254. SOUTHEAST ASIAN (SEA) GAMES MEDALISTS AS PRODUCT ENDORSERS

To mark our country’s hosting of the 30^th Southeast Asian Games, let us pay homage to our winning local athletes who are celebrated in these advertising print ads from the past.

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LYDIA DE VEGA, for Alaska, 1989

LYDIA DE VEGA, Athletics

SEA Games Achievements:

GOLD: 200 m. dash, 1981 SEA Games (Philippines)

GOLD: 400 m., 1981 SEA Games, (Philippines)

GOLD: 200 m. dash, 1983 SEA Games, (Singapore)

GOLD: 100 meter dash, 1987 SEA Games (Indonesia)

GOLD: 200 meter dash, 1987 SEA Games (Indonesia)

GOLD: Long Jump, 1987 SEA Games (Indonesia)

GOLD: 100 meter dash, 1991 SEA Games (Philippines)

GOLD: 100 meter dash, 1993 SEA Games (Singapore)

GOLD:  200 meter dash, 1993 SEA Games (Singapore)

PRODUCTS ENDORSED: ALASKA Milk, MILO Energy Drink

BEA LUCERO, for MILO, 1986

BEA LUCERO, Artistic Gymnastics

SEA Games Achievements:

GOLD: All-Around, 1987 SEA Games (Indonesia)

GOLD:  Uneven Bars, 1987 SEA Games (Indonesia)

GOLD: Taekwondo, Bantamweight, 1991 SEA Games (Philippines)

PRODUCT ENDORSED: MILO Energy Drink, Ivory Soap

AIKO THOMSON, for MILO,1990

AKIKO THOMSON, Swimming

SEA Games Achievements:

GOLD: 100m. backstroke, 1987 SEA Games (Indonesia)

GOLD: 100 m. backstroke, 1991 SEA Games

GOLD: 200 m. backstroke, 1991 SEA Games

SILVER: 200 m. backstroke, 1987 SEA Games (Indonesia)

SILVER: 200 m. backstroke, 1991 SEA Games

SILVER: 50 m. freestyle, 1991 SEA Games

SILVER: 100 m. freestyle: 1991 SEA Games

PRODUCT ENDORSED: MILO Energy Drink

MONSOUR DE ROSARIO, for Rexona. 1987

MONSOUR DEL ROSARIO JR., Tae Kwon Do

SEA Games Achievements:

GOLD, Taekwondo, Lightweight: 1987 SEA Games (Jakarta)

GOLD, Taekwondo, Lightweight: 1989 SEA Games (Malaysia)

PRODUCT ENDORSED: Rexona Anti-Perspirant

RICHARD GOMEZ, for BENCH, 1993. Photo: Bench

RICHARD GOMEZ, Fencing

SEA Games Achievements:

GOLD, Men’s Epee Team, 2005 SEA Games (Philippines)

PRODUCTS ENDORSED: Bench, Coca-Cola, Diet Sarsi (with Dawn Zyleta) Lux (with Lucy Torres), BIC ballpens (with Gretchen Barreto), Fortune Tobacco.

SAN MIGUEL BEER, 2009, Screen Grab: San Miguel TV, uploaded by San Miguel Pale Pilsen, 2009 

EFREN “BATA” REYES, Pool

SEA Games Achievements:

BRONZE:  1 Cushion Carom, Singles: 2011 SEA Games (Jakarta), 2013 SEA Games (Myanmar), 2015 SEA Games (Singapore)

BRONZE: 3 Cushion Carom: 2011 SEA Games (Jakarta).

PRODUCTS ENDORSED: San Miguel Beer

SOURCES:
BENCH
San Miguel Ple Pilsen youtube
oldschoolads.blogspot, for Richard Gutierrez Coke ad, posted Jul. 5, 2009

202. Asia’s Sprint Queen LYDIA DE VEGA, for ALASKA (1989) and MILO (1990s)

LYDIA DE VEGA, Asis's Sprint Queen, At her peak, she won 2 Asian Games
Gold medals, won 3 SEA games Gold,  qualified in 2 Olympics, and made a movie.

Lydia de Vega (b. 12 Dec. 1964), the glamor girl of 1980s Philippine sports, was the perfect endorser of two dairy brands in the late 1980 and early 1990s, in what was known as the golden age of Philippine athletics.

The fleet-footed Bulakenya, home trained by her father, made her presence felt at the 1981 Manila Southeast Asian (SEA) when she bagged Gold in the 200 and 400 meter events exceeding records set at the Asian Games.

It came as no surprise that at the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi, she won the premiere 100 m. dash, besting local star P.T. Usha. As if to prove that her win was not a fluke, she won another Asiad Gold at the next 1986 Asian Games in Seoul. She would also participate in 2 Summer Olympics: Los Angeles (1984) and Seoul (1988). Throughout her stellar running career, she was dubbed as “Asia’s Sprint Queen”.

LYDIA DE VEGA FOR ALASKA MILK POWDER, 1989

A year after her Seoul Olympics stint, de Vega took a 2 year break from athletics to get married, continue her studies and rest. She also finally found time to respond to endorsement deals, and in 1989, she was signed up ALASKA POWDERED MILK to do its milk campaign.

Alaska, the company, started in 1972 as Holland Milk Products, Inc. which first made liquid milk. It eventually expanded to manufacture powdered milk and UHT milk. ALASKA POWDERED MILK was launched in 1989, in a new campaign starred by de Vega. “Bring out a winner” was the thematic line, still anchored on its familiar “wala pa ring tatalo sa Alaska” omnibus slogan.

LYDIA DE VEGA FOR ALASKA MILK POWDER, 1989

Not long after that, after her contract with Alaska lapsed, Nestlé Philippines employed her as a presenter for their “Get your child into sports” public relations program, sponsored by their chocolate and malt beverage, MILO. 

WATCH LYDIA DE VEGA'S MILO AD HERE:

courtesy of Filipino Athlete, uploaded 29 Dec. 2017

The product began in 1964, ad derived its name from the  Greek mythological character Milo, famed for his strength. MILO has been using sports as its selling platform, and for years, latched on to its “Olympic energy theme”. It was also known for its sports clinics, marathons, and little Olympics.

 Vega retired after competing at the 1994 Manila-Fujian Games where she bagged her final 100 meter Gold. She briefly forayed into politics and served as a councilor of Meycauayan town.

LYDIA DE VEGA, THEN & NOW. Source: India Today Magazine,
News ABS-CBN Sports

Since Dec. 2005, De Vega has been staying in Singapore where she coaches young collegiate athletes. Married to engineer Paul Mercado, she is a mother to Stephanie, a DLSU Lady Spikers and John Michael who tragically died in a 200 freak vehicle accident at age 4. On 22 November 2018, De Vega was inducted into the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame at the Philippine International Convention Center.

SOURCES

youtube: Lydia De vega MILO advert from the 90s, by Filipino Athlete, Published on Dec 29, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lejbq4_Oq0

Image: Lydia de Vega in New Delhi:

https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/special-report/story/19821231-asian-games-asiad-82-in-new-delhi-comes-to-a-glorious-end-772541-2013-07-29

Image: Lydia de vega, 2018 Hall of Fame

https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/11/23/18/lydia-de-vega-paeng-nepomuceno-bong-coo-enter-ph-sports-hall-of-fame