TANG is an orange-flavored powdered mix
drink developed in 1957 by General Foods Corporation food scientist William
A. Mitchell and chemist William Bruce James. It became available in
the market by 1959, and its early reputation rested on the fact that it was used
by early NASA crewed space flights.
Orange
TANG was introduced
in the Philippines around late 1970s by General Foods Philippines, Inc.
and enjoyed a successful launch due to its American image. The first
commercials that were aired were Australian productions, but in the 1980s, Hemisphere
Leo Burnett was appointed as the local
agency to handle its marketing communications. Mr. Greg Garcia handled
the account and his team improved on the Aussie commercials, visually and
musically.
The TANG
TV commercial that was aired in April 1984 featured lush visuals, a new
jingle composed by ace composer Ed Gatchalian, while integrating the
signature “orange drop” shot that TANG was famous for.
TANG, "Share the Feeling" Campaign, 1979
Since
then, TANG has introduced a world of flavors also in pouches and packs,
like Guyabano, Grape, Calamansi, Apple, and many more. The TANG
brand is currently owned in most
countries by Mondelēz International, a North American company spun off
from Kraft Foods in 2012.The Philippines continue to be a
topmarket for TANG, along with Brazil and Argentina.
CREDITS:
AGENCY:
Hemisphere Leo Burnett
ECD:
Gregg Garcia
COPYWRITER:
Patch Falgui / ART DIRECTOR: Raffy Velasco
July 1994 Winner!! MOTOLITE "Tawid" TVC by Basic/FCB
Humor is
the charm of this MOTOLITE Brake Fluid TV ad that won a nod from the Creative Guild judges as the best
commercial for July 1994. Blame it on the hyperbolic acting of the well-cast talents
who dramatized to the max the fear of being run over by a brake-less vehicle.
The
over-the-top acting was so sit-com funny, that the models could give even
present-day comedians a run for their money. The composition of the shots and the
editing added to the ridiculous hilarity of the situations. The judges weren’t
even looking at the production design (was there any?) or listening to the score gone haywire--they were just riveted
at the paradoxical effect of the comedy happening in the face of impending tragedy.
Now that’s funny!!
CREDITS
Advertiser: CC. UNSON Product: MOTOLITE
Agency: BASIC ADVERTISING Creative Director: BOY LEUTERIO Copywriter: EMIL REINTAR Art Directors: REY TOLENTINO / EGAY OLIVA Artist: PETE CLEMENTE Producer: PAM PAJARILLO Caster: TESS GELLA
Production House: ELECTROMEDIA
Director: MANDY REYES Producer: MERIE VILLAMAYOR Cinematographer: LESLIE GARCHITORENA Prod. Designer: GAY GUILLERMO Post Production: VIDEOPOST Recording Studio: HIT PRODUCTIONS Sound.Music Composer: BRIAN CHUA
BIG LANGHAP SARAP WINS BIG! Creative's Choice for May 1984
The
CHAMP “Langhap-Sarap” ad was an introductory campaign of Jollibee ‘s new
product intended to be the top of Jollibee’s line of hamburgers and a major
competitor of McDonald’s Big Mac. Having noticed that Jollibee is the only hamburger
in the country that has a nice smell. Basic’s creative group led by creative
director Minyong Ordoñez emphasized this aspect and came up with
“langhap-sarap”, which literally means “smell good”. Furthermore, it dramatized
the taste superiority of the CHAMP, it having a cooked-in taste that is not
present in American burgers. The CHAMP patties boast of being not just plain
patties but complete with seasonings, onions, and even enriched with egg.
“Sapin-sapin
ang sarap” was used to introduce the CHAMP’s other fillings like lettuce,
tomatoes, pickles, mayonnaise and catsup. Each new ingredient was color printed
for emphasis , were pasted together, before finally shot into a transparency,
the end result of which is the colored ad of “Chomp, chomp, the CHAMP”.
CREDITS:
ADVERTISER:
JOLLIBEE CORP.
AGENCY:
BASIC ADVERTISING
Creative
Director: Minyong Ordoñez / Art
Director: Roy Babia
Account
Executive: Achie Sy / Print
Producer: Gerry Arellano
JIMENEZ DMB&B's winning ad for Jag Anti-Fit, aired June 1996
Jeans ad featuring
merman makes waves
(from a PR article published in the Philippine Star and Manila
Bulletin, Sep. 1996)
The new JAG Anti-Fit commercial is making waves, literally,
with its focus on a mythological sea creature. Titled “Merman”, the ad is
catching the fancy of viewers. It features a man shown swimming with a
fishtail, then removing it afterwards to put on a pair of JAG Anti-Fit Jeans.
Using a merman as model for denim jeans is indeed a fresh
idea,
Australian model MATT CHENEY, a competitive swimmer, and did all the swimming scenes in the ad.
“We had to think Anti-Fit. I think this is synonymous to
being rugged, daring, comfortable and even controversial”, says Jun Reyes, the
commercial’s director.
“When we say jeans, it usually refers to tight-fitting
denims, so the idea behind the commercial is to show how we can feel
comfortable with jeans”, adds Alex Castro, who collaborated with Reyes on the
JAG ad. “ We fitted a man with the tail of a fish to show how constricting
denims can be. It shows the limitation of movement. It is not relaxed, not
comfortable. Then we show JAG breaks out of the denim stereotype”.
WATCH JAG ANTI-FIT "MERMAN" TVC HERE:
Source: JAGJeansPh
To make the commercial work, the team relied on realistic
props and materials. Says Reyes, “it took hours to put the fish tail on the
model. He had to wake up at 4 a.m. for the make-up artist to work on him. We
really made sure that the tail would appear as though it was a part of him. We
used prosthetics so that the tail would look real. And the tail was detailed
for the model so that it would not make him uncomfortable. We had a another
tail on reserve in case it got damage. The model had to be carried by 4 men to
the beach.
JAG ANTI-FIT "MERMAN' TVC SHOOTING IN BOLINAO, PANGASINAN
Choosing the ideal site for the commercial was also crucial.
The shoot was shot in 2 locations: Anilao, Batangas for the underwater scenes,
and Bolinao, Panagsinan for the beach scenes.
Reyes and Castro said the commercial was easy to do. They
shot the underwater scene for a day, and the scenes above the water overnight.
Since models count a lot in the success of a commercial, JAG
made sure they had a perfect merman in its ad. “We had to look for a model who
is rugged and suave at the same time. These qualities we found in Matt Cheney,
who is a swimmers and a model from Australia. He was paired with Carol Dunbar
to add appeal to the commercial. Together, they epitomize the image of JAG—young,
spirited, adventurous”, Reyes explains.
The prosthetic fish tail was molded on the model's body
Mythological creatures, gorgeous bods, and a cool concept.
With all these elements combined, the JAG Anti-Fit commercial is already making
a big splash on TV screens.
NOTE: JAG ANTI-FIT ‘MERMAN’
TVC was adjudged by the Creative Guild of the Philippines for the month of
September 1996.
CREDITS:
AGENCY: JIMENEZ DMB&B
Copywriter: ALEX R. CASTRO / Art Director: NIKKO CORNELIO
Producer: PAUL SUAREZ / Account: ANNA DOMINGO
PRODUCTION HOUSE: UNITEL
Director: JUN REYES
D.O.P. BOY YÑIGUEZ, LEE BRIONES / Editor: IKE VENERACION
Production Design: TOMMY NG / Executive Producer: Deet Castillo
The Creative Guild of the Philippines, an association of
creative personnel working in the advertising industry, was just 3 years old
when the 1987 Creative Guild Ad of the Year Awards night at the refurbished
Metropolitan Theater was staged. One of the frontrunners for the Ad of the Year
was DEL MONTE SPAGHETTI SAUCE’s “Godfather”, a much-talked about TV ad produced
by McCann Erickson for Del Monte Phils.
WATCH THE DEL MONTE SPAGHETTI SAUCE 'Godfather" TVC HERE:
To drive home the “Italian-ness” of the product, the agency
made use of the iconic Don Vito Corleone, a fictional character in Mario Puzo’s
“The Godfather”, ably essayed in the 1972 film by Marlon Brando. McCann caster
Amy Salona found a talent in the person of Enrique “Ricky” Rivero, an
occasional stage actor, who, when fully-made up, became Brando’s
doppelganger—right down to his raspy voice.
TV viewers took notice of this well-produced, imported
looking commercial, what wit its authentic production design,moody lighting, the supporting characters,
and most especially, the uncanny duplication of the “Godfather’s” look and the cast's superb acting. It was no wonder then that the Del Monte commercial was chosen as the TV ad of the month for August 1987, by a jury consisting of
agency art directors, creative directors, copywriters and producers.
In the grand awards night, however, Nestle’s MILO “Gymnast”,
headlined by SEA games gold medalist Bea Lucero,edged out the DEL MONTE’s “Godfather”, for
the plum TV Ad of the Year prize. But Enrique Rivera’s portrayal ofthe “Godfather” was so unforgettable that he washonored as one of the 10 Best
Commercial Models of the Year. He was cited for his ‘effective portrayal of a
distinctive character in the most natural and realistic manner, through
skillful acting that captures the drama between product and consumer'.
DEL MONTE'’s “Godfather”
would win more technical awards at the next Philippine Advertising Congress,
but the best was yet to come. In 1990, the same Del Monte brand will win top honors
at the Creative Guild TV Ad of the Year for
the commercial “Novices”, the most prized award for the evening. For McCann
Erickson, the feeling was just—magnifico!
The 1990 Ad of the year reeks of foreign (specifically
Italian) flavor, but was actually a locally-written, locally-produced effort
full of recognizably Pinoy values and pushing a product that is an apparent
bestseller among Filipino housewives.
“Novices” was a 45-sec. TV ad created by McCann-Erickson for
Del Monte Philippines’ unadulterated spaghetti sauce, touted as having the most
authentic Italian flavor because of its generous serving of herbs and spices.
“Del Monte had been a McCann client “forever”, recalls
president Emily Abrera, who was both writer and creative directors for the ad.
“When I joined the agency 17 years ago, they were already here.”McCann had already launched the product a couple of years
earlier with a hugely successful spoof entitled “Godfather” featuring a Vito
Corleone/Marlon Brando deadringer an won raves for the ad’s production values,
“Clients wanted something just as good,”Abrera says, “and the
idea was still to do something sort of Italian,” to again underscore the
product’s authentic flavor.”
A commercial full of nuns was not the first storyboard
approved for productions; the original idea was to stage a raucous family
gathering in the true Italian tradition.
“My father is Italian”, Abrera asserts,”so there was
certainly a lot of noise in my family!”. Everybody thought that the nuns would
be more unusual, however, and then account manager Rosanna Henares went as far
as consulting real-life sisters about the idea.
WATCH DEL MONTE SPAGHETTI SAUCE "Novice" TVC Here:
Uploaded by Kape WithCream
The images were ideal; the conventsetting, with its cast of hard-working,
industrious residents, stressed the points of ready-made product that tasted as
heavenly as the traditionally-prepared favorite. (“Two hours, mother!”, one of
the novices exclaims), and the Mother Superior, sublimely played by stage
actress Benita Steiger (the production had to wait until Steiger returned from
a London vacation), was the epitome of domestic authority whipping up meals
with divine mandate. “Remember, it’s a Christian country,: Abrera says of the
Philippines, ‘and nuns are always taught never to take credit.”
As the possibility of offending the religious sensibilities
of viewers, Abrera changed the final line from”Praise the lord”, to “Praise
Him”, which Steiger delivers with upturned, knowing eyes in response to the
novice’s compliment, “Praise you
Mother.”
BENITA STEIGGER, with Repertory Phils. Actors
The end copy, “Preferred by mother” is the ideal
double-entendre endorsementfrom both
the domestic and religious sectors. “There was definitely a chuckle factor, but
we didn’t want to make fun of anybody,”Abrera says. It was certainly more charm
than humor.
The ad was shot in 3 days in te arched ruins of an abandoned Manila bank building that looked appropriately solemn with proper lighting and
set design. Once again, casting proved critical. “We wanted young girls who
looked absolutely virginal,” Abrera says, “and this was one of those cases
where, if you didn’t have the right faces, the ad wouldn’t work, even if you
had a good idea.”
The youngest talent was 12 years old, and the carefree
lasses were not above lifting their heavy cheesecloth costumes between takes to
air their sweating legs. Smoke, camera filters, Joey Luna’s ethereal;
production design on a low budget, and Butch Perez’s inspired direction
contributed to the making of a polished, truly different commercial with an
underlying Filipino sensibility.
“Oh, but we have a lot of common with the Italians, don’t
you think?”, Abrera asks, Enoighto proper; Del Monte Spaghetti Sauce to the top
of its market.
CREDITS:
AGENCY: McCann-Erickson / ADVERTISER: Del Monte Philippines
PRODUCT: Del Monte Spaghetti Sauce
CREATIVE DIRECTOR/ COPYWRITER: Emily Abrera
ART DIRECTOR; Ding Villamor / PRODUCER: Baby Enriquez
DIRECTOR: Butch Perez
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Rody Lacap / EDITOR: Billy de Leon
PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Joey Luna
PRODUCTION HOUSE: Electromedia
REFERENCES:
Article lifted from: PERFECT 10: A Decade of Creativity in Philippine Advertising,
edited by Butch Uy, p.54
In the late 80s and 90s, the MANOEUVRES were one of the
hottest male dance groups in the country, along with Streetboys and Universal
Motion Dancers. Establishedin 1984 as
WEA Dynamics, and later Octo-Manoeuvres, by WEA Records, the original dancers--
Uriel Policarpio, Ronnel Wolfe , Jon-Jon Supan, Rene Sagaran and Jojo Lapena—promoted
music records by way of dance on TV and in events.Brothers Jason and Joshua Zamora, and Jon
Cruz later joined the group.
The dancers gained notice when they supported Gary
Valenciano in his blockbuster major concert “Pure Energy” at the Folk Arts
Theater in 1987. Their career as male dance group would be linked with Gary V,
when Genesis Entertainment—a talent management group under Gary’s wife, Angeli Pangilinan—signed them
up. They became simply known as MANOEUVRES.
The MANOUEVRES took the concert scene by storm with their
participation in the concerts and other events of the country’s biggest and
most popular entertainers—from Regine Velasquez, Sharon Cuneta, Jaya to Martin
and Pops. But it was with Gary V that they were most associated with; head
choreographer Uriel Policarpio choreographed many of the “hataw” moves that the
energetic singer did in many of his
concerts.
The group became visible in TV dance shows, noontime
programs and even had stints in Southeast Asian countries, Canada, U.S., Italy
and East, performing for the overseas Pinoy market. In time, the MANOEUVRES
were holding their own dance concerts (even a 25th anniversary
concert) that were always sold out.
With the measure of fame the group achieved, the MANOEUVRES
managed to snag a few commercial endorsementsthat included blue chip clients like Magnolia, Royal Tru-Orange and
Coke. One fashion brand they also promoted in 1994 was CO.B (COMPANY B. )a flagship brand of Tri-Union International,
a big apparel company that created a youth line of denims and tops.
Four members—Uriel Policarpio, Jonjon Supan, Jason and
Joshua Zamora appeared in trade ads of CO. B, on leading newspapers and
magazines. They werefeatured in a TV
30sspot ,”Voices/Dances/Strings”, which
became a Creative Guild Ad of the Month in 1994. The commercial was created by
Hemisphere-Leo Burnett, led by Creative Director Maun Bondoc, Lilit Reyes and
Betsy Baking.
Many of the members used their showbiz exposure to venture
into other fields like Acting and directing, in the case of the Zamora brothers.
Jon Supan became a managing Director of Hotlegs. But almost all of the original
members including Uriel Policarpio (who fully recovered from a quadruple
bypass) and Rene “Mr. Flex” Sagaran
continue to be involved in dance, conducting workshops and choreographing
numbers for shows.
UPDATE!The 4 MANEOUVRES Today
The MANOEUVRES are still very much around and
active today, with new generation members. Their FB group states that they are
now under the management group of Artistation, Inc., handler of some of the
biggest names in show business today.
SOURCES:
Photo Updates: FB Maneouvres FB Page
Photo Co.B. 1994 Souvenir Program Creatuve Guild Ad of the Year
Retro-5: Memorable Dance Groups in Recent History,
IVORY "PURITY" PRINT AD, 1986 Creative Guild Print Ad of the Year
ISA MUNANG PATALASTAS CONTINUES ITS TRIBUTE TO MR. RAMON R. JIMENEZ JR. (14 Jul.
1955/d. 27 Apr. 2020),, or simply MONJ to his colleagues, whose passing at the
age of 64 is mourned the Philippine advertising industry that he inspired. After his illustrious career, he was named as the
Secretary of the Department of Tourism, promoting the country via his
well-received and hugely successful campaign “It’s More Fun in the Philippines”
. Before he left Ace-Saatchi & Saatchi in 1988 to join wife Abby in their agency, Jimenez
&Partners, MonJ was a VP-Creative and Executive Creative Director at
Ace-Saatchi & Saatchi. One of his blue chip P&G accounts was IVORY
Soap. Here is the story behind the print ad he helped create with his concept team,
and which went on to bag the 1986 Creative Guild of the Philippines Print Ad of
the Year.
**********
In 1986, clients and agencies wth a prevailing fear of
white space were thrown off their swivel chairs by what appeared (or, in this
case, didn’t appear) in several major newspapers. The full page was prited in
special white paper and bore the headline, “You are looking at IVORY PURITY”.
The text was printed, in an appropriately delicate type, and the visual was simply a blank space
framed by thin black border.
Ivory Phil. Ad, 1930s
The ad, “Purity”, was Ace Compton’s second winner, and
was made possible by the fact that “ we were feeling a lot braver,” says Jimmy
Santago. The client was global manufacturing giant Procter & Gamble, a
Compton client for some 38 yearsat the
time the revolutionary ad was run, and this was the company’s third attempt at
launching IVORY SOAP. “After two failures, it was no longer that sensitive a
product.” Recalls Santiago. “The market was tired of it.” Santiago credits the
brilliance of "repositioning” with reviving public interest in IVORY and taking
its Philippine sales figures to unprecedented new heights.
The first two times it was launched , IVORY had been
marketetd first as a soap for teenagers, and then as a family bar. The provincial
teen markets, accustomed to heavily perfumed toiletries, also didn’t take too
well to IVORY’s non-existent scent. Plus, the agency had to reckon with
Filipnos’ completely different—and for the product, potentially damaging
–-concept of “purity” at that time. “Pure was understood to be harsh, or
concentrated, like a detergent,” Santiago recalls. The description was giving
everybody the wrong idea.”
The time came to launch IVORY anew as a baby soap and an
exceptionally pure product. The creative team was likewise in a fix about
presenting a baby soap wthout unleashing the babes. Baby-filled ads were
already the specialty of main competitor Teneder Care—“and we certainlydidn’t want Tender Care to sell any more
soap!”Santiago says.
All of Compton’s creative teams were thus invted to pitch
ideas for the xciting new projects, and art directors instinctively began by
doodling babies—until Santiago declared it was time to leave the babies to
someone else. He suggested a blank piece of paper, whiter than standard
ash-colored newsprint, whose dirty color simply wouldn’t get the message across.
Art director Melvin Mangada, then a fresh college graduate, framed the page n
the simple black border, and writer Isabel Gamboa provded the straightforward
copy highlighted by the brand logo. “The PUREST SOAP there is,” the copy reads,
key words were capitalized for effect, and readers looking down at the white
expanse couldn’t help but agree that, yes, this was as spotless as you could
possibly get.
BACK TO BABIES. Ivory Ad, late 1986
The ad was a complete surprise. It broke several rules,
not the least of whch was the tried and tested procedure of sung a baby to sell
a baby product. The absence of a cute face seemed like a sure step towards
marketing disaster. Also, client Procter & Gamble was an advertiser
traditionally averse to wasting space or departing from bestselling formulas.
“Cases like these are exceptions,” Santiago says, because you’re out there to
jolt the market. Procter & Gamble’sGeneral Manager was pleasantly jolted himself, enough to call the ad
“brilliant” and refreshingly “discontinuous”.After a time, however, client “got
worried,” Santiago recalls, and eventually succumbed to convention by running
more baby ads. “But after ;etting us come up wth the ad we wanted, it was
alright,” Santiago laughs—especially after “Purity” won a Clio citation.
(THIS WEEK’S POST IS A TRIBUTE TO MR. RAMON
R. JIMENEZ JR. (14 Jul. 1955/d. 27 Apr. 2020),, or simply MONJ to his
colleagues, whose passing at the age of 64 is mourned the Philippine
advertising industry that he inspired. After his illustrious career, he was named as the Secretary
of the Department of Tourism, promoting the country via his well-received and
hugely successful campaign “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” . Back in 1989,
MonJ was already making waves as a co-CEO (together with his equally talented
wife, Abby Lee Jimenez) of a small agency, Jimenez & Partners. One of their
joint works was a celebrated commercial written for DEQUADIN, which was named
as the the year’s best radio ads by the Creative Guild of the Philipines, in a
tie with Colgate’s “Nguya” radio ad.)
**********
The year 1989 marked the first time that two radio ads
tied for the year’s honor. The first ad “DEQUADIN
Do, Re,Mi” showed a novel way to present an undeniably antiseptic product,
a throat lozenge, whose previous advertising exposure was limited to scientific
testimonials in what Jimenez/DMB&B co-CEO Abby Jimenez calls “the pesteng ahem tradition”. The client,
pharmaceutical firm Glaxo, had been advertising for 6 or 7 years, using the
same authority figure in a white coat, but there was very little product
awareness. “There was a need for truly impactful advertising:.
Abby’s co-CEO husband,Mon Jimenez Jr. , discovered that
Dequadin’s biggest competition was a decidedly non-medical little green candy
called Storck. “The earth-shaking news was that everybody knew you couldn’t die
of a sore throat. People were simply not taking sore throat seriously as Glaxo
was. So we had to lighten up a little”.
The solution was to produce “a commercial that celebrated
the end result”, according to Mon. “We wanted a clear demonstration of throat
power”, Abby adds, and that earch for “the well-est throat in the world” led
the Jimenezes to young tenor Nolyn Cabahug, who blew the agency away with his
o-the-spot demonstration.
As for possible jingles, several operatic pieces were eliminated
until the agency was left with the simplest jingle of all. Abby recalled how,
as children, she and her bother would try to outdo ech other by singing higher
and higher notes. Cabahug ended up delivering an up-front powerful series of octaves
that begins a capella and builds up
to a convincing crescendo.
The TV ad begins with a frame of the tenor’s face, but
the radio commercial takes off with pure sound. It is onely when Cabahug pauses
before the last “DO” of his 3rd octavethat the product makes its perfectly-timed
appearance. “the final note is brought to you by DEQUADIN”—no explanations or product analyses necessary. By this
time, listeners who have been impressed Cabahug’s formidable range are
absolutely amazed by what the product has allowed him to do.
The radio commercial did not only catapult DEQUADIN to new heights of consumer
familiarity. It also did much to the career of Cabahug, now one of the country’s
opera stars, and for classical music in general. Plus “Do Re Mi” was the
campaign that turned a small agency called Jimenez and Partners into the
powerhouse of creative work that it is considered today.
SOURCE: This article originally appeared on:
Perfect 10, A Decade of Creativity in Philippine
Advertising, pubished by the Exeutive Committee of the Creative Guild of the
Philippines, First Edition 1995. pp.76-77
David Ogilvy identified several elements which could make
a TV commercial register in the minds of the market, and among them are such
formulae as slice of life and dashes of humor. He warned, however, that “very,
very few could write funny commercials that are funny.”
Humor certainly carried the day, not to mention the
campaign, for the very first Creative Guild Television Ad of the Year, a
30-second drinking table argument among friends that was concluded with one of
the decade’s mist memorable advertising one-liners.
The client was San Miguel Beer, a min account of
Philippine Advertising Counsellors from when the brand first began advertising
in the ‘60s, to the time the San Miguel account moved to McCann-Erickson in
1986.
The campaign was “Ito ang Beer”, which had been launched to
confront the first product to challenge the best selling Pale Pilsen’s
leadership in years, Beerhausen.”We were simply out to reinforce the product’s
market position,” says Romy Sinson., then, one of the copywriters along with
pal, Julius Deslate, on the San Miguel account.
Now president of SLG Advertising, Sinson recalls how the
campaigngave him a chance to use that favorite Pinoy humor genre, the anticlimax,
in a series of commercials starred in by the brand’s 5-man team of well-known
endorsers: comedian Bert Marcelo, boxing great Gabriel “Flash” Elorde, singer
Rico J. Puno, billiards champion Amang Parica, and racing winner Jockey
Eduardo.
The commercials had progressed at an entertaining pace; after a series of 15-seconders focusing on the
accomplishments of each spokesman, invariably ending with the assurance that “Ito
ang Beer,” the boys figured in more adsthat had them arguing over options, whether it was music to play for the
night, or which watering hole to head for. “The common element was San Miguel
Beer,” Sinson says. “The message was that , no matter what your taste was and
where you were heading, san Miguel Beer was the best companion to have around. “
WATCH SAN MIGUEL BEER "Pulutan" TVC HERE:
The winning ad”,the “Pulutan TVC”, had the protagonists again at odds over the evening’spica-pica.The
ad is a delightful sequence of memorable reaction shots from the different
personalities; the late Elorde’s calm drawl is perfect foil to Puno’s arrogrant
demand for “crispy pata” and Marcelo’s agitated whine for “inihaw na pusit”.
Adding even more spice is the nameless waiter, who is
exasperation personified,, especially when Elorde settles the matter with his
ludicrous but legendary request for isang platitong mani”.
Romy Sinson credits the directorial wizardry of Jun
Urbano for a huge “50%” of the commercial’s with-it appeal. Needless to say,
Beerhausen’s German-flavored campaign was steam-rollered by the gang’s endearingly Pinoy antics. The dialogue became
so popular that “isang platitong mani” even became a movie title. “Everybody
familiar with the San Miguel campaign remembers the ad.” Sinson recalls.
CREDITS:
ADVERTISER:
San Miguel Corp.
PRODUCT: San
Miguel Beer
AGENCY: Philippine
Advertising Counsellors
CREATIVE DIRECTOR:
Nita Claravall
COPYWRITERS: Romy
Sinson, Julius Deslate
ART IDRCETOR:
Edwin Wilwayco
DIVISION MANAGER:
Adie Pena
DIRECTOR: Jun
Urbano
PRODUCER: Jun
Castro
PRODUCTION HOUSE:
Filmex
SOURCES:
PERFECT 10: A Decade of Creativity in Philippine
Advertising, Published by the Executive Committe of the Creative Guild of the
Philippines. 1995. Butch Uy, Alya Honasan
The 1993 Print Ad of the Year, a Saatchi creation for the
Philippine National Bank, a client from 1986 to 1993, gain exploited
two-pronged meanings. This time, however, the meanings could be deciphered in
the simple, graphic visual image.
The market was the family and/or dependents of the
overseas contract worker based in Hong Kong, the product is one of Santiago’s
admitted favorites, remittance services, specifically the bank’s new, speedy “Rapidremit”
system.
“It’s an interesting audience,” Santiago observes,”you’re
talking to the people waiting here for the money. “Mainit na ang ulo niyan. It’s
a very emotional market.”
Yet, Santiago and his team, composed of creative director
Mario Monteagudo, writer Edsel Tolentino, art director Randy Tiempo, and
artists Lulu san pedroand Tracy
Montinola, skipped the overtly emotional approaches commonly employed for
such complex, close-to-home subject as the Filipino laborer. “You can always talk
to labor exporters, show pictures of workers,” Santiago says ,but it’s hard to
be emotional in print. The speed must be the message.
As fast as the snap of a finger. Or as the ad shows, fast
as the blink of an eye,the “kisapmata” or fleeting moment it tales for a closed
eye to open.“People easily lose
interest in a newspaper message. It has to be simple. The visual has to tell
the story”.
The bonus, courtesy of Monteagudo, was the witty cultural
reference. The “kisapmata” also mared the difference between a slit eye, the
kind you’d find I a Chinese Hong Kong native, and the long-lashed orb of the
Pinoy. The double entendre again fell smoothly into place; PNB couldn’t have
asked for a simpler, more appropriate visual representation for the people of a
foreign land—one that happened with the big idea as well. This big idea was
speed; if you happened to get the cultural connotation, as well, then Santiago be
doubly happy.
The bank’s aggressive advertising did its job. PNB became
the leader in the remittance field, and the campaign also contributed to the
perceieved credibility of the country’s national bank.
CREDITS:
AGENCY:
ACE-SAATCHI & SAATCHI
EXECUTIVE CREATIVE
DIRCTOR: Jimmy F. Santiago
CREATIVE DIRECTOR:
Mario Monteagudo
COPYWRITER: Edsel
Tolentino
ART DIRECTOR:
Randy Tiempo
PRINT PRODUCER:
Beloy Anegeles
ARTISTS: Lulu San
Pedro, Tracy Montinola
ADVERTISER:
PHILIPPINE NATIONAL BANK
PRODUCT: PNB
Remittance
SOURCE:
PERFECT 10: A Decade of Creativity in Philippine
Advertising, 1995, p. 36
Creative Guild Print Ad of the Year 1988:LUX “Starcare Skincare Originals”
The 1988 Print Ad of the Year blrew competition away
through sheer star power. The stunning ad, a full color magazine spread for LUX
Beauty Soap, featuredthree of the year’s most recognizable faces in Philippine
show business: Movie star Sharon Cuneta, singer Kuh Ledesma, and then up-and-coming
starlet (and presidential daughter) Kris Aquino. “Starcare” was a creation of
J. Walter Thompson, which has had LUX manufacturer. Multinational heavyweight Philippine
Refining Company, as a worldwide client since the 1950’s.
“LUX has always been about celebrities,”says JWY
Executive Creative Director Socky Pitargue,”and it has always been important to
choose the right names and faces.” The last Filipina endorser Pitargeue recalls
was screen actress Hilda Koronel, and the launch of three new variations for
normal-to-dry, oily, or sensitive skin was the perfect excuse to go beauty-hunting.
The idea was clear: three superstar faces using there classy variatons of one
glorious product.
The original plan had been to shoot three separate print
ads for each of the models, but Pitargue had a more ambitious idea.”Why not get
them together? Why not come out with one big ad two or three times for maximum
impact?” Pitargue even predicted the fans, especially young girls, would tear
the ad out and use it as a poster—which research shows they did.
After PRC had closed deals with three celebrities, chosen
for their individual styles as well as their beautiful complexions, Pitargue,
creative irector Adele Estrada and executive art director Edwina Arroyo
confronted another logistical hurdle: how to get the three stars together for a
photo session. “That’s when we decided to get a fourth superstar to take the
photograph,” Pitargue says. Millionaire businessman, philanthropist, and high
profile hobby photographer Jaime Zobel de Ayala had never done any commercial
photography before, and he welcomed the project.
The strategy worked. With a reputation bigger than those
of his subjects, Don Jaime called the shots. “He asked the ladies to be at his
studio at 7 pm. sharp,” Pitargue recalls,”or he would close the doors. The trio
complied, and the shoot was over in less than three hours. Don Jaime’s
professional fee, Pitargue reports, was subsequently donated to charity.
Bare arms and shoulders for the subjects were decided
upon early, to do away with the problem of coordinating outfits. Neither did
the agency ant anything to distract from the glowing complexions. The three LUX
variations were photographed for the same poster and reinforced with copy in
small text, but the yes remained rivettted on the unmistakable stars of the
spread.
KRIS AQUINO, KUH LEDESMA, AND SHARON CUNETA TODAY
The print ad ran alongside three slick TV commercials,
individually featuring Sharon, Kuh, and Kris. JWT git the media exposure they
wanted, and LUX is still happily riding on the fame of cinema’s most stellar
skins.
CREDITS:
ADVERTISER:
Philippine Refining Co.
PRODUCT: Lux
Beauty Soap
AGENCY: J. Walter
Thompson Co.
CREATIVE DIRECTOR:
Adele Estrada
COPYWRITERS: Adele
Estrada / Carol San Pedro
EXECUTIVE ART
DIRECTOR: Edwina K. Arroyo
ART DIRECTOR: Bobby
Canlas
PRINT PRODUCTION: Jun
Jamolangue
PHOTOGRAPHERS: Jaime
Zobel / Neil Oshima
SOURCE:
PERFECT 10: A Decade of Creativity in Philippine Advertising.
Ed. by Mr. Butch Uy. Published by the Executive Committee of the Creative Guild
of the Philippines, 1995. “Superstarspread,” p. 26 PHOTOS: Kris Aquino (pep.ph), KuhLedesma (Inquirer Entertainment), Sharo Cuneta (fanpix.net, Showbiz Central)
The Creative Guild’s very frst radio ad of the year drew
inspiration from the popular slice-of-life format, but further injected
situations with a delightful brand of anticlimactic Pinoy humor.
As Bill Ibañez, then associate creative director of
McCann-Erickson, now creative director at Great Wall Avertising and father of
the RUBIE“Harana” 30-seconder ad, likes to say “Humor is my specialty. And
Filipinos love it when a situation has a humorous twist.”
Source: flickr, Arne Kuilman
The client was Gillette Philippines, a 15-odd-year
associate of McCann-Erickson, and the product was RUBIE Blade. When Ibañez took over the account, a popular campaign
and a TV campaign starring the late comedian Vic Pacia were already airing. Client
wanted to employ radio to encourage the men in downscale rural market to please
shave.
“A lot of men out there were still using primitive implements
to get rid of their bristles.” Ibañez explains. Such grooming innovations included
two coins used as a makeshift tweezers or even splinters of wood. That is, if
the gentleman ever bothered with his bristles at all.
Ibañez decided to utilize the popular jingle , which made
a simple but very attractive promise, If you shaved with RUBIE, you would look good. “Ahit
RUBIE, Ahit Pogi”—the eqution of the brand name with a Filipino slang for “handsome”
was only of the cmpaign’s winning elements. Ibañez went a step further by
pushing the satisfied user over the deep end; the hero becomes so handsome
that, by the end of the commercial, he has a new problem altogether, “He
becomes too good-looking for his own good.”
In “Harana”,
only one of the several presentations of the delicious RUBIE dilemma, a fellow with the unsavory name of Tiagong Tuchang pays court to Kathleen,
whose mother immediately puts the light out on the suitor because of his
unshaven state. Calling him “tuchang” ,
a terribly coarse kind of bristle, is bad enough. “Yung hindi nag-aahit! Yung mukhang piña!”, the mother exclaims,
and the listener goes to town figuring out how unbelievably fuzzy Tiago really
looks.
RUBIE is
presented as a resolution, and the playing of the jingle signifies that the
hero has taken matters an razor into his own hands. He returns to Kathleen, who
is so taken by the serenade (and the newly-trimmed serenade) that she asks for an
encore. The crow of rooster and a young
man’s moan, “Josko, umaga na!” is the
final twist and the hilarious revelation of just how many encores the now
desirable Tiago was obliged to give.
Listeners began to await the next RUBIE Blade radio commercial like radio drama or comic
installments, “The listener knew it was an exaggeration, because there was no
attempt to present the situation as logical,” Ibañez recalls. Thus, they
laughed heartily at the final turn of events, which, in subsequent versions,
always had the hero ending up with more than he bargained for—as in a shotgun
wedding, pehaps, or having more than one barrio lass demanding his attention.
From the distinguishing sound effects that set the ads
apart from auditory clutter—a series of urgent knocks, or, in the case of “Harana”, the strum of a guitar---to the
familiar characters and easily recognizable values, the RUBIE ads hit the Pinoy at his very heart. “They were indigenous
and romantic,” Ibañez says. “The strength of the campaign was in fact that
people recognized themselves in it.”
Enough to keep RUBIE
Blade in the market for years to come.
CREDITS:
ADVERTISER:
Gillette Philippines
PRODUCT: Rubie
Blades
AGENCY:
McCann-Erickson
ASSOCITE CREATIVE
DIRECTOR: Bill Ibañez
PRODUCER: Baby
Enriquez
SOURCES:
Article written by the late Butch Uy, forPerfect 10: A Decade of Creativity in Philippine
Advertising, written by Butch Uy.Published by the Executive Committee of the
Creative Guild of the Philippines. 1995, p. 66-67
KA FREDDIE FLIES HIGH WITH GOLD EAGLE. Print ad, 1989.
One of the strong contenders for the Creative Guild TV Ad
of the Year for 1989 was a commercial for GOLD EAGLE BEER, entitled “Pagbabalik”,
produced by PAC-BBDO (Philippine Advertising Counsellors) for San Miguel. GOLD
EAGLE BEER has been making headway since it was it was introduced in the early
1980s as a flanker brand. McCann-Erickson had originally handled its launch with
its “Let the Gold Eagle Fly” campaign, showing a man releasing an eagle in the air.
When the brand moved to PAC-BBDO, the agency created a
successful campaign—“Para sa Iyo, Pare Ko”,
starring the rowdy “Bad Bananas” gang (Christopher de Leon, Edgar Mortiz and
the late Jay Ilagan) in 1988.
The next year, folk icon Freddie Aguilar was tapped to
appear in a new ad that still carried the theme, but with a more subdued,
nostalgic mood and tone. The San Miguel connection with San Miguel was also strengthened
with a message overlay, “May pangalan ‘to, pare ko” (This beer’s got a name,
friend).
WATCH GOLD EAGLE "PAGBABALIK" TVC 30s HERE:
The GOLD EAGLE BEER“Pagbabalik” TVC follows the
homecoming of Freddie Aguilar in his old town, after making a name for
himself---where he is warmly received by long-time friends, neighbors, town mates
and his barkada. The jingle, sung by the folksinger, talks about going back to one's roots, and the importance of keeping one’s name—which is an implicit reference to San
Miguel, the name behind GOLD EAGLE. Two versions were made—one, a mostly instrumental
version (“Freddie”), and the other, utilizing the full jingle (“Pagbabalik”)
WATCH THE GOLD EAGLE "Freddie" VERSION HERE:
The commercial was well-received for its cinematography
that captured the rustic,, provincial feel of an old town, and for the jingle
that could very well have been the theme song of a balikbayan or an overseas
Filipino worker. When the Creative Guild of the Philippines convened to vote for
the best ads of 1989, GOLD EAGLE BEER’s “Pagbabalik” was selected as the best TVC
for August. It also was a nominee for Best Direction (Vitt Romero), Best
Cinematography (Rody Lacap, Jun Kraft, Fred Manansala), Best Jingle (Charo
Unite, for both versions), Best Production Design (Joey Luna, Aped Santos, Gino
Marasigan).
CREDITS:
AGENCY: Philippine Advertising Counsellors-BBDO
CREATIVE DIRECTOR/WRITER: Romy Sinson
ART DIRECTOR: Pit Santiago
PRODUCER: Vivian Abalos
JINGLE COMPOSER: Charo Unite
SINGER: Freddie Aguilar
PRODUCTION HOUSE: Provil, Unitel ('Freddie' version)
DIRECTOR: Vittorio Romero
CINEMATOGRAPHERS: Rody Lacap, Jun Kraft, Fred Manansala
CLIENT: SAN MIGUEL BEER CORP, BRAND: Gold Eagle Beer
