PURICO was the very first product manufactured by
Philippine Manufacturing Company (PMC), which was later bought by Procter &
Gamble. Purico , a cooking-frying-baking lard, came out in 1919 and was
promoted extensively though field marketing, advertising and sales promotions.
For Christmas 1953, Purico offered a full-color
3-dimensional cardboard Belen (nativity scene)
that one can have by presenting a boxtop flap plus 10 centavos. The
pop-out belen set features cut-out figures and scenery-- "amazingly
lifelike!", as the ad proclaimed.
An actual example of the giveaway Nativity set is shown below, plus he complete advertising copy that details the mechancis on how to get the Christmas cardboard Belen free.
YOUR FREE XMAS GIFT FROM PURICO!
BEAUTIFUL 3-DIMENSION BELEN—IN BRILLIANT Full COLOR
Perfect Christmas touch in your home! Heavy cardboard BELEN with cut-out figures and scenery.
Just open and spread up. Amazingly life-like! But remember, only requests by
mail will be answered.
For each Belen you want, send One (1) boxtop with flap
from any size Purico carton and 10 centavos.. You will get you Belen by return
mail. Send for as many as you like but be sure to enclose 1 Purico box-top with
flap AND 10 centavos for EACH Belen you want.
.
If the coupon in this advertisement is already usedm just print your name, aand address on the
Purico box-top you send. Add the name of this magazine and the date at the top
of the page. Send 10 c with each box-top for each Belen you want.
ESSO STANDARD PHILIPPINES, was the name of the fuel company that became the forerunner of PETRON CORP. ESSO took over Standard Vacuum Oil Co. (STANVAC) that had been supplying the country with gas and fuel since 1933, as a merged company of Socony Vacuum Oil and Standard Vacuum Oil of New Jersey. In 1973, the Philippine National Oil C. (PNOC) of the Philippines acquired ESSO, and was renamed PETROPHIL CORP. ESSO Stations were rebranded as PETRON. In 1988, PETROPHIL was renamed PETRO CORP. to this day.
GIVE SHOES ON CHRISTMAS DAY! Made by pioneer shoe
manufacturer of the Philippines, Frank H. Hale (b. Aug. 30, 1872) who was known
as “Mang Isko” by millions of Filipinos. They gave him this nickname in
appreciation of his contribution to improve the Filipino by replacing the chinelas with a pair of sturdy, stylish, and
affordable shoes. ESCO Shoes were available at the big ESCO SHOE STORE in
Escolta. At the peak of Mr. Hale’s business, he employed an all-Filipino
workforce that made ESCO Shoes a popular household brand. ESCO Shoes were exported
abroad, and Hale became a major contractor of military shoes, as well. By the beginning
of World War II, Hale’s shoe plant was the largest shoe manufacturing company
in Asia. But it would also augur the end of his business as the Japanese interned him prisoner in UST, confiscated his facilities, and closed down his factories. Hale rebuilt his ESCO business
after the birth of the new Republic, scaled it down, but it was never the same again.
BRIGHTENING YOUR HOMES WITH NATIVITY STATUETTES, Print Ad, 1978
In 1978, a consortium of products--LADY'S CHOICE (juices, spreads, pickles, dressings), KNORR (bouillons, seasonings), ALSA (gelatines, custards, desserts), and ROYAL (pasta, noodles) came up with a holiday collectible promo, where one could assemble a set of plastic Nativity Statuettes for a Christmas Belen. The Nativity figures--15 in all-- are packed FREE with every purchase of the participating products, a fitting Christmas decor for your home. The completed set includes figures of the Holy Family, 3 Kings, Shepherds, Animals and an Angel. Seek--and you shall find the spirit of Christmas in these handsome Nativity Statuettes!
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 also famous for its whimsical ads featuring biblical, mythical and symbolic characters drawn by the best illustrators of the times. One holiday ad in 1948 shows kneeling Filipinos in national costumes bearing gifts of wealth, power (represented by two men offering a crown, scepter and jewelry) on one side. On the oppoiste side, a native maiden presents a giant jar of KATIALIS, for the health and beauty of a lady on a throne, representing the product's customer perhaps--and flanked by pages holding fans. The illustrated tableau is surmounted by the greeting "MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR".
After 76 years, the message still rings true, so we take time to wish you the same, for this Christmas of 2024, and for the New Year ahead!
Established on 27 September 1912 under Commonwealth Act
2039, the Manila Gas Corporation(MGC) was a gas company tasked to produce,
buy, sell, and distribute gas, coke, tar pit, and other residual products in
Manila. MGC regularly promoted its services and products via print advertising,
especially in the 60s decade. During the holidays, the Manila Gas Corp. sends out its holiday greetings to its patrons via full color Christmas ads, just like this “Manger”
ad, from 1967.
Christmas
is just around the corner, and REYNOLDS Wrap Aluminum Foil is another of those
staple products to preserve your holiday eatings! The product has been around
for quite awhile, launched in 1947, by
the company Reynolds Metals,
which pioneered the development of aluminum sidings.
It
was created by Richard S.
Reynolds, nephew of
tobacco king R. J. Reynolds. He developed a thin, sheets of foil that
were better and more durable than paper-backed foil, that were perfect for the
cooking process like grilling. Thus, the
REYNOLDS Wrap Aluminum Foil was born, and the name has become a generic
term to Filipinos for aluminum wrappers.
But with
its malleability and silvery sheen, REYNOLDS Wrap can also be used for creative
holiday decorating, as this 1974 print ad shows. Take a tip from these Christmas
trimming ideas for your home from REYNOLDS--where new ideas take shape!
HERSHEY'S COCOA, For baking and drinking. Print Ad, 1986.
You must agree: Chocolates are way up there on every holiday shopper's "must-buy" list. Whether as presents, as part of the Christmas fare, and as "Kris-kringle" secret gifts, chocolates are eternal favorites! That's why, when the holidays come, expect a barrage of ads from the country's top chocolate manufacturers and distributors--just like these ads that are guaranteed to make you drool!
PRESTO MILK CHOCOLATE CHRISTMAS GIFT BOXES, Print Ad, 1967
RICOA Chocolates and Breakfast Drinks, Print Ad. 1975
The classic PUREFOODS HAM Christmas Print Ad, with a copy that exalts the ham products as the "Stars of the Noche Buena Feast". The flagship Purefoods Fiesta Ham is shown with other PF ham products: Pear-Shaped, Chicken Ham and Chinese Ham. The popular tagline that was used as early as the late 70s, was retained in subsequent holiday ads by the company's agency, Ace-Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising.
WATCH PUREFOODS HAM
'STAR OF NOCHE BUENA" TV AD from 1979
SOURCES:
Purefoods Fiesta Ham Christmas, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqk-rO9GM_0, uploaed by Golden TV Commercials Group. 13 Nov. 2021
Christmas is a time for food manufacturers to go full
blast with their advertising moneys by coming out with the all-color layouts
showing well-styled food of the most mouth-watering variety. After all, sharing
food is the Filipino way to celebrate the holidays. After attending the Misa de
Gallo and other religious obligations, whole families come together for their
traditional Noche Buena and Media Noche dinners.
The customary NOCHE BUENA (literally, “Good Night”
in Spanish) is served each year on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24—and the sit-down meal
features the most extravagant dishes ever seen on the family dining table.
MEDIA NOCHE (Spanish for “Middle of the Night) is
a similar grand feast served on midnight, on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31. It augurs
more prosperity for the family in the coming year.
Giant food companies like Purefoods, Kraft, California
Manufacturing Corp., and Del Monte advertise heavily on a regular
basis, during these holiday months, to capitalize on these great Filipino
feasting events.
ROYAL SPAGHETTI & MACARONI, "Royal Celebration", 1979
NEW ZEALAND CREAMERY: Queensland, Ques-O, Che-Vital, 1987
One of the most popular shopping attractions in the late
70s thru the early 1990s is the Annual Toys and Gifts Fair, a Christmas trade
exhibition by the Philippine Center for International Trade and Exhibit (PHILCITE).
The very first Toys and Gifts Fair was organized in 1976, and proved to be
a hit for shoppers, opening as early as November, and ending past January. The area was even decorated
for the holidays; in 1986, the front of Philcite featured a giant Japanese lighted robot display.
In the 1990s under Fred Elizalde, the fair evolved into
an amusement park later named Star City. The former PhilCite building upon was
pulled down in the late 1990s to make way for the park's indoor rides. On October
2, 2019, a huge blaze caused widespread damage to Star City; it reopened in
2022.
SANYO Electric
Co., Ltd., is a Japanese electronics company founded in 1949 by Toshio Iue, who
grew it to become a Fortune 500 Japanese Electronics Company. SANYO means
“three oceans”- referring to the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans, as it was
Iue’s ambition to make his business global.
In 1971, SANYO established
international operations in the Philippines , thus SANYO Philippines Inc. came to be. It manufactured home appliances
and consumer electronics—from air conditioners, refrigerators, radios, televisions, gas
ranges, electric fans, and washing machines, that were marketed worldwide.
SANYO LOGO, 1976. Source: wikimediacommons
SANYO became a
very popular brand in the Philippines in the mid 70s thru the 80s, as it was
considered more affordable than the established Japanese brands like Toshiba,
Panasonic and Mitsubishi, that is until Sharp Phils.came along.
With a booming business in 1975, SANYO greeted its growing legion of customers by putting out ots Christmas corporate ad, wishing them a happier life, that could only happen if one start buying their products now.
In 2011, the Haier Group acquired SANYO Electric Co.’s white goods business (refrigerator, washing
machine, and consumer electric appliances) in select Asian markets like Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the
Philippines. These are what SANYO
Philippines Inc. continue to market, promote and advertise today, online and in-store.
What is Christmas without the ubiquitous “Bibingka”? Those round rice cakes cooked on banana leaf-lined clay pans covered with a sheet of tin topped with live coals to “bake” the dough completely.
Original native “bibingkas’
were made from “galapong” or ground gelatinous rice, coconut milk, milk, sugar,
butter or margarine, and eggs. Special ones have embedded slices of red eggs
and cheese. In more modern times, some baking powder was used. Nothing evokes
nostalgic Christmas memories better than a slice of “bibingka”, sprinkled with
grated coconut, and slathered with more butter.
MAYA BIBINGKA, Omnibus Christmas Ad, 1965
In 1961, MAYA, one of the more successful flour mix products
from Liberty Flour Mills, attempted to make the cooking of the native “bibingka”
more convenient, while retaining the genuine deliciousness of the native treat.
Beginning in 1961, MAYA came out with print ads touting its MAYA BIBINGKA MIX
SPECIAL as perfect for the holidays,
that’s “full of tasty, old fashioned-goodness”.
While it was not intended to replace the original homecooked
goodness of native bibingkas, MAYA BIBINGKA MIX SPECIAL found a considerable following among Filipino
housewives in the 60s and 70s, who wanted a break from the drudgery of cooking.
With MAYA BIBINGKA MIX SPECIAL, there’s no more soaking of malakit rice in
water overnight, no more milling with the hand-turned gilingan, and no more
long waiting for the bibingka dough to cook as it lay sandwiched between fire
and coal.
Competitor White King, of Republic Flour Mills eventually
took over the market due to its marketing strength, and MAYA’s bibingka mix was
phased out, and was left to concentrate on hotcake and cake mixes. Meanwhile,
White King Bibingka continues to be available in the market today.
The image of Santa Claus that the world is most familiar with,
was largely shaped and influenced by the SANTA CLAUS in the Coke ads that were illustrated
by Haddon Hubbard "Sunny" Sundblom (b. 22 June 1899/s.10 Mar.1976),
of Michigan, an artist of Finnish and Swedish descent. He was commissioned by the Coke advertising agency, D'Arcy Advertising to provide the illustration. Sundblom was inspired by
Clement Clark Moore's 1822 poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" (or "'Twas the Night Before Christmas) for
his initial studies.
COKE SANTA AD, 1950
As the Coca Cola Company wanted a SANTA that was realistic
and wholesome, Sundblom designed one that was just that—a pleasantly plump,
smiling SANTA with a warm personality like no other. Sundblom’s SANTA CLAUS first appeared in Coke ads in 1931
in The Saturday Evening Post, the Ladies Home Journal,The New Yorker and
National Geographic, from where these ads came from.
WATCH 'The Legend of Coca-Cola & Santa Claus" HERE:
Sundblom’s SANTA CLAUS appeared on holiday ads from 1931 to
1964, distributing toys to children, playing with kids, checking on
refrigerators, reading letters. The Coke SANTA was used in many merchandising
materials—from lifesize standees to calendars, billboards and even dolls—now pop
culture collectiles. Over time, Sundblom's creation became the quintessential image of the most recognizable Christmas character in the world.
The Coke SANTA never appeared in Philippine ads, although
a plush SANTA doll modeled after Sundblom’s iconic illustration appeared as a
prop in one ad featuring actess Jeaan Lopez in 196
In the Philippines, there’s no Christmas without a Christmas
bonus—and with Filipino consumers having extra money to spare, it has been their habit to splurge
on the latest appliances for their homes (the smart phones, tablets and laptops
are still half-a century away from the 60s decade). No wonder, consumer durable
advertisers become busier than usual during the holiday season, as proven by
these ads from 1961,
YSMAEL STEEL was already already a byword in 1961, with a
reputation for making high quality home appliances, especially those under the
trademark “Admiral”. It was founded by the prominent Ysmael family, and was helmed
by Felipe “Baby” Ysmael Jr.after his mother passed away.
In its heyday, the Ysmael Steel factory along
España Extension had a spacious lawn on which a gigantic Ysmael Steel robot stood like a
city landmark. It also fielded a winning basketball team called Ysmael Admirals,
which competed in the MICAA (Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic
Association), the forerunner of PBA.
Also an established appliance brand was RADIOWEALTH,
founded in 1930 Camarines-born Domingo M. Guevara who took up a correspondence
course to become a radio technician. He took his one-man radio repair shop and
transformed it into an appliance manufacturing giant that made radio phonos, TV
sets, and music cabinet entertainment systems.
On the other hand, AVEGON was the brainchild of Engr.
Antonio Nepouceno Avecilla of San Fernando.
In 1953, noting the burgeoning radio industry thanks to its rising use as an
entertainment and marketing medium, Avecilla teamed up with a friend, Joaquin
l. Gonzalez of Baliwag, and pooled their money together to form a fledgling
manufacturer and importer of electrical appliances called AVEGON INC., coined
from their 2 surnames, AVEcilla and GONzalez. Their enterprise became a huge
national success.
These are some of their ads that saw print during the
season of refrigerators, air conditioners, stereos, radio phonographs, and TV sets--Christmas!!
The original founders of Manila C.O.D. were two Jewish brothers, the Ipekdjians, and the
store’s wide inventory included jewelry regularly supplied by the Rosarios of
Vigan. Due to import controls, the Ipekdjians had a hard time keeping the
business, so they offered Manila C.O.D. for sale to the Rosarios, which the
latter bought in 1948 for P100,000. Put in charge was the young Alex Rosario,
who—for the next six years, tried to keep the business afloat; general
merchandising in those days was controlled by the Chinese and Indians.
WATCH MANILA C.O.D. The Story of a Filipino Christmas
*Source: Living Asia Channel
But Rosario persisted by carefully choosing his products,
putting quality above all else. This was not lost on customers, who began
patronizing the store by the thousands. Even Rosario’s neighbors were impressed
that they began asking him to sell their products. By 1962, Manila C.O.D. was an established
department store.
MANILA C.O.D., 1962
However, the changing urban landscape of downtown Manila
threatened the business. So in 1966, Manila C.O.D. made a bold move of
relocating its main department store to then somewhat-barren Cubao, while
keeping the Avenida store as a branch. This made Manila C.O.D. the first
department store in the then-young Araneta Center which until that time only
had its 6-year old coliseum as its landmark. The little shop grew and by 1977, Manila C.O.D. had a workforce of 500
employees.
MANILA C.O.D. IN THE '70s
Because Rosario had no money for advertising, he devised
ways to drive traffic to his store by creating spectacular displays during the
Christmas season. The attention-getting moving displays had different themes
every year—from Barrio Fiesta Holiday, Simbang Gabi, to out-of-this-world Christmas
Galactica. These became perennial crowd drawers. Since then, there was no
turning back for its growth.
MANILA C.O.D. DISPLAY, early 1970s
By the 1990’s, Manila
C.O.D.’s existence was under threat once more, not to mention the whole
landscape of Cubao from changing urban landscape and lifestyle brought about by
bigger malls, the multi-chain ones especially. Sadly, there was no getting out
this time for the once-beloved department store.
In 2002, in the midst of an
overall decline of Cubao and in the department store concept, Manila C.O.D. closed down. But, after
16 years, the iconic animatronic tradition
of Manila C.O.D. made a comeback in
2018 (“Christmass Comes Home”), and 2019 (“Christmas in the City”), and wowed
crowds once more at the new Araneta City.
Originally written
for spot.ph, and expanded for this blog)
The Christmas tree--a decorated evergreen tree or an
artificial tree of similar appearance—is an iconic symbol of Christmas. The putting
up of Christmas tree to celebrate Christmas began in Germany when Christian
peasants began bringing in trees trimmed with paper flowers, fruits and tinsel—inside
their homes in the 16th century.
The custom caught on with outside of Germany in the second half of the 19th century, including America, thanks to the German settlers.The first record of one being on display was in the 1830s put up by these new immigrants in Pennsylvania.
The American brought the Christmas tree tradition to the Philippines during their occupation of our islands. By the late 1920s, Filipinos were putting up Christmas trees in their homes, along with the ubiquitous native parol. The tradition became popular among Filipinos, that they localized the holiday tree—using walis tingting or tambo, dried twigs and branches (with added cotton to simulate snow), and even strings!
Like the Parol, the charm of the brightly-lit and
decorated Christmas tree became a design inspiration—integrated in ad layouts,
and appearing on print advertisements during the Christmas season. Here are a
few examples:
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