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| "CHOOSY MOMS, CHOOSY KIDS", DARI CREME Print Ad, 1984 |
Procter & Gamble prides itself as having started “brand
management” in product marketing, and the pedigree of success across of its advertising
across all brands proves that. The company even employed advertising “copy
experts” who patrolled their international network for possible advertising
approaches that can be adapted and applied to their other brands in need of
promotions.
Such was the case of DARI CRÈME advertising, which was in need of revamping in the late 70s. Launched in 1959, DARI CRÈME was one of the first products of Procter & Gamble PMC (now P&G Phils., Inc.). It was the first locally manufactured refrigerated margarine and was introduced as a local alternative to imported butter. All throughout the 1960s, DARI CRÈME consistently led the butter and margarine market, preferred for its more buttery taste, availability and price.
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| P&G's "Adapt & Apply" practice resulted in a borrowed slogan for DARI CREME ad campaign. |
In the late 1970s thru the early 80s, efforts were made to refresh DARI CRÈME advertising in the face of a growing competition that would come to include new Magnolia Butter and Buttercup. The inspiration for a new DARI CRÈME thematic campaign came from a Procter & Gamble product from the U.S.—JIF Peanut Butter. JIF’s success owes much to its advertising with a slogan “Choosy Mothers Choose JIF”, coined by its creative agency, Grey Advertising, in 1966. The campaign catapulted JIF past erstwhile leader Skippy to market leadership around the time of the peanut butter crisis of 1980.
The idea of having “discriminating or choosy mothers” when it comes to food for their children, resonated with Filipino mothers—hence Ace-Compton, the local agency of DARI CRÈME localized the theme into “Pinipili ng mapiling ina”, that became the crux of the product TV ad series. The TVCs featured a mother showing another mother the difference the taste difference between DARI CRÈME and another unnamed brand, when slathered on a piece of bibingka, on a puto, ensyamada, etc.. The new campaign secured DARI CRÈME’s dominant position in the marketplace, and the commercials became very popular on TV.
The campaign went a step further when a DARI CRÈME usage
campaign was launched in 1984, but the slogan was not only converted into English,
but was also extended to include discriminating kids. Hence, “Choosy moms with
choosy kids choose DARI CRÈME” (Pinipili ng mapiling ina…at anak!). The campaign
ran for many years, despite it being—well—a mouthful. But P&G didn’t mind,
as the message came across well, and business resumed its brisk pace.
In a twist of irony, a decade after the “choosy moms” campaign, Magnolia Inc. (then known as Philippine Dairy Products Corp.) acquired DARI CRÈME from Procter & Gamble Philippines, ensuring the continuity of the much-loved, iconic brand—and even the “pinipili” slogan, that is still in use to this day.
SOURCES:
Magnolia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnolia_(Philippine_company)
JIF Peanut Butter: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/364858362_Choosy_Mothers_Choose
DARI CREME TV Commercial, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__Zd7ODZbXo, youtubevideo uploaded 2016, by Albert Marc Justine Carreon,
