the anchor of the late night news, “The World Tonight”. “ And she
still remembered me long after ourClose-Up years were over!”, Myra enthused.
With a diploma finally in hand, Myra landed a job with
one of the most prestigious multinational advertising agency in the
Philippines—Ace-Compton Advertising (later, Ace-Saatchi & Saatchi)—as a
talent caster, of all positions!! That time, Ace-Compton had the best in-house
talent casting department in the industry, complete with a studio and VTR
machines for go-sees and auditions.
MYRA MENDOZA, as the Face of Oil of Olay, Procter & Gamble, 1980
She was casting for such blue-chip clients like Procter
& Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, and Filipro-Nestle, Inc. Her stint with
Ace-Saatchi & Saatchi was memorable for 2 reasons. It was with the agency
that she was picked to do the Camay “Guess Who’s 16” TV commercial, thus
joining the elite circle of Camay Girls. She also became the face of Oil of
Olay when it was introduced by P&G in the Philippines.
Looking for other creative challenges, Myra set her sight
on commercial production. When Advertising & Marketing Associates had an
opening, she resigned from Ace to try broadcast production. She realized that
she was not cut out to be a producer, so she made a drastic move to the hotel
industry, by being a banquet sales manager for Manila Hotel.
MYRA, AS A CASTER AT ACE-SAATCHI with copywriter Alex Castro
But the lure of advertising, the world in which she grew
up in,proved irresistible after awhile.
Lintas top honcho Wally Reyes called her up and invited her to set up the
casting department of the growing agency. She took up the offer, organized the
agency’s talent department and stayed on for 4 years.
Myra would move back to Ace-Saatchi & Saatchi for a
brief interlude. Her last corporate job was with the Sales Department of
ABS-CBN. After ten years, she resigned in 2002 due to health issues, as she
needed time to recuperate from a major surgery.
WATERCOLOR ART OF MYRA, A SELF-TAUGHT ARTIST.
“I’ve stayed a homemaker ever since”, she says without
regret. So I then started painting among
other things. I’m a hobbyist. I created some fashion jewelry, I sew, despite
having no formal training. I also like to cook. So really, I dabble in anything
that interests me.”
COME A LITTLE CLOSER BABY, SMILE, FOR ME. Myra Mendoza and boyfriend, Chris Portillo in their younger days.
True to her calling, Myra Mendoza remained an
honest-to-goodness model all her life. With her collective life experience and achievements, you could say that she is a model homemaker, mother, and wife today!
WATCH THIS VIDEO OF FORMER AD MODEL MYRA MENDOZA-PORTILLO TODAY:
SOURCE:
E-mail interview conducted by author, April 2, 2019
ARMI KUUSELA, as photographed for a Camay ad, "the soap of beautiful women"
As the Miss Universe 2018 contest heads for its climax
this Dec. 17, we look back at the extraordinary life and times of the first
Miss Universe crowned 66 years ago in 1952—Armi Helena Kuusela of Muhos,
Finland.
Born to parents Arrne Kuusela and Martha Elisabeth Kyro on 20 Aug.
1934, Armi grew up in a household of 5 girls (a sister died young) and a boy.
She attended local schools and was into gymnastics; she had planned on going to
the University of Helsinki Gymnastics Institute.
But fate intervened when, at 17, she won the title of
Miss Finland in May 1952---and the right to represent her country to the first
ever Miss Universe Pageant in Long, Beach, California.
From a field of 30 world
beauties, the 5’5”, 108 pound teen had the distinction of being crowned as the
first Miss Universe on 28 June 1952, turning her into an instant international celebrity. She
was feted back home in Finland with a biographical movie entitled Maailman kaunein tyttö (“The
World's Most Beautiful Girl”) where she played herself.
The tour package that came along with her prizes included a
trip to the Philippines in February 1953, where she would meet young
businessman Virgilio Hilario in Baguio. They would fall madly in love and after
saying “yes” to Gil’s proposal, Armi decided not to continue with her reign to
marry him in Tokyo, on 4 May 1953.
WATCH ARMI KUUSELA OF FINLAND'S
CROWNING MOMENT HERE:
After a short honeymoon in the U.S. , Hawaii and Europe, the
Hilarios settled in Manila where Armi was besieged with showbiz offers,
interviews, invitations to countless socials, and lucrative endorsement deals.
WATCH ARMI KUUSELA IN "NOW & FOREVER" HERE:
The first
thing that the Hilarios accepted to do was a movie offer that resulted in the
film based on their love story, ”Now and Forever”, produced by Deegar Cinema, directed by Rolando del Mar. The movie quickly introduced her to and adoring nation who took to Armi's beauty and charm, claiming her their own.
ARMI KUUSELA AS CAMAY GIRL, 1953
Armi was also signed up to endorse many prestigious
products that includedCAMAY Beauty
Soap,“the soap of beautiful women”. She was the only foreign beauty who
appeared alongside early Camay girls like Gloria Romero, Rosita Noble, Charito
Solis, Norma Blancaflor and Nida Blanca.
ARMI KUUSELA HILARIO IN A COKE AD, 1953,Credit: Jeune Brave
Aside from CAMAY, she did advertisements for COCA-COLA, and the launch of her ad was timed with the release of her movie in 1953 and the 16th anniversary of Coke in the Philippines.
ARMI & CHILD, IN A DARIGOLD MILK PRINT AD, 1958
The Finnish beauty also had a long-running campaign for DARIGOLD MILK. By this time, her children had
started coming along,so she was the
perfect brand endorser for this wholesome milk brand. The Hilarios would have
five children: Arne, Anna-Lisa, Jose/Jussi, Eva-Maria and Miguel/Mikko. The
children were featured in the DARIGOLD ads. The last advertisement where Armi
and her children were featured was for a SCOTT’S EMULSION Cold Liver Oil print
ad, in the early 1970s.
ARMI KUUSELA-WILLIAMS today, by Tomi Hinkkanen
Sadly husband Virgilio died ofheart attack on 7 Sep. 1975. Armi carried on,
buoyed by the love of her children. In 1978, she met American diplomat Albert
Williams, who was posted in Spain at that time.
The two fell in love, and Armi
moved to Barcelona to start a new life with him. From Spain, Williams was
assigned to exotic Turkey, until he retired with wife Armi in an exclusive
enclave in La Jolla, California.
Armi settled into a simple, quiet life of a
retired socialite, and kept busy with her charity works and philanthropies. In
2012, Armi Kuusela was awarded by a grateful nation with the Order of the White
Rose of Finland, with the rank of Knight.
Armi Kuusela may have left th Philippines, but for many Filipinos
who grew up in the 1950s, she would always be regarded as an adopted daughter
of the country, worthy of also being called as a Philippine Miss Universe.
“The Soap of Beautiful Women”—CAMAY—was introduced by
Procter and Gamble PMC in 1950, a product that enjoyed such a high profile,
that the first boxes of the beauty soap
were sent to Philippine President Elpidio Quirino.
Few years after, the brand rolled out its first
advertising featuring—of course—the Philippines’ most beautiful women. Movie
queens Carmen Rosales, Paraluman, Gloria
Romero, Alicia Vergel, Norma Blancaflor, Rosa Rosal and Miss Universe Armi
Kuusela graced the early ads, followed by young ingénues in the mid 50s—Nida Blanca,
Letty Alonso, Charito Solis.
Most of these CAMAY models were chosen not only for their
beauty, but also for their wholesome charm, grace and spotless image. It was a
surprise then to find, included in this elite list—an actress who earned a
reputation as the premier “villainess”—kontrabida of Philippine showbiz—BELLA FLORES.
Born as Medina Papa Dancel in Sta. Cruz, Manila on 27
Feb. 1929, she was a Far Eastern University college sophomore when she was discovered for the movies. In
1950, she made her first film, Tatlong Balaraw, an action movie starring Jose
Padilla Jr. and Anita Linda.
MUY BELLA!
It was Dr. Jose Vera-Perez who christened her "Bella Flores"--beautiful flower. Snapped by Sampaguita Pictures to appear as the cruel
stepmother of Tessie Agana in the mega box-office hit, “Roberta”, Bella’s
popularity suddenly rose. Her iconic ‘kontrabida’ performance turned her into a
hot star, and soon she was reprising her evil role in such films as Rebecca
(1952), Munting Kerubin (1952), Gigolo (1956), Prinsesang Gusgusin (1957), Anghel sa Lansangan (1959) and Alipin ng Palad
(1959). Bella was certainly hated by
fans for her despicable treatment of Vilma Santos in Trudis Liit (1963) and in Kaibigan
Kong Santo Nino (1967) for which she won a FAMAS Best Supporting statuette.
But of course, when Flores first appeared in the CAMAY
print ad series, P&G executives would have no way of knowing that she would
be typecast in villain roles---characters that movie audiences loved to hate. To
them, she was as beautiful as her name—Bella!—and thus perfect for CAMAY.
WATCH BELLA FLORES "BENCH" FILM HERE:
Her effective portrayals clearly showed how good an
actress she really was. In fact, Flores continued acting for most of her life,
until she suffered a hip injury that caused her death on 19 May 2013. She even
managed to complete a short film for Bench, about how it is to be a kontrabida , a role she relished all her life.
THE ORIGINAL IS STILL THE BEST. The legendary beauty, Paquita Roces-Revilla. in a Camay Ad.
Camay, the soap of the world’s most beautiful women, was created by the American manufacturing giant, Procter & Gamble (P&G) in 1926.
The soap—with its iconic cameo logo—was available in the Philippines as early as the 1930s thru the 40s-- imported all the way from the U.S.
Camay’s first advertising in Philippine publications were unimaginative illustrated ads that touted its superlative qualities—mildness, lather and fragrance.
CAMAY AD, 1940
And oh yes, even the woman featured in the ad was illustrated!
Fifteen years after Procter and Gamble (PMC) was founded in the Philippines, it introduced to Filipinas in 1950, its first cosmetic soap for the local market—Camay.
This mild and gentle soap was not just made for women—but more specifically-- for beautiful women.
By the 50s, the face of Philippine advertising had become more sophisticated, with P&G products like Camay, launched through creative advertising campaigns.
At a time when most soap ads extolled the functional benefits of their product, Camay’s advertising appealed to a woman’s emotional need—to look and feel beautiful, that could only come from their soap’s luxurious pampering,
YOUNG PAQUITA, AGE 2
Camay sought the most beautiful faces for their products who personified such qualities, and the first model they chose was the lovely Spanish-Filipina, Francisca “Paquita” Roces.
Paquita belonged to the upper crust of Manila high society, newly married to a handsome movie star, Jose Goyena Revilla Jr. (aka Armando Goyena,“Kapita Kidlat”), himself, from an affluent and prominent clan. They had met at Sky Room along Taft Avenue, a favorite hang-out of society people in the 50s.
Paquita modeled for Camay’s launch print ads beginning in 1952—and even after a bevy of movie stars like Tita Muñoz, Tessie Quintana, Gloria Romero, Norma Blancaflor, Rosa Rosal and Alicia Vergel were signed up as Camay beauties, the original Camay Girl with regal, patrician looks, appeared in ads throughout the 50s, introducing its many soap variants and promotions.
THE FACE THAT LAUNCHED SCORES OF OTHER CAMAY BEAUTIES.
She retired from modelling in the 1960s to raise 8 children, 7 of whom are girls. Three of them eventually became Camay Girls in the 70s and 80s—eldest Maritess Revilla (..”ang lahat ay napapalingon..at napapalingon muli..”) , Cita Revilla, and Rosie Revilla.
PAQUITA ROCES-REVILLA INTROS WHITE & PINK CAMAY. c.1955
For over 40 years, Camay was held its own against it main competitor, Lux. It was relaunched in the mid 1980s, with a new campaign—“for skin that faces the world”, and a new way of pronouncing its brand name.
WHICH BABY IS A CAMAY Gamay Promo ad. 1959. Sunday Times Magazine
But in the late 80s. P&G shifted its manufacturing and marketing focus to other lucrative brands. Just when everybody thought that the soap’s rich history was over, P&G brought back a new, sexier Camay in 2015, with the new Romantique Rose Camay bath soap and shower gel. The ads featured actress Angelica Panganiban, who joined the scores of elite beauties known collectively to this day as Camay Girls.
With first born Ma.Teresa revilla, future Camay Girl
Still, people who grew up in the 50s still recall the original Camay Girl who started it all—Paquita Roces. After a storied career as a wife, mother and a beauty icon, Paquita died in 2001, after a lingering illness, at age 68.
PAQUITA'S DAUGHTERS: Maritess (70s Camay Girl, Mrs. Enrique Araneta), Tina (TV host, singer, (Mrs. Sergio Valencia), Cecile (Mrs. George Schulze), Pilar (Mrs. Bernard Palanca) , Rose (also Camay Girl),Malu and Cita (Yabut) PHOTO SOURCE: the Beauty Book, by Doris Nuyda
Her husband, Armando, would live a full decade more, passing away in 2011. They left behind a family of eight beautiful children and 29 grandchildren.
