458. And you thought Purefoods only made meat products: PUREFOOD BANANA CATSUP, 1963

CATSUP, PLEASE!!!...and make it PUREFOODS! Print Ad, 1963

PUREFOODS is practically associated with processed meat products like hams and hotdogs, but Banana Catsup?

Actually, when PUREFOODS was incorporated on 31 October 1956, it expanded its meat portfolio to include other foods, like canned viands, bottled foods, fruit preserves,  and, yes—banana catsup! PUREFOODS BANANA CATSUP was produced and marketed in 1963. The product did not prosper as Ayala Corp, upon purchasing it in 1965, streamlined the product lines and dropped non-performing brands, banan catsup included,

Ayala Corporation acquired majority control in 1981, and in 2001, San Miguel Corp. became its new owner and was renamed San Miguel Purefoods.

453. PUREFOODS HAM: The Star of the Noche Buena Feast, Print and TV Ad

THE STAR OF THE NOCHE BUENA FEAST, 1986

The classic PUREFOODS HAM Christmas Print Ad, with a copy that exalts the ham products as the "Stars of the Noche Buena Feast". The flagship Purefoods Fiesta Ham is shown with other PF ham products: Pear-Shaped, Chicken Ham and Chinese Ham. The popular tagline that was used as early as the late 70s, was retained in subsequent holiday ads by the company's agency, Ace-Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising.

WATCH PUREFOODS HAM

 'STAR OF NOCHE BUENA" TV AD from 1979

SOURCES:

Purefoods Fiesta Ham Christmas, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqk-rO9GM_0, uploaed by Golden TV Commercials Group. 13 Nov. 2021

258. What’s For Noche Buena? PUREFOOD Christmas Ads ,1961-1979

PUREFOODS CHRISTMAS AD, 1965

PUREFOODS has a long history of bringing to the Filipino table, the finest food products especially for the Christmas season. 

THE STAR OF THE NOCHE BUENA FEAST, ca. 2013.

Though it is associated with meat products today, it also marketed brands in its early years like Hunt’s (pork & beans, tomato sauce)  and French’s (bottled mustard) and sold pickles, jams, and even soups under the PUREFOODS  name.

 

PUREFOODS GIFT BOX, 1961

But long before its Fiesta Ham became popular nationwide as the “Star of the Noche Buena”, PUREFOODS products have been pushed in its advertising as the perfect food ideas for the holiday season, as these vintage Christmas ads show.

 

PUREFOODS FIESTA HAM, 1979

246. Hunt for the Best: HUNT’S PORK & BEANS, 1958-1970 Ads

HUNT'S PORK & BEANS PRINT AD, 1970

HUNT’S, a name associated in the Philippines with Pork and Beans, began as the Hunt Bros. Fruit Packing Co., in Sebastopol, California, founded by brothers Joseph and William Hunt. It originally was a canning company that canned fruit and vegetables from California farms, but by 1941, it was into canned soups, fruits, vegetables and juices.

HUNT'S PORK & BEANS, CATSUP AND FRUIT COCKTAIL Omnibus Ad, 1958

In 1943, Norton Simon's Val Vita Food Products of Fullerton, California merged with the packing company, and the new business was incorporated as Hunt Food and Industries, Inc.  It also streamlined its operation by focusing on canned tomato products.

In fact, the first HUNT’S products that were distributed in the Philippines in the mid 1950s were HUNT’S Tomato Sauce, HUNT’S Tomato Catsup and HUNT’S Pork & Beans. HUNT’S Fruit Cocktail  was the only fruit-based canned product it sold here in the Philippines 1957. The print advertising carried the famous slogan “Hunt-- for the best”, which would be used for many years.

 

HUNT'S PORK & BEANS, PRINT AD, 1960

In 1956, a group of businessmen formed a company known as the Pure Foods Corporation, which manufactured processed meats and food products under the Pure Foods brand name. Ayala Corporation acquired substantial shares in the company in 1965. It also acquired the right to manufacture HUNT’S Pork & Beans, made from high quality Great Northern Beans and real pork bits covered in rich, thick, sweet tomato sauce. It was distributed by Atkins, Kroll & Co. Inc., along with HUNT’S Tomato Sauce and Catsup, but HUNT’S Pork & Beans would remain its best seller and flagship brand.

 

HUNT'S PORK & BANS, 1960

HUNT’S Pork & Beans became a sort of a favorite “emergency food”,  as it was affordable and could be eaten straight from the can. It had very little competition in its time, so it became the country’s largest-selling canned pork and beans for many years.

But the decades that followed saw major changes with the mother company, HUNT’S Food and Industries Inc. In 1960, it merged with Wesson Oil & Snowdrift Co. to become Hunt-Wesson Foods.  A series of mergers happened in through the 80s, until Hunt-Wesson, the company which included the Hunt's brands, was sold in 1990 to ConAgra Foods, a leading packaged food company of North America.

 

HUNT'S PORK & BEANS, 1960

Meanwhile, Pure Foods dropped HUNT’S as it began making its own brand of pork & beans in the early 1980s. Around 1984, Universal Robina Corp, came to an agreement with ConAgra Foods to manufacture and market HUNT’S Pork and Beans  in the Philippines under this 50-50 joint venture.

 

HUNT'S PORK & BEANS, PRINT AD 1969

More recently, in May 2017, Century Pacific Food, Inc., the country’s canned food-producing leader,  acquired the Philippine license  for HUNT’S Pork and Beans, from the URC group. The deal includes the right to manufacture, sell and distribute Hunt’s branded products in the Philippines from Hunt’s-URC. HUNT’S Pork & Beans continue to lord over the ready-to-eat canned beans product category, with a commanding 86% share of the market.

SOURCES:

 Hunt's-Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunt%27s

209. PUREFOODS HOTDOGS: Tender, Juicy, Tasty, Just Right to the Bite, 1980-81

PUREFOODS HOTDOGS, the country's largest-selling hotdog, is a well-loved brand with a long advertising history. It was made by PUREFOODS CORP., beginning in 1956, along with other processed meats.

Before it was acquired by San Miguel Corporation in 2001, PUREFOODS engaged agencies to do their advertising, particularly for their flagship brand, PUREFOODS HOTDOGS.

One memorable campaign launched in 1980 showed an animated hotdog running across the screen as active kids enjoyed their hotdog treats in various vignettes. The cartoon hotdog character sang a catchy jingle that praised his own merits:

“I’m Tender,Juicy, Tasty, that’s right to the bite…I’m you’re PUREFOODS HOTDOG!”

The happy, easy-to-sing jingle caught the fancy of TV viewers, kids and moms.  The “Tender, Juicy” campaign  became a successful one for PUREFOODS HOTDOGS, ensuring its hold on market leadership. On this spread are the print counterparts of the “Tender, Juicy” campaign.

PUREFOODS HOTDOGS would go on to have more memorable and award winning campaigns in the next few years, courtesy of the charming “Dear Diary” TVC (“Carlo sat beside me today…) and the trio of award-winning commercials featuring Purefoots hotshots Alvin Patrimonio, Jojo Lastimosa and Jerry Codiñera. "Tender, Juicy" became so associated with these hotdogs that they were, at one point, nicknamed "TJ Hotdogs", for many years. 

194. WHEN COLGATE WAS A SOAP BAR, AND HUNT’S WAS CANNED FRUIT COCKTAIL…

Just the mention of iconic brand names like COLGATE, PALMOLIVE, or PUREFOODS instantly conjure images of the products they represent: Toothpaste, Shampoo, Meat Products, respectively. But at one point in their brand history, the names were also applied by their companies to other products, now long gone. Here are some of them.

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1. COLGATE SOAP (1956)

Since its launch as a toothpaste brand in 1873, COLGATE has, at one point, become a generic name for toothpaste. It was the first to be packaged in tubes in 1896. Colgate is associated with oral hygiene with products like mouthwashes, toothbrushes, and dental floss. COLGATE Toothpaste was introduced in the Philippines in 1926 by the Palmolive Co, Philippines, which, in 1949, became Colgate-Palmolive Philippines.  Palmolive was known for its soap, so this is probably the reason that in 1956, COLGATE SOAP was introduced to the Philippine market. The idea didn’t catch on—maybe it conjured images of brushing your mouth with soap!

2. HUNT’S FRUIT COCKTAIL (1957)

HUNT’S is an iconic brand name, founded ay back in 1888 in California. It is well-known as a maker of preserved tomato products like sauce, paste, expanding into tomato-based pork and beans—which has become synonymous with the name. HUNT’S Pork and Beans is known by almost every Filipino in the 1950s as it was a staple “emergency” canned product. Not very many know that there was also a HUNT’S FRUIT COCKTAIL introduced in the Philippine in 1957. That’s because the original company, Hunt Bros. Fruit Packing Co.,(founded by Joseph and William Hunt) also canned fruits and vegetables, a business which boomed in California. The product did not really do well locally.

3. LADY’S CHOICE VIENNA SAUSAGE (1965)

California Manufacturing Company (CMC) was established in 1955, and immediately became well-known for its line of spreads that included jams and mayonnaise. LADY’S CHOICE was one of the company’s early brand successes in the Spreads Market. The first products were LADY’S CHOICE Jelly, Preserves, Mayonnaise, and by 1965, the line had expanded to include other food products like macaroni, spaghetti, and of all products—LADY’S CHOICE VIENNA SAUSAGE! Eventually, the canned sausages were phased out after CMC realized that the spreads (Mayonaisse, Salad Dressing, Sandwich Spread) were the Lady’s Choice brands that were bringing in the money. Unilever bought the company, along with Bestfoods in 2000.

4. PALMOLIVE POMADE (1955)

The world was introduced to PALMOLIVE in 1898, when the B. J. Johnson Soap Co., gave us a soap bar made of palm an olive oil, hence the brand name that endures to this day. PALMOLIVE Soap was known to Filipinos in the late 1920s when it was distributed in the Philippines by Palmolive Co. Phils. The soap brand even became more familiar after the merger with Colgate,  and  the PALMOLIVE line was soon extended to include talcum powder, shampoo, and male-oriented products. In the mid 1950s, the company launched PALMOLIVE POMADE—“the pomade for successful men”. There was also, briefly a PALMOLIVE  Skin and Hair Tonic, produced at the same time. Apparently, the brilliantine pomade and tonic did not last long, but PALMOLIVE as a soap and shampoo brand proved to be more enduring.

5. POND’S LIPS LIPSTICK (1960)

POND’S, has a rich, 150 year history as the maker of POND’S  Cold Cream, the world’s first moisturizer that does not require refrigeration, and POND’S Vanishing Cream, which made women’s skin soft, supple and dewy. In 1846, American pharmacist Theron Pond developed the Pond’s Extract, with a unique tea extract from witch hazel that helped restore skin damage below the surface. The face creams were introduced to the country when the POND’S Company merged in 1955 with the Chesebrough Manufacturing Co., which already had an extensive line-up of facial care products. By the 60s, POND’S was an established brand of cosmetic beauty products. An effort to extend the line to include make up products was attempted in 1960 with the launch of POND’S LIPS—lipsticks “for irresistible lips”. But  Filipinas resisted the idea, preferring the facial cream more instead,  so POND’S LIPS was discontinued.

6. PRESTO COFFEE (1962)

The taipan George Gokongwei founded the Consolidated Food Corporation in 1961. It is best known for producing Blend 45 that gave Nescafe and Café Puro a run for their money. Next, CFC launched its chocolate products, so the PRESTO brand. With treats like Nips, Manor House, Milky Bar, Apollo Chocolate Bars and Wafrets, PRESTO came to be associated with chocolates. There was even a PRESTO Cocoa and PRESTO Chocolate Drink. But PRESTO did not start as a name for chocolates—but as a coffee brand. In 1962, PRESTO COFFEE was launched by CFC as a complement to Blend 45. PRESTO COFFEE was retired when CFC decided to single-mindedly build the Blend 45 brand which was enjoying tremendous  market success, and make it their flagship brand. PRESTO later was used as a name for CFC’s ice cream brand, and today, it is acookie brand of Universal Robina Corp. (URC).

7. PURE FOODS JAM (1965)

Founded in 1956, PURE FOODS was put up in Mandaluyong by a group of enterpreneurs which first produced hams, bacons and hot dog sausages.  It is in the manufacture of quality meat products that PURE FOODS built its name. Over the years, however, it forayed into other food products—making catsup, chili con carne, bottled pickles—and in 1965, the company put out PURE FOODS JAMS. The bottled spreads included Mango, Pineapple, Guava, and Mango-Pineapple. Eventually, PURE FOODS stuck to making products it knew best, and today, it is the leading maker of quality meat products in the country.

120. PUREFOODS SMOKEY’S SAUSAGE WORLD: “The Sausage Surprise of your Life!” Jingle, 1982

SMOKEY'S TRAY LINER featured sausage trivia such as this, used at the Quad outlet, 1982

Since the 1960s, Pure Foods Corp. was a dominant meat products company whose hotdog, sausage and processed meat products were favorites on many Filipino tables. In the 1980s, the company decided to enter the fast-food industry through outlets that offered an assortment of hotdog-based products, from plain dogs to fancy sandwich preparations,  freshly prepared and sold at reasonable prices.

 

SMOKEY'S TRAY LINER, agency-designed for the 1st Quad outlet, 1982.

The first step was to create a name for the said fast food concept, and the task fell to Ace-Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising, formerly Ace-Compton. The Creative Team drew up a list of name studies that were whittled down to 3 Finalists—Steven’s, Sidney’s and SMOKEY’s.

 

SMOKEY'S TRAY LINER. Illustrated by  account executive, Dinky.

After the names were subjected to Focus Group Discussions, the winning name was chosen—SMOKEY’S. A product descriptor was appended to capture the wide variety of sausage offerings, and thus the full brand name became SMOKEY’S SAUSAGE WORLD.

 

SMOKEY'S TRAY LINER. 1982, "Hotdog with a  Healthy Purpose"

The first outlet of SMOKEY'S was opened on November 1982 at the Quad Car Park in Makati City—the first sausage parlor in the country. The launch was complemented with full advertising support. To get across the message that there’s more to sausages than just hotdogs---the agency creative came up with the thematic line—“Get the sausage surprise of your life!”.

LISTEN TO SMOKEY'S 1982 JINGLE HERE:

A jingle-based commercial  was produced that dramatized the surprising varieties— from the juiciest, tastiest to the fanciest and hottest hotdogs in town! While we do not have the commercial, we still have the jingle that was composed by award-winning jinglemaker, ms. Charo Unite and ably sung by Jakiri.

 

SMOKEY'S SAUSAGE TRIVIA: Secrets of Roman Victories, 1982

After its successful launch, Smokey's franchise became popular to independent business entrepreneurs in Metro Manila. By 1989, franchising was expanded to include provinces, thus making SMOKEY’s a national name. 

In 2002, Purefoods, the top meat products company was merged with the country's number one brewery corporation, San Miguel, giving birth to the new San Miguel-Pure Foods Corporation. 

EVOLUTION OF THE SMOKEY'S LOGO

Now simply known as SMOKEY’s, its carts and kiosks continue to give customers the most enjoyable and delightful sausage surprises of their lives.

CREDITS:

CLIENT: PURE FOODS CORP.

AGENCY: ACE-SAATCHI & SAATCHI ADVERTISING

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Mon Jimenez Jr.

COPYWRITER: Alex R. Castro

ART DIRECTOR: Buddy Luna

COMPOSER: Charo Unite

ARTIST: Jakiri

SOURCES:

Company Background: http://www.smokeys.com.ph/ourCompany.php

Smokey’s Cart Photo: http://franchisemanila.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/smokeys-food-cart-package.jpg

99. Brand Stories: STAR MARGARINE, Philippine Manufacturing Company (PMC)

STAR MARGARINE, in a new, more colorful air-tight packaging with a lid. 1955.

The company that would come to be known as the giant  Procter & Gamble PMC  started in 1908 as a partnership called the Manila Refining Company, with the purpose of manufacturing candles and fertilizer. In 1913, the company was incorporated into the Philippine Manufacturing Company (PMC), initially capitalized at Php One Thousand pesos, which was later increased to half a million.

 

AN EARLY STAR PRINT AD, late 40s.

 It shifted its objective to the manufacture and selling of coconut oil—as up to 1914, there was only one coconut oil mill operating in the country. Besides, edible oils in the Philippines came largely from pork lard and imported peanut oil from Hong Kong and Shanghai.

 

HAPPINESS IS A STAR. early 1951 print ad.

In 1917, PMC employed a chemist to develop edible products from coconut oil—and in 1919—PURICO was introduced to the market---the first vegetable shortening made in the Philippines. The reception to this coconut oil-based produt was overwhelming so PMC sought to produce another consumer food product.

 

TYPICAL B&W STAR PRINT AD,1950s.

It would take 12 years to introduce the first vegetable-base margarine to the country i—known then in 1931, and still now—as STAR MARGARINE. The creamy-rich flavored golden yellow margarine was fortified with Vitamins A and D, and came packaged in small, circular tins, branded with a . By the time Procter and Gamble of Cincinnati, Ohio acquired PMC in 1935, STAR MARGARINE had already a steady following.

 

NEW STAR VITAMINIZED WITH VIT. B1, AGAINST BERI-BERI. 1951

From the 1940s to the 50s,  STAR MARGARINE was actively pushed in the trade as well as through advertising,  a marketing tool that P&G always believed in. Black and white print ads in leading women’s and general family magazines were used to promote the healthy benefits of STAR, using the early slogan—“Stars for Flavors”. The use of STAR as filler for sandwiches or a spread for bibingka and puto was encouraged in the early print ads.

 

STAR DAILY ON RICE & BREAD TO PREVENT BERI-BERI, 1951

Then, in 1951, a major product development was introduced---the addition of Vitamin B1 in STAR. Vitamin B1 was touted as an effective ingredient against beri-beri which was a common affliction of Filipino children in the 50s.

 

GET YOUR DRIVE & ENERGY FROM STAR, 1960.

In the 1960s, STAR MARGARINE shifted to energy stories in its print ads, even targeting young adults in the brand’s quest for a broader appeal. It was only a decade later that P&G and its ad agency, Ace-Compton Advertising, re-looked at theVitamin B1 ingredient of STAR MARGARINE, which happened to be a growth-stimulating vitamin. Thus, the campaign,”Iba na’ng Matangkad!” (Being Tall Makes A Difference) was born. The famous tagline embodied the aspiration of the generally height-challenged Filipino to tower—and triumph--over the competition.

Early TV executions dramatized the advantage of being tall—hence a child basketball player performed better, and even mundane tasks as reaching for a fruit hanging from a tree branch was a breeze for a vertically-superior youngster. When statuesque Aurora Pijuan won Miss International 1970, she became the face of STAR. Her popular commercial showed her standing shoulder to shoulder with other international beauties, while we hear her voice-over: “Magaganda sila…Matatangkad..Buti, ako rin!”.

WATCH THIS 2008 STAR MARGARINE

"Iba Na'ng Matangkad-James Yap" TVC

The “Iba Na’ng Matangkad” campaign  endures to this day, even as P&G PMC sold STAR MARGARINE along with Dari Creme, to the Magnolia division of San Miguel Corporation in 1994. It has evolved into “Angat sa Height, Ang Future Mas Bright” (“Increased height, for a brighter future”). It’s pro-growth equity has also crossed over to other San Miguel-Purefoods brands like the Purefoods STAR Hotdogs and Purefoods STAR Corned Beef--which just goes to show that nothing succeeds like success.

96. PUREFOODS HOTDOGS “Codiñera, Patrimonio, Lastimosa” TVC SERIES, 1988

PHOTO FROM CNN SPORTSDESK. Pinterest: PBA, The Basketball Life

The trio of Purefoods commercials that made waves at the 1989 Philippine Advertising Congress creative competition  in Baguio City, featured the prized cage stars of the  PUREFOODS TJ Hotdogs basketball team: Jerry Codiñera, Alvin Patrimonio and Jojo Lastimosa.

The year before, the Purefoods Hotdogs season began in and was the first season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). They would win their first PBA title in 1990, with a lineup that included the 3 ace cagers.

 

ACTUAL TVC STORYBOARDS, autographed by the Purefoods cage stars.

PUREFOODS sought to capitalize on the immense popularity  of their basketball stars by directing its agency, Ace-Saatchi & Saatchi, to feature them in their corporate advertising, with the hotdogs as flagship brand. The big project was assigned to the newly-created Marketing Services Department of Ace-Saatchi & Saatchi, which prepared the storyboards for the Client.

 

Photos taken from the shooting of Purefoods "Codinera" TVC, Oct. 1988.

Jerry Codiñera, then a 22 year old center from University of the East, along with Alvin Patrimonio, was was a dominant presence in  the All-Filipino hardcourts, christened “Defense Minister”, for his prowess in the defensive end.

 For Codiñera, a dramatic storyboard that involved him playing basketball with a handicapped, crippled child was shot in a day in San Juan, in front of the Sto. Cristo Church.  It was effectively directed by young Vittorio “Vitt” Romero.

WATCH PUREFOODS "Codinera" TVC 60s HERE:

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Actual photos taken from the Purefoods "Patrimonio" TVC shoot.

Mapua stalwart Alvin Patrimonio, also 22, entered the PBA in 1988 and played his entire career with the Purefoods franchise which won five championships. He would go on to win 4 PBA Most Valuable Player awards.

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Patrimonio’s commercial showed him propping up the spirit of of a grade school basketball player after losing a game. The filming involved replicating a school fair with hundreds of kids and parents in attendance. It was a challenging shoot, compounded by the replacement of the original lead child actor on the set, but which was superbly directed by award-winning Maryo de los Reyes.

WATCH THE PUREFOODS"Patrimonio" TVC HERE:

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Jojo Lastimosa, then 24 years old, was a guard forward from University of San Jose Recoletos. “Jolas” came into the league as a member of the very first PUREFOODS TJ Hotdogs team and would be named PBA Rookie of the Year in 1988.

Lastimosa’s commercial was the first to be shot, which showed him helping a child practicing his shooting skills awkwardly amidst the taunts of  neighborhood bullies. The scene was filmed at the basketball court of Philam Homes in Quezon City, under the direction of film director Ismael Bernal. The ad is best remembered for exposing his sexy legs which he was known for at that time. (Unfortunately, a print of this ad has yet to surface).

 

Photos taken from the actual Sept. 22, 1988 shoot, at PhilAm Homes.

Each ad was scored with the same original jingle,”Slowly, But Surely”, but arranged differently to suit the varying moods of the one-minute commercial. The well-crafted ads were enthusiastically received and further bolstered the popularity of PUREFOODS hoop heroes. 

When the Araw Award season came, the 3 commercial won for Ace-Saatchi & Saatchi two Golds in the two categories they were entered in: TV Campaign (for the Codiñera, Lastimosa, Patrimonio TVCs) and Single Medium TV (for the Codiñera version)—a triumph that would put the agency in the lead as that year’s most creative.

 

PHOTO CREDITS: CNN SCREEN GRAB

CREDITS:

ADVERTISER: Purefoods Hotdogs   

AD AGENCY: Ace-Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising

ECD: Jaime F. Santiago / CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Alex R. Castro

COPYWRITERS: Finina Gatchalian-de Jesus, Abe Medenilla Jr., Cary Rueda, Vianne Perdigon

ART DIRECTOR: Ernie Sta. Ana

PRODUCERS: Paul Suarez, Jess Garcia, Carrie Villamor / CASTER: Flor Salanga

ACCOUNTS: Mila Marquez, Natasha Balce, Jeanna Vidamo

PRODUCTION HOUSE: FILMEX / DIRECTORS: Vitt Romero, Maryo de los Reyes, Ishmael Bernal

PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Butch Garcia / JINGLE MAKER: Lorie Ilustre
SINGER: Rene T. Martinez

SOURCES:
PF Jerry Codinera TVC, uploaded by Albert Marc Justine Carreon:  Jerry Codinera Purefoods TVC
PF Alvin Patrimonio TVC, uploaded by likmainutz 4477, idol by gvg

23. Where Are They Now?: CHANTAL UMALI of Purefoods "Goodbye Carlo!"

CHANTAL UMALI discovers young love in this charming 1994 Purefoods TV ad, that endeared the cute, but chubby moppet to an adoring TV audience. This ad was voted as one of the Top 25 Classic Ads at the 4A's 2001 PILAK Awards.

 In 1994, one of the most delightful commercials that went on air was a Purefoods TVC that departed from the usual “product-the-hero” mode. In fact, it was unlike any Purefoods Hotdogs ad seen before. The quiet little scene begins with KC, in her room, on her diary her chanced meeting with her crush, Carlo.

“Carlo sat beside me today…” the girl’s thought voice began. Carlos, it seemed, had notice her cute chubbiness—“I ate too much kasi eh”, she shyly admitted. She vowed to say goodbye to chocolates…goodbye to spaghetti...but couldn’t get herself to say goodbye to the tender, juicy, meaty deliciousness of Purefoods Hotdogs. She chose instead to bid good bye to…Carlo!

The charming girl who portrayed KC  was a Chantal Umali. Her commercial for that now-classic commercial placed in the finals of the 1994 Creative Guild TV Ad of the Year. In 2001, the commercial was chosen as one of the winners of the 4As PILAK (Pilipino Advertising Klasiks)  Awards, honoring the top 25 classic ads of the Philippines—mga patalastas na walang wagas.

After conquering advertising , Chantal briefly joined showbiz and became part of the cast of the popular teen oriented TV series TGIS.

She put her showbiz career behind to become a happy wife and mom. Not only that, she has transformed from being the cute, chubby girl that we know from that famous Purefoods commercial into a healthy and fit yoga practitioner.

She continues to find work in commercials, but what keeps her busy is her work at Yoga Philippines in Parañaque as a yoga fitness instructor. 

Her battle-with-the-bulge success story has inspired many, and we are sure that even the makers of Purefoods Hotdogs will say yes to her beautiful change!

CREDITS:

AGENCY: Lintas / CLIENT: Purefoods Corp.

Creative: Ompong Remigio / Producer: Cecille Labonete

Director: Mac Alejandre /