538. Those Adorable DARIGOLD KIDS of the ‘60s: Then and Now

When readers opened their magazines in 1963, they were treated to a spread of colored ads of DARIGOLD MILK featuring wide-eyed, happy-looking kids—perfect models of the milk’s promise of healthy goodness and tender love.

By that time, DARIGOLD was the No. 1 milk brand in the country, backed by its savvy marketing and well-crafted advertising, professionally made by its ad agency, Philprom, founded by Pete Teodoro in 1945. Not bad for the evaporated milk brand that had to be imported all the way from Seattle to be introduced in the Philippines in 1953.

The 1963-1964 campaign was launched first with a lead-off print ad featured 2 vignette shots of a young mom with her school-age daughter holding a glass of milk in one hand. In the foreground are two younger siblings with their toys, showing the boy giving her little sister a peck on her cheek.

A separate ad was spun off using the version with the two siblings being wowed as they are handed with a glass of DARIGOLD Milk.

The next in the print ad series showed a fair-haired girl holding a glass of DARIGOLD Milk with the headline:  “More, more, more…DARIGOLD gives you more!”. A jingle based on that line was created by the agency and became a national hit.

The last ad was a Black & White ad with 2 spot colors, touting the leadership position of DARIGOLD, which by then was the most preferred and best-selling brand. A curly-locked boy in a DARIGOLD shirt leading a trike race was the main visual, to drive home the point of the no. 1 milk in the market.

A quick search of the identities of the kiddie models yielded so many fascinating facts that are now inextricably linked with the milk brand’s history. In the 60s, the country head of DARIGOLD was Mr. Louie Benitez, a member of the prominent Benitez Family that included statesman and educator Dean Conrado Benitez and senator Helena Tirona Benitez.

 

Louie’s sister, Leila Benitez was known as the First Lady of Philippine TV, famous for hosting the first Student Canteen, and, what else—DARIGOLD Jamboree in 1965. Even DARIGOLD’s ad agency had a Benitez connection; Fred Benitez was a co-founder of Philprom.

It was no wonder then that the models in the aforementioned print ads were also Benitezes—Mr. Louie Benitez’s own wife and children.The kick-off ad that showed a Mom and her daughter, was no less than his wife Nena Mapa-Benitez and daughter Annie, on her lap. Annie now lives in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The two kissin’ kids with their toys on the floor are siblings Ricky and Pia Benitez. Ricky Benitez grew up and worked in his father’s trading company. He is now a Pastor who lives in Bacolod.

 Pia, now Mrs. Yupangco, is an artist and a freelance writer. In her college years, she became an intern at J. Walter Thompson where she bagged a 7-Up talent gig. Her father, however, thumbed down the idea of her out-of-town shooting, and thus ended her short modeling career.

 “We were nepo babies before it became uso 😆”, recalls Pia when asked how she became a DARIGOLD model. “My dad Louie Benitez was general manager of Darigold in the Philippines, that’s how!.  Even my grade school batch got to go to the Darigold manufacturing and repacking facility!” Pia also vaguely remembers shoting a DARIGOLD TV commercial at the Magallanes Park by the Philprom ad agency.

Soon, the original “nepo babies” were joined by more Benitezes—their cousins! In the 2^nd print ad, the winsome child with her glass of DARIGOLD was portrayed by Mitos Benitez (now Yñiguez). She was the daughter of Mario Benitez—brother of Louie, more well-known as the founder of the classic MARIO’s, the hugely popular Italian Restaurant, located in Baguio. Today, Mitos  continues the family’s restaurant business tradition, by running the highly-rated Hill Station , a comfort food restaurant at Casa Vallejo in Baguio City.

Mitos’ brother—Anton Benitez, on the other hand, was the curly-haired trike rider  speeding ahead of other cartoon racers in the 3^rd print ad. A La Salle graduate, Anton along with brothers Fil and Marlo now runs MARIO’s, which recently opened a branch in Clark Field, Pampanga.

 DARIGOLD’s  life cycle was cut short in 1976 when it ceased production due to contractual obligation problems. But for the Benitez kids, there was no crying over spilled milk. They have all moved on from being accidental commercial talents for an icon brand built by their father, to even more important matters like earning their education, acquiring skills and venturing into different careers, based on their passions—all pursued well, and successfully. DARIGOLD, in a special way, has proven to be “so good for the whole family”—as its longtime slogan says,

SOURCES:

FB Messenger interview with, Pia Benitez-Yupangco

Contributed photos from the Benitez children

Photo od the Benitezes as adults, from their FB groups. 

Photo of Mitos Benitez , by Wig Tysmans

Many thanks to Lisa Nepomuceno-Mapua for facilitating contact with the Benitez siblings.

196. Miss Universe 1952: Finland's ARMI KUUSELA, Celebrity Endorser

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 included  CAMAY 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 of  heart 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.

SOURCES:
NOW & FOREVER movie:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vgWQC9Tqaw
Published 21 Jan. 2013, by Miguel Hilario.

ARMI KUUSELA'S CRWONING MOMENT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wKAyGqgV-I
Published 1 Mar. 2012, by Portal Miss

PHOTO OF ARMI KUUSELA TODAY: http://finntimes.com/?p=265, Credits to : Tomi Hinkkanen

177. Brand Stories: DARIGOLD MILK (1953-1976)

“Gusto ko ng gatas na DARIGOLD,

DARIGOLD, DARIGOLD!

Gusto ko ng gatas nA DARIGOLD,

DARIGOLD ang inyong bilhin!”

The most preferred and the largest-selling milk in the late 1950s was DARIGOLD Evaporated Filled Milk.  It was a staple milk product that one could readily find in Filipino homes, used in almost everything—for drinking, creaming, cooking and enriching halo-halo, leche flan and other dreamy desserts.

It became available in the Philippines through Consolidated Dairy Products Co. Inc., a giant and established dairy company based in Seattle, Washington. The DARIGOLD brand was appended to their milk products, including homogenized and pasteurized milk in bottles, milk powder and ice cream.

The first DARIGOLD ads appeared in the Philippines 1953, small black and white illustrated ads  featured in weekly magazines. In 1956, the Consolidated Dairy Products Co. formed a joint venture with Santiago Syjuco, Inc. to manufacture and  sell DARIGOLD in the country, hence the Consolidated Philippines, Inc. was established in Parañaque.

SO RICH AND SO GOOD. DARIGOLD, 1953

The Philippine company thus began producing the local tinned milk—DARIGOLD Evaporated Filled Milk—with the familiar 2 red-banded label with a blue diamond in the center representing the “seal of Darigold quality”.

LET YOUR CHILD DRINK DARIGOLD EVERY DAY, 1957

DARIGOLD Evaporated Milk was positioned as a family milk drink, enriched with usual Vitamins A&D and essential fats. Its marketing and promotions were uniquely engaging and distinctive.

MISS UNIVERSE, ARMI KUUSELA WITH CHILD, Darigold  Endorser from 1958-1961

DARIGOLD also had a long-running campaign that ran for over  3 years, thanks to to the pulling power of the celebrity mother the brand chose as its endorser-ambassador—Armi Kuusela-Hilario, Miss Universe of 1953, no less! She appeared along with her family, in a series of colored ads that saw print in leading publications from 1958 to 1961.

PHOTO ://www.pressreader.com/philippines/the-philippine-star

The brand’s most successful media initiative was the sponsorship of  "Jamboree", a segment within Student Canteen on Channel 9. The variety program,  hosted by Leila Benitez, Eddie Ilarde, and Bobby Ledesma, was already a certified hit when DARIGOLD sponsored the 30 minute game-and-contest segment that aired at 1:00 A.M., on weekdays. DARIGOLD JAMBOREE, as it was now known,  became a nationwide  sensation among the the growing TV audience beginning in 1961.

ACTRESS SHIRLEY GOROSPE for Darigold, 1959

DARIGOLD JAMBOREE went on a road tour, staging musical contests.  An alumnus of one such show in Naga produced a winner in the person of  future superstar Nora Aunor, with her rendition of “You and The Night and The Music”, a Sinatra standard. These provincial shows were also aired on local radio, thus expanding the reach of the popularity of the milk brand.

MOST PREFERRED...LARGEST SELLING...DARIGOLD. 1960

MORE, MORE, MORE..DARIGOLD GIVES YOU MORE! A popular jingle in the 60s

 Field promotions was also key to drive DARIGOLD growth. There were school promotions that were offered to students like wrapper redemptions, where one could exchange 5 paper labels of DARIGOLD for one specially-marked pencil. DARIGOLD’s arch rival, Liberty Milk, would spur the leading brand to further increase consumer satisfaction.

DARIGOLD CONDENSADA LAUNCH PRINT AD, 1966

In 1966, Dairy Export Company (Dexco), a subsidiary of Consolidated Dairy Products Co. Inc. of Seattle, got a license to do business in the country. It was from Dexco that  Consolidated Phils. purchased its sweetened condensed milk that was belatedly introduced in 1967 as DARIGOLD CONDENSADA. It was meant to fight off the advances made by Liberty Milk which had cornered the sweetened milk market category with their Liberty Condensed Milk brand.

WOW, DARIGOLD! 1964

But in January 1972, the Consolidated Dairy Products Co. Inc. of Seattle, informed Consolidated Phils. that Dexco, its subsidiary, would now be in charge of the control and licensing of the DARIGOLD trademark in Asia. Two years later, the American mother company offered Syjuco, Inc. to sell to them the interest of Consolidated Dairy products, Inc. in Consolidated Philippines. At that time, DARIGOLD was being run by 3 companies—Consolidated Phils., Standard Can Co., and Dexco—a set-up that the mother company alleged,  could jeopardize the Philippine business. The Syjucos refused the offer.

FOR DRINKING, FOR CREAMING, FOR COOKING & BAKING. 1966

Later in the year, Dexco pressured Syjuco Inc. by canceling its license to the use of  the DARIGOLD name, which was met with protest.  With bankruptcy imminent, Syjuco, Inc. chose to sell its 49% equity in Consolidated Phils. to the mother company in Seattle. Dexco took over the marketing of DARIGOLD even before Consolidated Phils. could be dissolved.

DARIGOLD IS BETTER FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY, 1966

However, the problem did not end there. The 1959 contract with Standard Can Co.--which stipulated that it would supply Consolidated Phils. with cans until 1981 – was cancelled in 1976. This prompted Standard  to demand reimbursement from Dexco and Consolidated Phils. for the separation pay of its employees affected due to the operation stoppage.

THE MILK TO RECOMMEND IS DARIGOLD, 1967

 Dexco said that it was not a party to the contract, while Consolidated Phils. claimed that its dissolution eliminated its obligation under the can supply contract. After claims and counterclaims, the Court of Appeals ruled and ordered Consolidated Dairy Products Company of Seattle and/or its alter ego Dexco, as well as Consolidated Philippines. Inc. to pay Standard. The decision was affirmed by the Supreme Court only in 1992.

After a long, and bitter legal battle, DARIGOLD's golden run came to a halt. Production was discontinued permanently in 1976, and Liberty filled the gap it created. Today, the once-favorite brand is but a footnote in the country’s dairy industry, remembered mostly because of its jingle that once rang loud and clear in all four corners of the Philippines—“Gusto ang gatas na DARIGOLD…DARIGOLD..DARIGOLD!”

SOURCES:

Pe, Roger. “What Happened To  Some Favorite Milk Brands?”, retrieved Oct. 20, 2011. http://business.inquirer.net/25973/what-happened-to-some-favorite-milk-brands

CONSOLIDATED DAIRY PRODUCTS CO., JESUS B. BITO and FEDERICO B. GUILAS, as Acting Trustees of CONSOLIDATED PHILIPPINES, INC. and DAIRY EXPORT CO., INC., petitioners, vs. THE COURT OF APPEALS and STANDARD INVESTMENT CORPORATION,

https://www.lawphil.net/judjuris/juri1992/aug1992/gr_100401_1992.html

THE 1ST MISS UNIVERSE, ARMI KUUSELA- HILARIO, for DARIGOLD MILK, http://isamunangpatalastas.blogspot.com/2017/01/93-1st-miss-universe-armi-kuusela.html

93. THE 1ST MISS UNIVERSE, ARMI KUUSELA- HILARIO, for DARIGOLD MILK

MOTHER AND CHILD, With daughter Ana Lisa, Print Ad, 1959.

The leading milk brand in the late 1950s was DARIGOLD MILK, which had been advertising since 1953. It was produced in the Philippines beginning in 1957, under the Seattle-based dairy agricultural marketing cooperative, Darigold Inc. Advertising began in 1958, and it would find stiff competition from Liberty Milk for over two decades.

At the peak of its popularity, DARIGOLD had a commanding presence on TV (remember “Darigold Jamboree” hosetd by Eddie Ilarde, Leila Benitez and Bobby Ledesma?), Radio ( on DZXL, it sponsored Darigold Daily Jamboree and Darigold Jumbo Jamboree) as well as Print.

ARMI AND SON, JUSSI, Darigold Print Ad, 1959.

DARIGOLD scored a coup when it enlisted the very first Miss Universe 1952, Armi Kuusela to appear in its print ads that began appearing in 1959. By then, the Finnish world beauty had already been married to millionaire businessman, Virgilio Hilario for 7 years. Their fairytale romance began when Kuusela visited the country as guest of the First Philippine International Fair, where the Filipino swain swept her off her feet. Ten months into her reign, Kuusela resigned from her Miss Universe job to marry Hilario in Tokyo.

ARMI WITH SON JUSSI, Darigold print Ad, 1961.

In 1959, the Hilarios were raising 4 kids—Arne, Anna-Lisa, Jussi and Eva-Maria (they would have one more boy—Mikko), which made Armi a perfect choice as celebrity mother-endorser. (arch rival Liberty Milk had the iconic Paquita Goyena as model).

The DARIGOLD print series that you see here—all in color-- ran from 1959 to 1961. The ads not only featured Armi, but also her children and husband, Virgilio.The campaign further boosted the milk brand’s popularity to greater heights,

BEST FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY. Darigold Print Ad, 1961.

Everything was going for the brand—from its familiar red and white logo with a blue diamobg in the center to its far-reaching media visibility. Its commercial jingle resonated with kids :  “Gusto ko ng gatas ng DARIGOLD, DARIGOLD, DARIGOLD, …DARIGOLD ang inyong bilhin!”.

ALL IN THE FAMILY, "Kuusela-Hilario Family", Darigold Print Ad, 1961

But in the 1970s, the local  DARIGOLD partner—Consolidated Dairy Products Inc.—figured in a dispute with the mother company, and the two were soon locked in a bitter legal bottle. This would lead to the discontinuation of the production of DARIGOLD MILK in the Philippines in 1976. We have these print ads as reminders of DARIGOLD's glory days--when it persuaded the most beautiful girl in the Universe to push the milk that's " so good for babies..and best for the whole family!"