An unheralded singer stole the show at the 1st
ever Metro Manila Popular Music Festival (METROPOP) in 1978 when she sang the soaring “Narito
Ako", a composition of well-known composer, Nonong Pedero. MARICIRIS BERMONT,
the lovely curly-haired Filipino-French mestiza sang her heart to a commendable 3rd
place finish, after “Pagdating Mo” (Celeste Legaspi), and “Kay Ganda ng Ating
Musika” (Hajji Alejandro).
Bermont, then 30, was largely unknown, singing in limited
circles in events and muscals staged at ManilaMetropolitan Theater, Her triumph
signaled the start of a successful career in the mainstream Philippine music
industry. After her stint at Metropop, she once again represented the contry at
an international song festival in Puerto Rico, where she emerged as the Grand
Prize winner.
AT THE 1ST METROPOP FESTIVAL,with Nonong Pedero
She was sought after for television shows and was even
recruited for the movies, appearing in at least 2: “Dyesebel” (1978), “Nognog”
(1980).
In 1979, LA GERMANIA, leading maker of gas ranges, ovens
and other appliances, tapped the young mother (she was married to Gerardo C. Garcia +) to appear in a series of print
ads, with a TV version wher she sang the memorable “La Germania generates
love..” jingle. Beauty queen Consuelo Escalambre had appeared in an earlier,
similar version, singing and strumming a guitar.
The ad agency kept the same formula and soon,
guitar-playing Bermont was heard all over the airwaves, and seen in many versions
of LA GERMANIA print ads.
Eventually, the Bermonts became a born again Christian family in the
early 1980s. Maricris Bermont shifted to singing songs of faith and inspiration and, to this day, continues
to perform and make guest appearances in many Christian fellowship
events, TV and radio shows. Regine Velasquez would turn her 1978 hit song "Narito Ako", into another retro-bestseller in 1990. The Bermonts are a part of the Word Community (Wordcomm) of Makati; her son, is in fact, a pastor of that gospel-centered church.
LA GERMANIA VS. TECNOGAS, BERMONT (1979) VS. MORENO (1980), PRINT ADS
In history of Philippine advertising, there were the
so-called Cola Wars (Pepsi vs. Coke) Beauty Soap War (Lux vs. Camay) and Detergent
War (Tide vs. Breeze) –all brands outdoing each other in their quest for market
leadership through advertising and promotions initiatives.
Who would think that in the mid 70s thru the 80s, LA
GERMANIA and TECNOGAS would be caught up in a contentious fight to win market
dominance of the gas range market?Each
came up with campaigns, though not creatively significant, became memorable for
their catchy jingle with kitschy lyrics, memorable taglines and use of star
power.
LA GERMANIA AD, with Jimmy Fabregas as model, 1975
LA GERMANIA
GENERATES LOVE
LA GERMANIA is
a century-old brand, put up in 1909 by the Italian Francesco Bertazzoni, who
built the stoves after World War I, which evolved into gas stoves after 1953.
In 1958, an oven was added to the stove, and hundreds of thousands ofunits were sold internationally in 1959,
resulting in success worldwide.
LA GERMANIA DUAL OVEN, 1979 AD
LA GERMANIA stoves
and ranges made their appearance in the Philippines in early 1970s when General
Heat Corp. was given a license by La Germania, Italy to manufacture it complete
line of LA GERMANIA gas ranges.
LA GERMANIA WITH PANCHITO & CARIDAD SANCHEZ, 1977 AD
The first ads were nondescript, with actors Panchito and
Caridad Sanchez as celebrity endorsers, positioning the range as “completing
the dream of every housewife for a modern home”.
WATCH VILMA SANTOS LA GERMANIA TVC HERE:
Source: OPM MTV Video
Apparently, LA GERMANIA felt a it needed a bigger star so it contracted Vilma Santos to do a commercial which capitalized on the status of owning a LA GERMANIA gas range--"more than a matter a pride"--so goes the tagline.
MARICRIS BERMONT FOR LA GERMANIA, 1979 PRINT AD
In 1974, LA
GERMANIA came up with ads that heralded the outstanding features of the
range included its beautiful design, a big oven, and a windproof pilot flame.
The campaign line: “LA GERMANIA
GENERATES LOVE”, was used for the first time.
ANOTHER MARICRIS BERMONT AD, FOR LA GERMANIA,1979
The campaign took off when singer Maricris Bermont, fresh
from her victory at the Metro Pop Festival, starred in a commercial showing her
strumming a guitar while singing the jingle “LA GERMANIA GENERATES LOVE…generates cooking that generates joy..”.
The repetitive lyrics had a very simple tune, so it as no wonder that everybody
started playing it back, and became so popular, it was used in the next few
years, boosting Bermont’s career---as well as the sales of the gas range.
LA GERMANIA,'YOUNG BRIDE', 1978
At its peak, LA
GERMANIA was the no. 1 selling gas range,trusted by housewives than any other brand.
LOVE THE TECNOGAS TECHNIQUE, 1980
THE TECNOGAS
TECHNIQUE
Not to be outdone was TECNOGAS, created by the Italian Contini brothers, a brand that
came into fruition in the 1960s, with the help of the combined expertise of
chefs, engineers, designers and artists. A
TECNOGASrange was known for its strong
technical engineering and the magnificence of its art and design.
TECNOGAS TECHNIQUE TANDEM, 1979
TECNOGAS
matched the marketing efforts of LA
GERMANIA by coming up with a bandwagon campaign overlayed with an iconic jingle that praised the brand’s ”TECNOGAS Technique”.
JANET BORDON FOR TECNIGAS, 1979 AD
If LA GERMANIA claimed
to be the “no. 1 selling gas range”, TECNOGAS
was “no 1 in many ways”: it was a prestige brand, with 150 models to choose
from, with trendsetting features, at a wide price range. When LA GERMANIA introduced its “Dual Oven”, TECNOGAS came up with its “Double Oven
Electro-Gas Range” that was issued a patent by the Philippine Patent Office.
TECNOGAS VALENTINE AD, 1979
TECNOGAS also
had the combined pulling power of two top actresses of he late 70s—Alma Moreno
and Janet Bordon. And, if LA GERMANIA
was “trusted by more housewives”, “the women love the TECNOGAS Technique”.
WATCH THE TECNOFAN TVC WITH A VERSION
OF THE TECNOGAS TECHNIQUE JINGLE:
Source: Ness Masquito
The campaign was such a big hit that, and the jingle was so "stickable" that it was used in other products line, including its electric fan brand--Tecnofan--in 1982. The commercial featurd starlet Pia Moran.
ALMA MORENO, FOR TECNOGAS,1980
TECNOGAS business
dwindled in the 1990s, but the cooking appliance megabrand began making a
comebackin the Philippine market as it
has tapped a new local distributor for its products--Appstar Global
Distributors—which also now handles the sales and marketing of the Italian
brand.
SOURCES: VILMA SANTOS LA GERMANIA GAS RANGE, uploaded by OPM MTV VIDEO, 13 April 2017 TECNOFAN, uploaded by Ness Maquito, 25 february 2019, Philippine Clasic Commercial Advertisement 1980s
