485. 1988 Creative Guild's Radio Ad of the Year, ROYAL TRU-ORANGE "Ganito Talaga Ang Buhay", RC 30s

KID STUFF. In 1988, the Radio Ad of the Year was part of a best-selling campaign that hepled endear a softdrink to its young Pinoy market in an unprecedented way. The softdrink was Royal Tru-Orange, a purebred Pinoy product of faithful old McCann Erickson client Coca-Cola Bottling Co. The campaign debuted in TV and introduced a character destined to be one of the immortals of local Philippine advertising, an amiable, wonderfully regular adolescent named Joey, played by a charismatic young La Sallite named RJ Ledesma.

The very first ad began with the jingle strain: “Ganito talaga ang buhay…”, and the first words of Joey’s lighthearted, causally delivered flashback narration which proved to be the durable and permanent opening salvo for a series of ads harping on the natural goodness of the product and how it fitted in, just as naturally, with the ups and downs of a wholesome young protagonist’s life.

The campaign extended into radio advertising , of which the winning “Mantika” was an involving example. As he McCann creative director Letty Javier recounts, she and copywriter Kathleen Mojica collaborated on a scenario straight from everyman’s childhood experience.

The TV ads have Joey mingling with friends, going to school, and eventually falling in love and maturing over a span of several memorable years. RJ Ledesma practically grew up under the consumer’s watchful eye.

The radio commercial however, harked back to those embarrassing, pre-pubescent moments where every boy would die before being caught running a sissy errand for mom  in this case, buying a bottle of cooking oil from the neighborhood sari-sari. A bottle of Royal Tru-Orange proves the ideal cover-up in the presence of Joey’s pal, Jake, who, it turns out, was set to buy something just as sissy—bagoong. The pals are on equal footing, such all too familiar chores and the very real feelings of apprehension and relief, and the viewer concludes, are part of growing up. It’s a good thing that the softdrink is around to provide company, or even security, in the face of the possible bad trips of this complicated age.

Even without the powerful TV visuals, “Mantika”  effortlessly  captured the awkwardness, as well as the little triumphs  of Filipino adolescence, and softdrinks guzzlers everywhere were invariable touched.

CREDITS:

CLIENT: Coca-Cola Bottling Co.

Product:  Royal Tru-Orange

AGENCY: McCann Erickson, Phils.

Executive Creative Director: Emily Abrera

Associate Creative Director: Letty Javier

Copywiter:  Kathleen Mojica

Producer: Jing Abellana

SOURCES: PERFECT 10: A Decade of Creativity in Philippine Advertising, published by the Creative Guild of the Philippines,1995. Written and edited by Butch Uy and Alya Honasan.

 

295. Pre-War ROYAL SOFT DRINKS Print Ads, San Miguel Brewery, 1925-1930s

San Miguel Brewery, which was founded back in 1889 by businessman Enrique María Barretto de Ycaza y Esteban, was primarily known for its lager beer, San Miguel Beer, and subsequent beer types like Cerveza Negra and Doble Bock.  Earning much success from beer production, San Miguel Brewery diversified its business by venturing into non-alcoholic drinks. 

The result was a line of carbonated flavored beverages known as ROYAL SOFT DRINKS, first produced in 1922 by its Royal Soft Drinks Plant at Gen. Solano, Manila. The ROYAL brand was carried by at least 20 flavor variants—from Strawberry, Lemon, Grape, Lime, Ginger Ale,Cream Soda, Root Beer, Singapore Sling, Mandarin, Soda Water, to Orangeade, Orange Squeeze, and its all-time favorite Tru-Orange. Initially, the first ROYAL beverages were packaged in stoneware bottles that were more appropriate for beer.

ROYAL SOFT DRINKS were first advertised in the leading Philippine dailies and magazines in the mid 1920s, with copy in both Spanish and English.  Consumer taste preference led to the dropping of some flavors from the line. It was clear though, that the very popular ROYAL TRU-ORANGE, led all other flavors and so was advertised separately beginning in the 1930s.

The war interrupted the production of ROYAL SOFT DRINKS, as the Japanese ook over the San Miguel Plant. The company regrouped pots-war and ROYAL TRU-ORANGE returned to the market in the 1950s, in the familiar clear bottle with a blue panel, carrying the brand name in the familiar “Royal” font that the product has used since its introduction. It was the leading orange flavored drink in the market of the 50s decade.

281. Celebrity Endorsers: THE MAGALONA FAMILY, various ads 1953-1980s

The MAGALONAS are a very popular showbiz family,  thanks largely to the love team of reel-and-real life sweethearts PANCHO MAGALONA and TITA DURAN, who captivated Filipino movie fans with their many hit movies.

 

PANCHO MAGALONA, FOR GLO-CO TONIX, 1953

PANCHO MAGALONA (Enrique Gayoso Magalona Jr., b. 22 Jan. 1923/d. Apr. 1998), was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, the son of former senator Enrique Magalona Sr. of Negros Occidental. His sister, Susan Magalona (who married Joaquin Elizalde) was a legendary beauty in her time. He began his film career in 1947, when he was cast in “Prima Donna”, backed by a recommendation from Dna. Aurora Quezon, no less. The film was headlined by  opera singer Jovita Fuentes

 

PANCHO MAGALONA FOR SAN MIGUEL BEER, 1957

His dashing mestizo looks sent many fans swooning, but his star shone brighter when, the next year, he was teamed up with a former child actress TITA DURAN. Their formidable love team was one of the most well-loved in showbiz, beginning in 1948, with the movie “Dahil Sa Iyo”.

PANCHO MAGALONA FOR LUCKY STRIKE CIGARETTES, 1965

The apex of  Pancho’s career was  a FAMAS Best Actor trophy for his 1958 film, “Hanggang sa Dulo ng Daigdig”. He even went on to bag Hollywood roles lin the Jeff Chandler starrer “Merrills’ Marauders” and “The Hook”, with no less than Kirk Douglas. His iconic role, however, was that of Simon, in the 1962 Jose Rizal movie,”El Filbusterismo”.

 

TITA DURAN FOR MENNEN BABY POWDER, 1959

Pancho’s other half, TITA DURAN (aka Tita Durango, b. 14 Jun,1929/ d. 2 Dec. 1991) started as a child actress,who as an 8-year old, was cast as an abandoned child in the  1936 melodrama, “ Awit ng mga Ulila”. Sampaguita Pictures signed her up in 1938, and put her in another tear-jerker film, “Inang Mahal”. The war intervened but she returned as a young woman to her former studio, Sampaguita Pictures, to support Carmen Rosales in “Gerilyera”, which led to light musical roles—and a durable partnership with PANCHO MAGALONA.

 

TITA DURAN FOR SCOTT'S EMULSION, 1970

The tandem were acclaimed for romance-musicals like “Always, Kay Ganda Mo” (1949), “Umaga Na Giliw,” “Kay Ganda Mo Neneng,” (1950)  “Sa Isang Sulyap Mo Tita,” and “Vod-A-Vil ”(1953) and  “Sa Isang Halik Mo, Pancho” (1954). So wildly popular was their love team that PANCHO and TITA were sought after as commercial models, even  after they had married and had started a family. Their children would include Francis, Susan, Vicky, Victor, Henry, Popeye , Malot, Maricar and Martin.  

WATCH FRANCIS MAGALONA

"Royal Tru Orange" TVC "Ito Ang Gusto Ko"here:

The MAGALONA legacy was continued by son FRANCIS MAGALONA (b. 4 Oct. 1964/6 Mar. 2009), who, as Francis M,  is recognized as the best and the most successful all-time Filipino rapper. He had monster hit songs like “Mga Kababayan Ko”, “Kaleidoscope World”, ”3 Stars and a Sun”,  and “Ito ang Gusto Ko”, which became the track of his well-remembered ROYAL TRU-ORANGE Commercials.  

WATCH FRANCIS MAGALONA RTO TVC HERE: 

On March 18, 2009, FRANCIS MAGALONA was recognized by the Philippine government with a posthumous Presidential Medal of Merit award, "for his musical and artistic brilliance, his deep faith in the Filipino and his sense of national pride that continue to inspire us."

SOURCES:

Pancho Magalona, Tita Duran, Francis Magalona:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancho_Magalona

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tita_Duran

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Magalona

Videos:

Francis Magalona Royal Tru Orange 2 Commercial Royal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHi6Zg_io6g, uploaded by

Francis Magalona, 22 May 2016

Francis Magalona RTO Commercial, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tipPV_45gkw, uploaded by ninjacool 69, 3 Mar. 2011

41. Kulang sa Ebidensya: THE ROYAL TRU-ORANGE-MIRINDA ORANGE WAR, 1976

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.

16. Where Are They Now? That RTO Boy "Joey": RJ LEDESMA Jr.

One of the most popular characters ever to have emerged from 1980s soda advertising was the irrepressible “Joey”, a prepubescent boy on the threshold of discovering puppy love, peer pressure and juvenile angst.

Charming, quick-thinking and with the ability to get out of potential teen troubles, Joey  was the main character in the very successful  Royal Tru-Orange campaign that ran from 1987-1989. The campaign included a series of acclaimed TVCs featuring developed under the theme—“Ganito Talaga Ang Buhay” (That’s How Life Really Is)---that struck a chord among young people who related to Joey’s issue-management style—from handling his pushy barkadas, attracting the attention of his crush (Jenny) and other rites-of-passage challenges.

youtube credits: RJ Ledesma channel

Joey was ably played by Rene “RJ” Ledesma Jr., eldest son of real estate entrepreneur Rene Locsin Ledesma and Fortune Aleta, honorary consul of Monaco. The animated RJ was cast by Amy Salona of McCann who found his naturally bubbly personality perfect for the RTO campaign (after all, the tagline was—“Ikaw at Ako...Natural!”). The launch commercial, "Kuya" was directed by no less than Lino Brocka, and it would be followed by many other Joey episodes including "Teacher's Pet" and "Truth or Consequence". 

youtube credit: manilabackintheday's channel

However,his performance in  the “Mantika” TVC version,  was what endeared RJ to the young softdrink audience—and at the 1988 Creative Ad of the Year Awards, he was named as one of the Top Ten Best Commercial Models of the Year. The Radio version of "Mantika" was named Radio Ad of the Year. 

RJ LEDESMA AS AN ENTREPRENEUR,
EVENTS HOST, COLUMNIST, BOOK AUTHOR.
Source: http://philippineweddingscenes.com/743/rj-ledesma/

After his commercial modeling days were over, RJ finished his schooling and was employed briefly at Procter and Gamble Philippines as a brand manager. He left that job to work on events management, and became a sought-after host. He never  actually left the limelight as he also flirted with acting on TV and in the movies (Lastikman, Habang May Buhay, Magkaribal, Bride for Rent) and hosted educational and lifestyle shows such as Math-tinik, Tahanang Pinoy, The Men’s Room, Best Men.

RJ LEDESMA AS A BOOK AUTHOR.
To date, Ledesma has 5 published books based on his newspaper column on The Philippine Star.
Source: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7970809792_175e97072e.jpg 

RJ finished his Masters of Science in Real Estate Development at the Maasachussets Institute of Technology and sit as the EVP of their family business, Ledesco Development Corporation.

He is also a well-known Philippine STAR columnist since 2006 (his column “Parallel Universe”,has become the basis of 5 best-selling books), magazine editor , events host and entrepreneur.

THE LEDESMA FAMILY.
Source: http://rjledesma.com/about-rj/

With his wife Vanessa Pastor-Ledesma, RJ founded the successful Mercato Centrale food market at The Fort and Soderno in Alabang. RJ and Vanessa have two children: Fortune, 3, and Rene III.

RJ Ledesma may be all these, but for teens growing up in the tumultuous ‘80s, he will be forever the young and cool Joey, who brought us along his RTO escapades and who remained on top and in control—kahit ganito talaga ang buhay!

CREDITS: ROYAL TRU-ORANGE

‘Ganito Talaga Ang Buhay”

Agency: McCann-Erickson Philippines

Advertiser: Royal Tru-Orange (Coca Cola Bottling Co.)

youtube credits: RJ Ledesma channel, manilabackintheday's channel