In the Philippines, there’s no Christmas without a Christmas
bonus—and with Filipino consumers having extra money to spare, it has been their habit to splurge
on the latest appliances for their homes (the smart phones, tablets and laptops
are still half-a century away from the 60s decade). No wonder, consumer durable
advertisers become busier than usual during the holiday season, as proven by
these ads from 1961,
YSMAEL STEEL was already already a byword in 1961, with a
reputation for making high quality home appliances, especially those under the
trademark “Admiral”. It was founded by the prominent Ysmael family, and was helmed
by Felipe “Baby” Ysmael Jr.after his mother passed away.
In its heyday, the Ysmael Steel factory along
España Extension had a spacious lawn on which a gigantic Ysmael Steel robot stood like a
city landmark. It also fielded a winning basketball team called Ysmael Admirals,
which competed in the MICAA (Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic
Association), the forerunner of PBA.
Also an established appliance brand was RADIOWEALTH,
founded in 1930 Camarines-born Domingo M. Guevara who took up a correspondence
course to become a radio technician. He took his one-man radio repair shop and
transformed it into an appliance manufacturing giant that made radio phonos, TV
sets, and music cabinet entertainment systems.
On the other hand, AVEGON was the brainchild of Engr.
Antonio Nepouceno Avecilla of San Fernando.
In 1953, noting the burgeoning radio industry thanks to its rising use as an
entertainment and marketing medium, Avecilla teamed up with a friend, Joaquin
l. Gonzalez of Baliwag, and pooled their money together to form a fledgling
manufacturer and importer of electrical appliances called AVEGON INC., coined
from their 2 surnames, AVEcilla and GONzalez. Their enterprise became a huge
national success.
These are some of their ads that saw print during the
season of refrigerators, air conditioners, stereos, radio phonographs, and TV sets--Christmas!!
