The versatile actor RONALD REMY, was born in 1937 as Ronald
Kookooritchkin, of Filipino-Russian parentage. His father, Russian Army soldier Eremes, had fled the Bolshevik Revolution He was introduced in the movie “Condenado”,
under Sampaguita Pictures, then moved to Premiere Productions, which was the
studio of his wife, Lily Marquez or Dinah Jean Rogers-Remy, in real life.
Oftentimes, Remy was cast in a variety of roles—from a contrabida, a soldier of
war, to a costumed hero.
RONALD REMY, AT THE TOP OF HIS TV CAREER, IN 1975
Because of his facility with the English language, Remy appeared
in many American and U.S.-Filipino produced English films. Some of these
include movies that have now become cult classics like No Man is an Island (1962,
as Chico Torres), Blood is the Color of the Night (1964, as Dr. Marco), Flight
of the Sparrow (1967), and perhaps his best known film, The Longest Hundred
Miles (1967). As a wartime guerrilla, he co-starred with Hollywood stars like
Ricardo Montalban, Doug McClure, and Katherine Ross, who, in that same year,
earned an Oscar nomination for “The Graduate”.
(L) REMY in 'The Longest Hundred Miles"
The multi-talented Remy also tried directing, and his
chance came with the suspense-thriller film,“Zigzag” (1963), where he directed
actor George Nader and Sylvia Lawrence.
LA GERMANIA AD WITH THE REMYS, 1982
In the 70s, he reinvented himself as a sitcom actor,
appearing as husband of Rosa Rosal in the TV comedy series,“Yan Ang Misis Ko”. He also became a TV host
and emcee for “Lucky 13” Game Show on Channel 13. He and his wife became active leaders of a popular Born Again Christian Family movement, until his passing. The Remys have a daughter, Jackie
Kookooritchkin, who also did print ads, and appeared on TV and films, who has
also passed away in 2021.
SOURCES:
Ronald Remy info, wikipedia.org, Screen grabds from various Ronald Remy movies,
PEPSI COLA in the
Philippines has been around for over 70 years, and in the mid-1960s, launched
its own orange soda brand, MIRINDA.
Meant to compete against the more established Royal Tru-Orange, MIRINDA was
launched with its own campaign and promotional support, starting with the “More
Fun” print series in 1966.
Its early TV ads were canned commercials from the U.S.,
notably the “Orange Avalanche” , which featured thousands of oranges magically
appearing, dropping and bouncing
everywhere---to dramatize the “natural orangy-ness” of the soda.
WATCH MIRINDA'S 'SUNSHINE DRINK' TVC HERE:
(c/o Jojo Bailon, Voice on the 3rd)
It was only in 1978 that the brand had a local campaign hit
with the “SUNSHINE DRINK” campaign,
which reinforced the product’s 100% natural orange taste. This was visualized
by“slicing” a MIRINDA bottle and squeezing that half of the bottle on an orange
squeezer—as if it were a real orange. The voice-over announcer goes: “If you can slice it like an orange, squeeze it like
an orange, then you’ll discover the 100% natural orange taste of MIRINDA”.
Conceived and produced by J.Walter Thompson Phils., MIRINDA’s “SUNSHINE DRINK” campaign
endured through the early 1980s.
Pepsi Cola’s fruit-flavored soda—MIRINDA—was launched in
the mid 1960s in the Philippines and soon became a major player in the local
softdrink market.
Originally produced in Spain in 1959, MIRINDA came in
distinctive swirl bottles with a a bubbly green “M” emblazoned in front.
The
name MIRINDA was said to have been derived from the pidgin language, Esperanto,
which means, “wonderful”.
MIRINDA orange was the first flavor introduced, aimed at
Royal Tru-Orange, then the market leader in the category. There were also
cheaper price brands of orange sodas like Avenue and Ideal, but nothing beats
the fizz and fruiter, orangier flavors of MIRINDA and Royal.
Supported fully with the massive marketing resources of Pepsico,
MIRINDA made waves as it was positioned as a fun-flavored, thirst-quenching
drink for teens and young adults.
The
product was pushed full-color lifestyle ad series, that captured the interest of
the ‘60s Now Generation.
Though available in limited areas, MIRINDA was soon
giving a Royal Tru-Orange a run for its money. The “More Fun” campaign lasted
from 1966-61, and was replaced by “M-M-M-Mirinda” with the introduction of a short-lived
flavor variant, MIRINDA Grape. This campaign ran until 1968.
MIRINDA 'BADMINTON' PRINT AD, 1966
MIRINDA 'BOWLING' PRINT AD,1966
MIRINDA TV advertising in the late 1960ss included the
U.S. produced “Orange Avalanche” campaign that was used and aired in the
Philippines.
MIRINDA ' FISHING' PRINT AD, 1966
MIRINDA 'SWING' PRINT AD,1966
In 1976, a head-on collision with market leader Royal Tru-Orange
became national news when MIRINDA dared come out with an ad that claimed that
nearly half of Royal Tru-Orange drinkers preferred the taste of MIRINDA in a
blind taste test.
MIRINDA ORANGE, AND WITH NEW GRAPE FLAVOR, 1967
In a time when
comparative advertising wasn’t allowed (the mere mention of a competitor’s name
in an ad was subject to strict regulation), MIRINDA’s move was considered
unethical, and the claim insufficiently backed. The MIRINDA ad was banned, but
Pepsico retaliated with a nationwide taste challenge to determine which tasted
better— “Let your taste decide!”, was MIRINDA’s battlecry.
MIRINDA ORANGE & GRAPE THERMOMETER, 1967 STORE PREMIUM
MIRINDA now represents the majority of Mirinda sales
worldwide following a major repositioning of the brand towards that flavor in
the early 1990s. It is still being sold in the Philippines in PET bottles and
cans, though not as briskly as before with the advent of similar juice drinks,
twisters, flavored tea and powdered orange drinks. Recently, a MIRINDA Fun Mix
powder drink was introduced in 2018.
In 1975, Pepsi went worldwide with its ‘Have A Pepsi Day”
campaign, and the Philippines adapted the campaign using a massive tri-media
campaign that included a series of print ads showing young people in all kinds
of everyday situations. The print ads encouraged Pepsi drinkers to “make each
day a celebration”—whatever the moment was—a fun day at the carnival…a break
from classes..walking hand in hand…or just playing a favorite sport.
The “Tennis Game” print ad version featured a gang of
friends having a friendly banter after a brisk set. One of the talents was
a smiling, gangly, curly-haired teen sitting on the top bleacher, holding a
racket and a half-empty bottle of Pepsi. He would go on from doing commercial modeling
to acting in top-rated TV telenovelas and award-winning films just a few years
after his Pepsi appearance.
CORVEAU as a movie actor.
RONALD CORVEAU (b.
1956, as Ronald Maquilan Corveau) found national fame when he was cast to
portray Carding Medel in the 1977 TV show Gulong ng Palad. He starred alongside
Marianne de la Riva (as Luisa) in the telenovela that was based on a DZRH radio
serye created by the late Lina Flor-Trinidad and written for TV by her sister Loida F. Viriña.
The soap became a monster hit for Channel 2, running from 1977-1985, and made Ronald Corveau into a household name—and
a hot property.
GULONG NG PALAD CAST. Marianne de la Riva, Ronald Corveau and Caridad Sanchez. Photo courtesy of Isidra Reyes
Soon, Corveau was tapped for the movies, first in “Beerhouse” (1977) and then in the
award-winning “Atsay”, opposite Nora Aunor, which won Best Film at the 1978
Metro Manila FilmFest. Subsequently, Corveau did “Si Mahal, Nakialam Na Naman”—again
with Aunor, followed by “Kadete” and “Mahal
Kong Taksil”, (1979)., “Biktima”, “Apat
na Maria” (1980) and "Gabriela" and “Limang Daliri ng Diyos” (1989)
His marriage with “Gulong” co-star Marianne de la Riva produced
two daughters, Ella and Louie. They separated after a few years, when Corveau
left for the U.S. De La Riva has also remarried and is settled in New Jersey as
a doctor’s wife. She and Corveau, who is a contractor in the U.S., remain in
good terms.
PHOTO SOURCES:
Isidra Reyes, for the 'Gulong ng Palad"p B&W photo
7 UP was introduced in the mid 50s in the Philippine by
Pepsi-Cola Bottlers Philippines. The
name, they say, was derived from its “7 natural flavors blendedinto a savory, flavory drink with a real wallop.” Predictably, 7 UP was advertised as a
pick-upper, with crisp lemon-lime flavor that refreshes and lifts spirits up.
It targetted the active family and came up with the 1952 slogan “The Fresh Up Family Drink”, to replace the earlier “You Like It, It Likes
You”. Later variations were also used like
“Fresh Up with 7 UP”,”Nothing Does it Like 7 UP”. Advertising for 7 UP began in
the Philippines in 1955, with print ads that simply copied the original U.S.
version.
7 UP was drank by older people because they believe it was
less gassy than cola drinks, and therefore less stomach-upsetting. This
‘medicinal’ image was considered uncool by the younger set. Not even the teen
campaign the product launched in the sixties—and which was adapted in the
Philippines-- could make its image more contemporary.
Then in 1967, its advertising agency, J. Walter Thompson conceived
of a campaign that celebrated the uniqueness of 7 UP against cola-based drinks.
7 UP 'UNCOLA' LOCAL PRINT AD, 1970
The UNCOLA Campaign sought to promote the idea of the fact that the product is
not made from cola nuts, a differentiating angle that resonated with young
people at the threshold of the so-called
“Me decade”, which described a new
attitude of Americans towards individualism.
The UNCOLA Campaign was rolled out in 1968 and ran through
the 70s in the U.S. with many memorable ads for TV and print. The campaign
doubled sales for the product and by 1972, 7 UP ranked as the third largest
soda marketer behind Coke and Pepsi.
THE UNCOLA, drawn in psychedelic style, 1970
The UNCOLA Campaign was adapted in many countries, including
the Philippines. The local print ads which first came out in 1970 were similar
to those produced in the U.S. which started running them a year earlier.
UNCOLA Print Series, 1970
The eye-popping executions capitalized on the psychedelia
craze, with fantastic, graphic illustrations rendered in bright, vibrant
colors-- an artistic style popularized by the artist Peter Max.
7 UP UNCOLA-SPONSORED DANCE EVENT, 1972.
There were pop art poster giveaways, UNCOLA upside down glasses, and psychedelic dance
parties that magnified the campaign in the stores and on-ground.
Suddenly, 7 UP was a
hip, with-it brand again. The UNCOLA TV commercials aired here included two
versions, one of which became a global hit, and made a star out of its
presenter. The JWT-produced TV commercial--which was aired on Philippine TV in 1972-- starred actor, director and choreographer Geoffrey
Holder as a Caribbean planter explaining the difference between cola nuts and
7 UP's "uncola nuts," lemon and lime.
WATCH 7 UP's 'UNCOLA" TVC HERE:
Holder’s performance was so well-remembered that he was
signed on to do more versions of the same campaign.
Another UNCOLA Ad was a product-the-hero ad scored with a
jingle noted for its sheer lyrical strength. The jingle wasn’t just selling fizzy beverages twelve ounces at
a time, it was singing praises to a way of life that challenged all
conventions.
The 7 UP UNCOLA Campaign had a good run, but the succeeding
initiatives—including its Fido Dido “Cool to be Clear” ad, did not do much to
stop the increase of the share of its primary competitor—Sprite—throughout the
‘90s. By 1998, the 7 UP bottle underwent a design face-lift, which dropped the term
"Uncola" from the soda's packaging.
And there goes a piece of advertising history.
SOURCES: From Uncool to Uncola: The Fabulous Psychedelic 7 UP Ads 1969-1973. http://flashbak.com/when-7up-was-cool-the-uncola-ad-campaign-1969-1973-27578/ The Uncola's Unclever Ad Campaign: http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1998/12/07/252125/index.htm Uncola: The Video History of a 7 UP Breakthrough Ad http://adage.com/article/news/uncola-video-history-a-7up-breakthrough-ad/116484/ youtube, 7UP "THE UNCOLA", uploaded by videoblast, 26 November 2008.
THE CLAIM THAT STARTED IT ALL. Launched in 1965, Royal Tru-Orange's
"Yung May Pulp Bits Syempre" campaign ran successfully for over a decade,
until Mirinda dared to challenge its taste superiority promise.
Yes, it was MIRINDA who fired the first salvo and it was a deadringer.
Yes, MIRINDA claimed in a full page ad in the local dailies that the majority of TRU-ORANGE drinkers confessed their love, devotion and surrender to MIRINDA.
THE CONTROVERSIAL MIRINDA FULL PAGE AD
named its primary competitor--RTO--and pointed out its weakness in
a taste challenge conducted by Consumer Pulse. 1976.
Yes, the conspiracy was hatched by the Pepsi Cola Bottling Company of the Philippines, bottlers of MIRINDA; Ace Compton, the agency which handles the MIRINDA account; and Consumer Pulse, the research firm which supervised the taste test.
No, TRU-ORANGE retorted. The MIRINDA ad spoke with forked tongue. And so San Miguel Corporation, producer of ROYAL TRU-ORANGE brought their case and wounded pride to the attention of the Philippine Board of Advertisers.
Yes, the Philippine Board of Advertisers said, we must stop this MIRINDA aggression until MIRINDA and the gang can substantiate their claim by furnishing us the raw data of Consumer Pulse.
ROYAL TRU-ORANGE RESPONSE AD. RTO came up with its own defensive
print ad that encouraged consumers to conduct their own taste-test, while the
case against Mirinda was ongoing at the Philippine Board of Advertising. 1976.
No, Consumer Pulse volleyed. We will only show our findings to the PBA fathers only if the examination will be made in our premises.
Yes, other implications arose, Ace-Compton claimed that a butter ad appeared on TV employing the same methods as MIRINDA and got away with it. So why the fuss about our ad.
Yes, by supreme coincidence, the alleged inferior butter being put down was under the account of Ace Compton. Something was fishy.
No, the PBA boomed. The butter as was not in anyway the same or similar to the softdrink ad. But from now on, the PBA will prohibit comparative advertising that directly and specifically mentions its competitor.
Yes, the PBA also pored through the raw data of Consumer Pulse and declared it insubstantial.
Yes, the MIRINDA was banned from all media.
Yes, TRU-ORANGE and the whole San Miguel Corporation were about to drink champagne to their victory when…
MIRINDA'S REVISED CHALLENGE AD. The direct reference to
Royal Tru-Orange was dropped; instead, it was referred to as "the leading
orange soft drink". It didn't matter--the damage has been done.
Yes, MIRINDA came out again with another ad that complied with the PBA rules and extended their Mirinda Challenge to malignant limits.
No, there’s no telling what ROYAL TRU-ORANGE will do in the next few days to get even.
But it sure is getting to be a lovely advertising war.
This article originally appeared on ERMITA, vol. 1, no. 9, October 1976 issue.
