1950s CALUMET PRINT ADS, with endorsers Gloria Romero and Lolita Rodriguez
One of the most popular baking products in the world with
the most recognizable packaging is CALUMET
Baking Powder. Chicagoan William Monroe Wright, with partner chemist George
Campbell Rew, formulated a revolutionary, double-acting baking powder in 1899
that replaced cream of tartar with aluminum phosphate and also included dried
egg whites.
The product was christened CALUMET, after a French-derived word for a Native American
ceremonial pipe. It was also the name given to the land that would give rise to
Calumet City, Illinois. The red, black and white CALUMET tin canisters featured the stylized profile of an Indian wearing
a feathered war bonnet. To this day, this iconic packaging remains unchanged.
1956 CALUMET AD, Baked Desserts
1956 CALUMET AD,Baked Desserts
The success of CALUMET
prompted Wright to put up his CALUMET
Baking Powder Company until it was
acquired by General Foods in 1929..
CALUMET RECIPE ADS, 1957
CALUMET Baking
Powder became available in the Philippines in the 1950s, when Filipino women discovered
the joys of baking in modern ovens. It was heavily advertised in 2-color ads in
leading magazines, using movie celebrities like Gloria Romero and Lolita
Rodriguez as endorsers. Ot was promoted along with Swans Down Cake Flour, another General Foods product.
FILM STAR GLORIA ROMERO FOR CALUMET, 1958
LOLITA RODRIGUEZ CALUMET AD,1959
GLORIA ROMERO FOR CALUMET, 1958
In 1990, General Foods merged with Kraft Foods. The company
grew even bigger when, 2015, Kraft Foodsmerged with H.J. Heinz Co. It continues to produce and market CALUMET Baking Powder today
Cake baking was never a Philippines tradition;homemakers were happy with their kerosene
stoves, and gas ranges were yet to be preferred. Mothers were also contented
with their all-purpose flour. SWANS DOWN
was meant to add more sophistication and variety to a Filipina mother’s
culinary skills.
SWANS DOWN PRINT AD, 1961
The product innovation was developed by Addison
Igleheart,who in 1894, discovered a new
way of milling wheat that made a flour ideal for cake baking. He named it SWANS DOWN, because like the down feather
of birds that were used in pillows, the cakes made from the flour were soft,
light and fluffy. In 1904, SWANS DOWN
confections won Gold medal at the St. Louis World’s Fair.
The Iglehearts joined General Foods Corp. in 1926, and in 1945, the
food company introduced the first cake mix under the SWANS DOWNname. It was such a success that SWANSDOWN became America’s favorite
cake flour brand.
MOVIE STAR GLORIA ROMERO FOR SWANS DOWN, 1957
SWANS DOWN was first
marketed in the Philippines beginning in the mid 1950s, and by 1957 was being
advertised in national media. The first ad featured a black and white
endorsement of 1950s superstar, Gloria Romero, who was also a sought-after
celebrity model.
SWANS DOWN was
one of the first food products to use color and photography in their ads, in a
timewhen even food ads were largely
illustrated in monotone.It SWANS DOWN had less than a decade’s run
in the Philippine market, it laid the foundation for cake baking and pastry
making that led to the rise of cakeshops and bakeshop businesses like Red
Ribbon and Goldilocks.
SWANS DOWN CHRISTMAS AD, 1962
By the early 1970s, marketing by other competitors forced SWANS DOWN Cake Mix out of business
worldwide, but SWANS DOWNCake Flour survived because of the loyal
generations of scratch bakers who refused to bake with anything else. In 1985, the
Wm. B. Reily & Company purchased the Swans Down brand, and it is now manufactured
and marketed by Reily Foods.
SWANS DOWN Cake
Flour is only available in the Philippines through international shopping
stores today.
SUPERWHEEL DETERGENT BAR, with Elizabeth Ramsey as "Cleopatra (1976) Screen grab from 'Superwheel Classic Philippine commercial (1976) by ADman 1909.
From the 50s to the early 70s, the powdered detergents, led
by Tide and Breeze, reigned supreme in Philippine households, used by millions
of women to keep their laundry clean, white and fresh-smelling. Sure, there
were coconut-oil based bars like Perla and Luto (by Philippine Manufacturing
Co.), but powders were preferred for their cleaning ability.
WATCH SUPERWHEEL "CLEOPATRA" TVC HERE:
(Credits: Jojo Bailon, VOT3)
Philippjne Refining Co. (PRC) had a soap bar as early as
1952, known as Wheel. It would take twenty two more years before the company
could introduce the first non-soap detergent in the country, which would
revolutionize the laundry industry and install PRC as Procter & Gamble
PMC’s staunchest competitor.
Screen grab from 'Superwheel Classic Philippine commercial (1976) by ADman 1909.
The new product was the SUPERWHEEL DETERGENT BAR, introduced
to the market in 1974. The synthetic detergent bar had compressed power
cleansers that had superior cleaning ability, and could wash more loads of
clothes. It lasted longer, as the amount of detergent used could be controlled by hand-scrubbing, thus
it was more economical than powder.
MARISSA DELGADO as Lady Guinever, Superwheel TVC 1976 Screen grab from 'Superwheel Classic Philippine commercial by ADman 1909.
J. Walter Thompson conceived of a massive campaign on TV
that did away with real housewives and their problematic washing problems.
WATCH SUPERWHEEL "GUINEVERE"
TVC 30s here:
The commercials had outlandish characters
spoofed from well-known historical and literary women figures —from Cleopatra,
Lady Guinevere and later, in the 80s, Starzan and Barok.
LILY MIRAFLOR, always appeared at the right time with a Superwheel bar, to save the day for women with laundry problems.
These characters
shared a common laundry problem that was solved by the omni-present Lily
Miraflor, who appeared magically nearby as the women contemplated on their
problems. “Konting kuskos, ayos!”, she says as she saves the day for the
ladies with a bar of SUPERWHEEL.
The anachronistic scenes were memorably campy, the acting
over-the-top. The ads were among the most popular and most recalled from the
70s era. Most of the punchlines are still known today—most notably, the Cleopatra
version (1976) starring the irrepressible Elizabeth Ramsey who, despondent over
her washing challenges, declared—“Magapatuka na lang ako sa ahas!” (Might as
well have myself bitten by a snake!). A novelty song was even recorded by
Ramsey to capitalize on the catchphrase’s popularity.
LISTEN TO "Magapatuka Na Lang Ako sa Ahas"
and WATCH snippets of the "CLEOPATRA" TVC
starring ELIZABETH RAMSEY
The “The King & I” version showing Gloria Romero as Anna, shining the
bald head of the Siamese King (played by Aurelio Estanislao) while exclaiming
“Konting kuskos, ayos!” , resulted in a diplomatic row that resulted in the
pull-out of the TVC in 1978. The Thai
Embassy had complained that the scene was an affront to their King’s memory as
it is forbidden to touch the head of the royalty.
BARBIE, MAID IN THE PHILIPPINES, a movie character originated by Joey de Leon, was borrowed by Superwheel for a 1989 commercial.
All through the 80s, the SUPERWHEEL campaign was updated with popular characters from the period, like Starzan, Barok, and Barbie--Maid in the Philippines.
WATCH THE 'STARZAN' SUPERWHEEL TVC (1989) here:
The SUPERWHEEL campaign catapulted the PRC brand to great heights. By 1975, the non-soap
market had grown rapidly, until it overtook the declining powder market. The
age of the synthetic detergent bars had arrived—and when Procter & Gamble
introduced its Mr. Clean Detergnet Bar
in 1977 to square off with SUPERWHEEL, the Great Detergent War was on.
GLORIA ROMERO, at the peak of her career, with a copy of her Camay Print Ad, 1955.
One of the busiest commercial models in the early to mid
1950s was the beautiful GLORIA ROMERO (born Gloria Galla. 16 Dec. 1933, in
Denver, Colorado to Filipino Pedro Galla and American Mary Borrego). She was
only four when she returned to the Philippines, settling in Mabini,Pangasinan—her
father’s hometown. The war caught up with the family, so the Gallas decided to
stay here.
GLORIA ROMERO, for CAMAY BEAUTY SOAP, 1955
She tried her luck in showbiz in 1950 playing bit roles for
several production outfits, but it was Sampaguita Pictures that noticed her and
who gave her the screen name ‘Gloria Romero’ (after Eddie Romero, who directed
her in her early 1951 movie,”Kasintahan sa Pangarap”.
INSTANT SANKA COFFEE, Print Ad, 1957
Romero was cast in
Monghita (1952), her first lead role, but it was her appearance in Dalagang
Ilocana (1954) that gave her a FAMAS Best Actress—and a place in the top list
of Philippine film superstars.
SWANS DOWN CAKE FLOUR, Print Ad, 1957
The young ingénue was not only kept occupied filming
pictures, but also had her hands full doing pictorial for a variety of
products. She was the perfect endorser as she had a spotless image (she even
won the role of the Virgin Mary in ‘Martir sa Golgotha”, a 1954 Lenten movie),
her deportment and work ethics, of the highest standards. After all, Romero was
trained by the Sampaguita bosses themselves—taking her on trips abroad, providing
her wardrobe and giving her lessons in social etiquette.
CALUMET BAKING POWDER, Print Ad. 1953.
Her early endorsements include leading beauty and personal
products as well as consumer goods. Most of her output were Print Ads, as
Television was still at its infancy stage at that time. Romero was especially known for being a Camay Girl and a Coca Cola presenter.
JOHNSON'S MEDICATED TALCUM POWDER, Print Ad, 1961
In the 70s, she was cast in “King and I” TVC commercial for
Superwheel, a popular ad series based on parodies of historical characters. At
the 1988 Creative Guild Ad of the Year Awards, she romped off with the Best
Actress trophy for her “Manang Biday” Superwheel TV Commercial.
COCA COLA, Print Ad. 1956
Romero’s career spans over 60 years and she continues to be
active in movies and TV today. She has appeared in sitcoms like Palibhasa
Lalaki, "Richard Loves Lucy"
and in countless drama anthologies for GMA 7.Currently, Romero appears in “Juan
Happy Love Story”.
COCA COLA,Print Ad. 1956.
For her achievements, she received the first 2009 Lifetime
Achievement Award from MTRCB (Movies and Television Review and Classification
Board) Award, Huwarang Bituin Award from the 57th FAMAS Awards, and
named as one of the 13 "Movie Icons of Our Time".
