One of
the novelties introduced by MAGNOLIA Ice
Cream in the 1970s were the line of MAGNOLIA
ICE CREAM CAKES and ROLLS that were produced in limited numbers made for
special occasions. They were basically ice cream that were frozen in molds that
had special shapes (mortarboards, toys, logs, flowers and fruits) to mark Birthdays for adults and kids,
Graduations, Weddings, Debuts, and other milestones. They were airbrushed with food
coloring by hand and individually decorated.
The Ice Cream Cakes could also be
pre-ordered if one wants customization of the cakes. These were created at the MAGNOLIA Dairy Plant along Aurora Blvd.
where visitors can even see their production on the ground floor, next to the Magnolia Flavor House. These novelties
had a niche market and were popular treats that continued through the 1980s.
Eventually, the production of MAGNOLIA
Ice Cream Cakes and Rolls were phased out as the manual process proved to
be not cost-effective, making the products premium-priced. But for followers of
these ice cream novelties, they were one of the best ideas ever to come out from
the finest name in ice cream, MAGNOLIA.
ANYTIME IS CARNIVAL TIME. MAGNOLIA CARNIVAL FROZEN CREEM
By the
mid 70s, Magnolia, the dominant name in fine ice cream, found itself vulnerable
with the rise of new ice cream brands, most specially from Presto Ice Cream,
which even had a copycat “Flavorite of the Month” line, and even earlier,
Silver Bell. In 1976, a Magnolia introduced a flanker brand, MAGNOLIA CARNIVAL
FROZEN CREEM.The
price brand consisted of 8 star flavor attractions: Super Strawberry, Jolly
Orange, Merry Mocha, Vanilla Fling, Nangka Fantasy, Mango A-Go-Go, Groovee Ube and
Chocolate Fiesta. It came in gallons, half-gallons and cups.
In the 1980s, Coney Island Scooping Stations were successfully
introduced in which one can enjoy even more affordable ice cream scoops in
cones, with a merry variety of flavors. Magnolia had to change its position, by
introducing its own scooped ice cream flavors thru its new line “Ice Cream
Internationale”, to go against Coney Island. The CARNIVAL brand was
discontinued, its flavors folded into Magnolia’s new scoop brand.
Would you believe that ANCHOR BUTTER has been around for over 130 years? Yes, the fresh,
creamy butter that has always been a favorite in the Philippines is the
creation of English farmer Henry Reynolds, who settled in New Zealand and established a dairy factory
at Pukekura in the 1880s with the help of American David Gemmel who also
provided him with a butter recipe.
Reynolds invested inmodern dairy machinery and turned out butter blocks made only from the
finest milk from Waikato.It was said
that he used an anchor as a logo after seeing an anchor tattoo on the arm of a
sailor who had been his regular supplier of milk. That was how ANCHOR BUTTER came to be in 13 November
1886
Initially , the factory managed to churn out only 45
kilograms of ANCHOR in one year, but
as his butter gained widespread popularityand recognition.It was even
awarded a gold medal at the Melbourne Exhibition in 1888. Business boomed and
he put up more factories—8 in all by 1896. He sold his products also in London
where he had also built a cool store there.
Reynolds sold his lucrative business to the New Zealand
Dairy Association in 1896, which was instrumental in the promotion of NZ of
dairy products in the United Kingdom.Up
to 90% of New Zealand’s dairy exports were being sold in UK, where ANCHOR becamea best-selling butter.
ANCHOR,“the leading brand of the choicest butter
from the loveliest dairy pastures in the world” and “fresh as a sea breeze,
pure as the sunshine”, was ready to expand globally, and was pushed into new
markets like America and Asia.
THE CREAM AND SUNSHINE BUTTER--ANCHOR! 1970
It was in the mid 1960s that ANCHOR BUTTER became available in the Philippines. As it was
distributed here, the ANCHOR had a
premium image and sold at a higher cost. It found a niche among the uppity
class, even at that time,Filipinos were
into margarines and pseudo-butter that were decidedly cheaper. It was sold in
blocks wrapped in paper, and cheaper ½ and ¼ pound blocksizes.
ANCHOR BUTTER print ads began appearing
in weekly magazine in 1966, but placements were intermittent. It was only in
the 1970s, when the local NZ Dairy distributor assigned ANCHOR to a full-fledge agency, J. Romero & Associates, which
created ANCHOR’s memorable TV
commercial.
THE PHILIPPINES' LARGEST SELLING BUTTER. 1970
It was a simple series of product application shots---a
pat of ANCHOR BUTTER sliding on a
hotcake, or on toast, interspersed with eating and reaction shots. What made
the commercial appealing was the jingle, sung by the chanteuse Nelda Navarro:
“Fresh, ANCHOR BUTTER
The cream and sunshine butter
Spread…taste…enjoy…
Fresh, ANCHOR BUTTER!”
True to its classy image,Englih-speaking radio and TV personality Leila Benitez, provided the
voice over, extolling the virtues of the pure, creamery New Zealand butter with
a diction so polished and perfect. The vintage 70s jingle would be resurrected
again in the 1987-88 campaign “Butters Better” campaign.
IT'S WORTH THEIR LOVE. ANCHOR Butter Ad, 1981.
ANCHOR BUTTER would have sporadic advertising on print and TV in the 1980s, especially as it became the No. 1 selling butter in the Philippines in 1981.
IT'S WORTH THEIR LOVE. ANCHOR Butter Ad, 1981.
In 2001, the New
Zealand Dairy Group which owned ANCHORmerged with Kiwi Co-operative in 2001 to
form Fonterra Co-operative in 2001. It is a New Zealand multinational dairy
co-operative owned by around 10,500 New Zealand farmers, the largest NZ company
that suppliesfor approximately 30% of
the world's dairy exports.
Fonterra, which, in Latin means “spring from the land”,
continues to market ANCHOR branded
dairy products in the Philippines today, that has come to include not just ANCHOR BUTTER, but also powdered milk,
cheese, and culinary butter.
In the mid 1970s, Fortune Tobacco Corporation of Lucio
Tan, ruled the Philippine cigarette market led by brands like More, Westpoint,
Camel, Salem, Champion and HOPE INTERNATIONALLUXURY CIGARETTES, sold as
mentholated sticks. The company was founded in 1966, with a decrepit plant made
of GI sheets and scrap lumber in Marikina, equipped with second hand machines.
It would grow to become one of the five largest privately-held cigarette
manufacturers in the world.
The success of their brands were largely due to their
massive tri-media advertising and promotions, which was handled by their
agency, J. Romero and Associates. There was a deliberate decision to give the
Fortune cigarette line an imported image, and in fact, most of the brands in
their early advertising, featured Caucasian talents.
HOPE CIGARETTES were advertised on the basis of their “mentholated
freshness”. The TVCs showed foreign talents engaged in such exhilarating Western
leisure like sky-diving, sky wake-boarding and speed boat racing to drive home
the “freshness” story. Sure enough, HOPE CIGARETTES became the largest luxury cigarette
in the country.
But what made even HOPE CIGARETTES more popular was a
jingle that had a genuine American feel courtesy of the singer who sounded like
Karen Carpenter—then one of the leading voices of the airwaves.
“There’s a light of HOPE…when you light a HOPE…there’s a
light of HOPE for you…”, went the jingle, sang soulfully by the singer—Claire
de la Fuente, then 21, who was assigned by composer George Canseco to sing the
jingle. It accompanied a TVC which aired in late 1979, that featured
paragliders soaring on yonder blue skies.
WATCH HOPE CIGARETTE TVC here:
The song took HOPE CIGARETTES to an all-time high in
terms of awareness and popularity, but it also catapulted the singer to fame. As
the campaign evolved, the jingle was rearranged, and, in subsequent versions,
popular lines from the lyrics (“there’s a light of hope) as well as the melody
would be integrated in future incarnations of the jingle.
In 2010, Philip Morris Philippines Manufacturing Inc. and
Fortune Tobacco created a new corporation called Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco
Corporation (PMFTC). HOPE CIGARETTES would continue to be a prized part of the
product portfolio in the next decades. HOPE would have a period of highs and
lows—the recent blow was the implementation of the reformed sin tax in January
2013 that jacked up its prices. But, for a well-known and well-loved
brand, always “there’s a light of hope” for
its future!
Hope Luxury Cigarettes TV Commercial 1980 (Digitally
Restored and Remastered Version, by Lian Las Pinas, published 14April 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43niYGJaE68
The widely-popular facial lotion—ESKINOL—was the creation
of Dr. Esperanza Castro-Palting, a pharmacist, who concocted the solution back
in 1945. She launched her ESKINOL MEDICATEDFACIAL SOLUTION with 200 bottles, which sold out quickly and
would be one of the most successful anti-pimple products in the history of the Philippine skin care
industry.
ESKINOL to advertise at the start of the 50s decade, with
small, black and White illustrated ads. In the 60s, it began featuring models
in its more polished ads.
Later it introduced more well-known models beginning
with beauty queen Pilar Pilapil in 1968. Thus began the “Eskinol Girl” print ad
series that would include Marianne de la Riva and Tina Revilla.
The most famous Eskinol Girl---due largely to her
memorable TV commercial—was Vilma Santos. Already a teen superstar, Vilma
starred in the ad where she introduced ESKINOL as her “cherished possession”, along
with her acting awards. The TVC was produced by ad agency, J. Romero &
Associates.
THAT ESKINOL GIRL, VILMA SANTOS, 1984
Her endorsement worked, and soon, the audience would also
make ESKINOL, their “cherished possession”—with the phrase becoming a byword,
and the commercial spoofed in comedy shows.
WATCH ESKINOL" Vilma" 1995 AD HERE:
Vilma would be under contract with Metro Drugs, then the
manufacturer of ESKINOL, for years, and would do more product advertising for
their no. 1 selling brand--including its line extensions-- until the 1990s.
A new, but short-lived San Miguel Corp. bottled softdrink was introduced in 1975, with much hoopla, accompanied by a TVC, a catchy jingle and a boy talent who would make waves years later in the music scene. New FRESS GUSTO was a root-beer drink that was set to rival Cosmos’ Sarsaparilla.
FRESS GUSTO BOTTLE, courtesy of Jorge E. Ferrer
Its assigned ad agency, J. Romero and Associates came up with a festive commercial inspired by a Mexican fiesta. As such, the production involved scores of “paisanos” celebrating the coming of new softdrink in their ‘pueblo’, led by a boy who enthuses—“Refreshing FRESS GUSTO, you’ll like it very mucho, come and get it, amigo!”.
The boy cast to appear in the commercial was no other than Gary Valenciano, who was just 11 when the ad was shot.
The Filipino-Puerto Rican talent was a La Salle schoolboy when he made his first TV appearance in that ad. His energy was already apparent in his performance back then. A choir singer, Valenciano would launch his showbiz career at age 19 in Kuh Ledesma concertss, and TV shows like ‘The Pilita and Jackie Show, and later in Germspesyal and Penthouse Live.
He had his first solo concert in April 1984 at the Araneta Coliseum, and made many hit recordings.
Today, the multi-awarded “Mr. Pure Energy” is still active in showbiz. He is married to Angeli Pangilinan with whom he has 3 children: Gabriel, Paolo and Kristiana Maria Mikaela.
As for FRESS GUSTO, we wish we could say the same. After the novelty of its launch died down, the product floundered until it was “killed” by SMC in just 2 years.
For over 90 years,, Magnolia has been synonymous with the finest name in ice cream. One of its most distinctive product line was the Flavor of the Month ice cream series which represented the dozen months of the calendar.
APRIL FLAVOR OF THE MONTH--MOCHA NUT, 1964
Introduced in March 1954, Magnolia’s Flavor of the Month (FOM) had Tru-Fruit Strawberry as its initial offering. Positioned as a superior ice cream with novel, exciting and various flavors throughout the year, FOM flavors range from fruit-based or confectionery-flavored ice cream with homegrown or imported ingredients.
JUNE FLAVOR OF THE MONTH--STRAWBERRY RIBBONETTE, 1961
The flavor names evoked mouth-watering and sometimes, exotic deliciousness—“Coffee Mangosteen”, “Ube-Nangka Fiesta”, “Corn ‘n Coco Flip”, “Vanilla Macaroon”, “Atis Glacé”.
MAY FLAVOR OF THE MONTH--RAINBOW PINEAPPLE, 1964
FOM’s advertising weaves through the texture of time and growth of the products themselves in terms of sales volume. Initial print advertising featured illustrated ice cream scoops in goblets, but eventually, photography was used to enhance appetite appeal.
In the 1970s,
FOM models were used to endorse the product, hence the “Miss Magnolia” search was hatched. The winner pitched the product with all her wholesome charm, in print, poster and TV commercials.
JULY FLAVOR OF THE MONTH---VANILLA MACAROON, 1979
“Magnolia, the finest name in ice cream, now presents the Ice Cream Flavor of the Month”—goes the jingle which opens the commercial and which then led to Miss Magnolia—“For March, it’s Tutti-Frutti!”, and then proceeds to describe the ingredients of the flavor.
MAY FLAVOR OF THE MONTH--GOLDEN NANGKA FIESTA, 1979
In the late 70s thru the early 80s, FOM ads, designed by its long-time agency J. Romero & Associates, latched on to seasonal themes and visuals—a wedding setting for June, kite-flying for May. Miss Magnolia was relegated as an inset picture in FOM ads, until she was eased out completely; the last Miss Magnolia quest was held in 1980.
The Magnolia’s FOM line was discontinued when SMC transferred its ice cream and dairy businesses to Magnolia-Nestlé Corp. In 1998, SMC withdrew from the joint venture with Nestlé and a "non-compete" clause barred it from the ice cream and milk businesses for five years. When the clause lapsed in 2004, SMC revived its ice cream through subsidiary, Magnolia, Inc., but not its FOM line.
