“POUFF
PARISIENNE” by Panching Servando of Ben Farrales Glamour House. The August
creation puts a twist on the French pouff by flattening the hair on the sides
and back exposing the ears. The model is Ines Villareal-Regala.
One of the
earliest haircare brands to forge a strategic alliance with beauty institutions
and the leading hairdressers in the country was HELENE CURTIS, In the early
1960s the company began to build on the success of its SUAVE brand, introducing
shampoos, creme rinses, and wave sets. To promote it, SUAVE was promoted by beauty
salon operators and the country’s leading hairstylists, in tie-up ads that
bannered new hairstyles and the latest coiffure craze for them month, through a
“creation series” launched in 1961 through 1962. The following 2-color ads which
featured name models, were part of the series that ran in women’s magazines
nationwide.
“PAPILLON”
by Beny Baluyot of Beny’s Beauty Salon. A new creation for February that
flaunts soft-looking hair for a chic, casual style that women will love.
“BOB
PARISIENNE” by the Kayumanggi Styling Group, This shimmering hairstyle creation
for December with lovely highlights features model Mrs. Caroline Manning.
“THE
BELL” by Moises Sia of Del Val’s Beauty Salon. Classically-designed hair highlighted by sparkling gleams created
by Suave for a radiant effect, without looking oily.
SUAVE,
introduced in 1937 by Helene Curtis, is one of the most successful and enduring
brand of the company and is still available to this day. Now with Unilever,
SUAVE as a brand represents more than 100 products including shampoo, lotions,
soaps and deodorant, used in United States, Argentina, Brazil,Mexico and
Canada.
Chanteuse EVA EUGENIO (b. 22 Jan. 1946), was a successful
pop singer dubbed as one of the country’s "Jukebox Queens", so called
because of their hit songs that were popularized via jukeboxes, that were music
entertainment staples for the masses. The pay-for-play jukeboxes were once available
in places of leisure and convergence like in billiard and pool halls, beer gardens,
restaurants, cabarets and downtown establishments.
Jukebox Queen EVA EUGENIO ALBUM COVER
Eugenio shared the title with Claire dela
Fuente and Imelda Papin, singing melodramatic songs that spoke of anguished
love, troubled relationships, and broken feelings---themes that resonated with
the common tao. They were all sung in similar styles, with a lot of angst,
sensuality, verging on tearful sentimentality.
The titles of her hit songs, recorded under Polyeast
Records, conveyed it all: “Tukso”, a
massive hit in 1979, “Pag-ibig na Walang Dangal”, “Kaligayahang Pansamantala”,
“Gulong ng Palad)”(1980), “Kasalanan Ba?”, “Umaga Na, Wala Ka Pa” (1981)
and “Uhaw” (1982).
At her peak, she made the rounds of top TV shows, top clubs and hotels, out-of-town
engagements nationwide, and was a much-sought after performer in the Asian
entertainment circuit. She even ventured into movies and even made one based in
her song: “Hoy,Tukso! Layuna Mo Ako”, ” with Joseph Estrada.
Eugenio’s popularity among the masses was not lost among advertisers. Legendary adman MinyongOrdoñez of Basic Advertising, chose her to resurrect a dying pomade brand THREE FLOWERS BRILLIANTINE, that has been around in the Philippines since the 1950s. He created the theme “Lalaking Disente” (man of decency), which very much described the image of a Filipino gentleman—handsome, well-groomed, polished, a true cavalier—qualities that are fast disappearing in these modern times.
WATCH 3 FLOWERS "LALAKING DISENTE" TVC HERE:
The quick fix for that of course, is the tried and tested
THREE FLOWERS BRILLIANTINE. It was Eugenio who sang a paean to this man
who has captured her heart at first sight--“hindi ko mailihim ang damdaming
sa aking dibdib, na nagsasabing ika’y mahalin…Lalaking Disente. Eugenio sang
it so intensely, moving men to rediscover the old brand and revert back to
being the gentlemen that they were.
TOSHIBA WITH EVE EUGENIO, 1983
THREE FLOWERS BRILLIANTINE was Eugenio’s most
renown endorsement project, but it wasn’t the last. Four years after, she
bagged another lucrative deal with TOSHIBA, a leading Japanese electronic
company that specialized in audio and video appliances like Bombeat, Beta and
VCRs. She did a local print campaign and had the chance to go to Japan and
promote the TOSHIBA brand in malls and trade shows.
EVA IN A TOSHIBA EVENT IN JAPAN
Today, EVA EUGENIO continues to accept bookings for
shows, and ocassionally appear as guests on TV noontime shows, and in game
shows, the most recent of which was in “I Can See Your Voice PH”, a mystery
music contest franchise.
A CONCEPT BOARD TO EXPLAIN THE BENCH/FIX ACTIVATION IDEA,
The BENCH FIX Styling Salons were opened in 2002 by the lifestyle company BENCH, and their initial success spawned hair grooming products, the first of which was the BENCH FIX HAIRSTYLING STICK.
The creative team of Jimenez D'Arcy, the agency assigned to BENCH promotions, conceived of an idea to launch the product and introduce styling possibilities. The team, led by Creative Director Don Sevilla III, came up with a do-it-yourself demo using a whiteboard marker attached to the product case. A whiteboard poster was placed in Bench FIX Salons.
Commercial hair dye products were known in the
Philippines as early as the 1920s, but the one brand that was most popular was
BIGEN Hair Dye.
BIGEN was effective, economical and easy to use—all you
need to do is to mix the powder with water, and it’s ready to use to put the black
back in your hair. Since BIGEN does not contain hydrogen peroxide, it is also
safe and gentle to the hair.
BIGEN, 1967 Ad
BIGEN was created by an unknown Japanese man who concocted
the powder hair dye in Nagoya, back in 1905. Eventually, Hoyu Co. Ltd. took over
its manufacture. Water-activated. BIGEN 美源, which means
"origin of beauty,' became Japan's #1* hair color brand for men and women,
and was recognized as an iconic brand in the 1950s.
BIGEN, 1966 Ad
In the early 60s, BIGEN became available in the
Philippines, and quickly became a dominant name in the hair dye segment of the
haircare market. BIGENcame in small
bottled in a carton package with the graphics of a Japanese woman in kimono—an
enduring image for decades, and an iconic part of the brand’s long history.
BIGEN Shampoo-in Hair Color, 1974
The company made modest advertising investments, coming
out with small, black and white small ads accompanied with illustrations and
stock photographs of Japanese women,
From basic hair dyes, BIGEN addedhair coloring products for men and women in the
1970s. This was made possible when BICO Industries, based in Valenzuela,
Bulacan acquired the license from Hoyu Co. Ltd., to manufacture BIGEN products
localy, under supervision by the Japanese company.
By 1975, the BIGEN product line in the Philippines
included BIGEN Hair Color for women, in bottles; BIGEN Hair Pencils for
retouching eyebrows, BIGEN Jade Shampoo, BIGEN Pink and Blue Lotion, BIGEN Medicated
Pomade, and BIGEN Pure Vaseline medicated pomade in bottles and cans.
BIGEN Omnibus Product Ad, 1975
From the 60s thru the 70s, the company made modest
advertising investments, coming out with small, black and white small ads
accompanied with illustrations and stock photographs of Japanese women, as seen
on this spread In the 2000s, BIGEN began advertising on TV,
WATCH BIGEN TVC from 2017 HERE:
The brand continues to be available in the Philipines,
represented to day by BIGEN Philippines, which oversees its sale, marketing and
promotions. BIGEN products are available online and in traditional sales
outlets such as drugstore, cosmetic, and department stores.
Old school barber shops are becoming trendier these
days—specializing in timeless haircuts styles done in the old fashioned way:
pompadours, fades, tapers, bowl cut, crew cut, French crop, side part and slick
backs. Suddenly, more male hair care products in vintage-style packaging are
appearing in the market to appeal to this fresher, neater styles of the past.
One such stuff men put on their hair as part of their
grroming regimen during the Magsaysay years was VITALIS SOLID BRILLIANTINE.,
made by Metro Laboratories Inc., under license from Bristol-Myers Co., New
York, U.S. VITALIS was originally a hair tonic brand that was produced
in the 1940s, but since hair lotion was not popular in the local market, the VITALIS
name was appended to a pomade brand that were more in use by Filipino menfolk.
When launched, VITALIS was touted as the most exciting hair preparation
since the ordinary pomade—holding hair better, thus keeping a man well-groomed
all day.
Even the name VITALIS, however, could not hold the
competitors at bay—like Vaseline and Brylcreem. Besides, there were cheaper
pomades entrenched in the market—X-7 , Black Panther, Robin Hood, Three
Flowers. The VITALIS brand still exists in the online market as VITALIS
Hair Tonic, and is produced today by Idelle Labs in the U.S.
During the 1960s, local cosmetic and perfumery companies began
making their presence felt in the market, alongside foreign companies, mostly
from Japan. One such company was Peter & Co., in Quezon City, which started
out making cosmetics, perfumes and toiletry products.
AN OLD GLASS JAR OF SUN GOLD POMADE
Apparently, Peter & Co, enjoyed a measure of success in
that period with their SUN GOLD brand
of pomade, brilliantine, and perfume. The company regularly adevryised its SUN GOLD products in magazines from the
1960s-thru the 70s.
SUN GOLD POMADE AD, 1972
SUN GOLD Medicated
Pomade turned out to be their flagship brand. Packaged in attractive wide-mouth clear glass jars with signature
ridges, the medicated pomade was known for its pleasing fragrance. In fact, SUN GOLD Medicated Pomade enjoyed a long stay in the market, adding irresistible sparkle to personalities” for decades. It allowed the company to stay in operations to this day
SUN GOLD POMADE, Then (1972) and Now (2022)
SUN GOLD Medicated
Pomade is available on online sites today, like Lazada and Shopee
Philippines in 25 g. plastic jars. It is described in the selling sites as “a
perfumed pomade for our lolos”, that is
still used by loyal customers for their hair grooming needs.
PICTURE SOURCE: Sun Gold in plastic jar: Shopee Phils.
SUAVE Print Ad, 1969, featuring Terry Aldeguer of the Aldeguer Sisters
Helene Curtis was a company formed from National Industries, which had originally produced personal care products, but which had to shift to making products for the war efforts. After World War II, National Industries resumed making personal care products and was renamed Helene Curtis, after the first names of partner Louis Stein's wife and son.
The first products to come out from the Helene Curtis plant was SUAVE Hairdressing, in Crème and Lotion, which was launched for general retail sale, and proved to be a sales success.
It went on to create more revolutionary products like hairsprays, with the brand name, Spraynet, spray-on deodorant Stopette, and a dandruff shampoo called Enden.
Hairdresser Nomer Pabilonia for SUAVE. Model: Conchitina Sevilla
But in the 1960s, Helene Curtis would eventually go back to build on the success of its SUAVE brand, introducing shampoos, creme rinses, and wave sets.
As early as the 1960, Helene Curtis SUAVE was marketed in the Philippines, and was actively pushed with regular advertising campaigns.
The earliest examples show SUAVE print ads featuring well-known fashion icons modeling the latest styles (“The Bob”, “The Bell”) created by leading hairdressers of the day, like Nomer Pabilonia and Moises Sia, who readily endorsed the product.
Hairdresser Moises Sia for SUAVE, 1960 Print Ad
SUAVE had a great run in the Philippines and in the 1980s, it was repackaged in cost-efficient plastic with caps, as hair control products became more popular. Today, the SUAVE brand is owned by Unilever, and has expanded to include hair grooming essentials for men and women, like gels, shampoos, mousse, aerosol anti-frizz and other hair-control products.
Part II of some of
the most amusing, unusual, and sometimes, weird-sounding names ever coined for
real products, that were available in the Philippines –from the 1930s to the
1960s.
***********
BARRY’S TRICOPHEROUS, Brand name for: Hair Tonic against baldness, thinning hair and
dandruff
BARRY’S TRICOPHEROUS was introduced in the late 1840s by
"professor" and former New York wig-maker, Alexander C. Barry. The
term “tricopherous” aloneconjures many
images—either a serious, incurable disease or the name of an extinct dinosaur.
But despite its name, the product did surprisingly well.Barry exhorted his customers: “Stimulate the
skin to healthful action with the Tricopherous, and the torpid vessels, recovering
their activity, will annihilate the disease.” Apparently, that worked for many
satisfied men. The product contains 97% alcohol, 1.5% castor oil, and 1%
tincture of cantharides (Spanish fly), which supposedly help stimulate the scalp’s
blood supply. BARRY’S TRICOPHEROUS is
still being produced and sold today by Lanman & Kemp-Barclay & Co.
GALISATUM: Brand Name for: Skin
Ointment
GALISATUM Lunas Galis was a skin ointment developed by
Dr. Carlos Jahrling of Botica Sta. Cruz in the 1930s. Dr. Jahrling was a German
pharmacist from Offenbach who opened his own business in Manila.“Galis” was an
all-encompassing localterm for any skin
conditions. “-Atum” was a suffix that wascommonly used in pharmaceutical productslike “mentholatum”and “petrolatum”. GALISATUM with Lunas Galis sounds more like an
incantation or a Latin spell to improve skin condition, especially when you say
it thrice. But it does relieves prickly
heat, chafing, pimples, mange, eczema, dandruff andmaladies with mysterious names like Dhobie’s
Itch (another term for Jock’s Itch) and Hongkong Foot (a slang for athlete’s
foot), as this ad from 1936 claims.
GAYTOP: Brand Name for:
Concentrated Hairdressing and Conditioner
Before gay language became more elaborate, it was okay to
for Helene Curtis to dub its latest hair conditioner product. GAYTOP. Nothing wrong with that--in the late
1950s. Today, GAYTOP sounds so suggestive with its homo-erotic undertones; it seems to reveal one’s orientation and preferred sexual
role—especially when talked about in a beauty parlor! Indeed, if this product
were around today, it will be a “brand that dares not speak its name”.
JAGGING JAGGING: Brand Name
for: Face Powder and Pomade
There really is no reason why acosmetic product guaranteed to make you
“lovely to look at” be named JAGGING JAGGING. It is nonsensical, unfeminine and
the sound is far from mellifluous. ButChun Huat Pomade Factory, the manufacturer, did just that, making it
hard to believe that Jagging Jaggingis
indeed,a “girls’ favorite”. Ad from
1934.
KULSO-ALIS: Brand Name For: Anti-diarrhea, anti-dysentery
Another product coming from Dr. Jahrling’s Botica St.
Cruz isKULSO-ALIS, a concoction with a
brand name that comes from “Kulso” (diarrhea, loose bowel movement) and “Alis”
(to be free from, begone). It was a common way to coin brand names for products
this way, bewildering the Pilipino name may be to a foreigner. Perhaps this
anti-LBM medicine was really meant to target local market only.It is interesting
that Kulso-Alis listsopium as one of
its ingredients. Ad from 1937
(This article originally appeared in the online magazine Esquire Philippines www.esquiremag.ph, on 11 Feb. 2019, under the title "Funniest Filipino Brand names in the 20th Century", commissioned from the author, Alex del Rosario-Castro)
Nope, this cosmetic brand was not inspired by Stan Lee’s
character, BLACK PANTHER, who first
appeared in comic books in 1966 as ruler of the kingdom of Wakanda. It was
subsequently made into a blockbuster superhero film in 2018, starring Chadwick
Boseman as T'Challa / Black Panther.
BLACK PANTHER, 1953 Ad
The cosmetic products BLACK
PANTHER Hair Pomade predates Stan’s superhero by almost 2 decades, first appearing in post-war 1948. Heart throb Pancho Magalona was tapped to endorse the product in 1948 before he became a
Glo-Co hair tonic model too). Subsequent ads featured line drawings.
PANCHO MAGALONA for BLACK PANTHER, 1948 Ad
BLACK PANTHER was
manufactured by Lander New York, and sold in the Philippines by Peter &
Co., in Manila. The came in attractive dark cobalt blue bottles. “The
slumbering fire of BLACK PANTHER…attacks
a man’s heart…attack a woman’s heart…until they merge in a flame of ecstacy”—so
goes a line from its print ad, worthy of an Oscar. T’Challa would have
approved.
In this age of the great COVIC pandemic, the world desperately
needs a cure, a vaccine to put our fears to rest—and end this agonizing, extended
community quarantine, that continues to leave us isolated, hungry, pennyless—and
in need of haircuts. Back in the early 1970s though, when long hair ruled supreme, there was a handy plastic contraption that one could carry in one’s
jeans' pocket for quickly trimming and styling hair—without going to the barber shop.
In 1971, UNION CARBIDE introduced the TRIM JIM Safety
Haircutter. It is a handy two-bladed do-it-yourseld plastic hair trimmer that you use to trim your locks,
simply by running the TRIM JIM through your hair, much like comb.
You can cut your hair longish—to achieve the HARE KRISHNA
Look. Or thin it to get that EXECUTIVE Look.
The TRIM JIM was so convenient when launched in the
Martial Law years as long-haired boys opted to cut their own hair personally,
than have it cut by scissors-wielding military people who were then hot on the
trails of these long-haired nonconformists. ROTC cadets, too, brought a TRIM
JIM along, in case their crew cut was still deemed to lush and thick. A quick TRIM JIM cut will do it—for just 4
pesos!
Despite its much-heralded convenience, the results of
using a TRIM JIM were unpredictable.Unsteady hand pressure can cause uneven cutting. Sometimes, a single run
of TRIM JIM with new, sharp blades can result in instant bald
patches.Contouring hair like sideburns was difficult.
But then again, it’s true what TRIM JIM claims. The TRIM
JIM cut is your own personal signature-- you get truly a different breed of
cut!
When TANCHO CORPORATION barged into the hair grooming
scene with its TANCHOTIQUE POMADE—little did it know that
the “hair control stick” would make waves for its unique, convenient packaging.
For decades, it would rule the men’s grooming products market, and its
marketing highlights in the Philippines could fill a book with stories about
how to develop a superior product, and back it with out-of-the box advertising
and promotions.
SOURCE: amazon.com
The company itself began as Kintsuru Perfume Corporation,
founded in 1927 by Shinpachiro Nishimura. Six years into its successful operations
in Japan, it developed a line of hair grooming products under the brand name, TANCHO TIQUE.
From this line came the
company’s first success—the TANCHO TIQUE
Hair Control Stick, introduced in 1933. It proved to be a major hit among
Japanese men, as it came in a tube with a cylindrical-shape pomade stick that
you can directly apply like a gluestick,to keep unruly hair in place.
The company undertook an ambitious international
expansion, when in 1958 it reached a technical alliance with a Philippine
partner to manufacture its TANCHO TIQUE
products in the Philippines.
TANCHO OMNIBUS AD, 1964
In 1959, the company changed its name to TANCHOCORPORATION, a name derived from ‘tancho’, the Japanese red-crowned crane, which became the brand
icon. Surprisingly, the first TANCHO print ad that came out on Philippine publications was a 1962
color ad of TANCHO TIQUE Liquefied,
for women.
WATCH TANCHO POMADE HAIR DRESSING PRODUCT HERE
At that time, liquid hair grooming products in liquid form were in
vogue, like Vitalis, and Glo-Co Tonix. TANCHO
TIQUE drew on its distinctive T-7 ingredient, a new botanical extract that
gives unmatched vitality to hair.
TANCHO COLOR AD, with Soap. Note Japanese models. 1966
The men’s line would be advertised some two years later
in a TANCHO TIQUE omnibus ad which
featured the TANCHO TIQUE Liquefied,
TANCHO TIQUE (Soft Tique) pomade
cream in a milk glass jar, and the TANCHO
TIQUE (Solid Tique) hair stick. A soap would come in 1966. The print
ad featured Japanese models.
VIC VARGAS, EARLY FILIPINO MODEL FOR TANCHO, 1968
It became apparent that the TANCHO TIQUE Hair Stick and the medicated TANCHO TIQUE soft tique
in white jars would emerge as the sales drivers for the brand.
TANCHO CHRISTMAS AD, 1969
It was no
wonderthat the 60s were a period of
robust growth for TANCHO. There was
an attempt to Filipinize the advertising in 1968 with the inclusion of Filipino
male models—like the hunky Vic Vargas—in the print ad mix.
TANCHO TIQUE AD, 1969
By 1969, there were two variants of the Hair Stick
(Medicated Tique, Vegetable Tique), while the TANCHO in jars had 4: Soft Tique, Lavender, Medicated and myCream.
As hair grew longer, so did TANCHO
sales.
There were cheap TANCHO TIQUE
copycat brands like Toho Tique and Sinsu Tique which similar forms and
packaging. But by then the advertising budget of the brand was increased to ward
of potential TANCHO wannabes.
MEDICATED TANCHO GEL. 1970.
In the Martial Law years, TANCHO TIQUErode the “gel”
hair product bandwagon that included the rising Dep styling gel, that projected
a more youthful, Western image. TANCHO not
only poured money for ad dedicated to TANCHO
GEL in 1970, but also thought of ways to reach the younger segment of the
market.
It employed two dancing sister who created signature
dance moves that showed their vibrant, charming personalities—the nimble-footed
Aldeguer Sisters.
Terry and Lally Aldeguer were already familiar to the TV audience
in the late 60s and early 70s, but initially they were known for their Hawaiian
and Tahitian dances.
TANCHO TIQUE contacted
them to appear in their product commercials, introducing a giant TANCHO
TIQUE jar and stick,via an
energetic dance routine as the TANCHO jingle
played, complete with their trademark high kicks, head flips, and dramatic expressions—mouth always
agape with wide smiles.
The entertaining promotional spot was such a hit that
they were soon being called “TANCHO
TIQUE Girls”, paving the way for more guest spots on TV programs, corporate
and dinners shows (they also learned to sing). Eventually, they would move to
the U.S. to open a dance school where they would teach and stage shows for
Filipinos abroad.
TANCHO MY CREAM WAS MEANT TO APPEAL TO A YOUNGER SET. 1971.
The year 1970 was also significant as TANCHO CORP., launched a new line of men’s products after
realizing the untapped potential of the men’s hairdressing business. The
product was “Mandom”, which was endorsed by the rugged Hollywood star, Charles
Bronson. The successful launch inspired
TANCHO to change its name again, to Mandom Corporation, in 1971, in an effort
to internationalize the products.
By the late 70s, it was apparent that the rise of the young,
upwardly mobile market that would rule the 80s decade would result in a shift
of taste for products more attuned to their lifestyle—cool, hip, modern. The
marketing landscape had changed. The company launched Gatsby and Spalding
brands, but these didn’t catch on. It tried direct sales, then reverted back to
distributorship in the 80s
.
THE TANCHO MAN, 1972.
In 1992, Mandom Philippines Corp. was formed as a
subsidiary of Mandom Corp. (Japan). It was tasked to work jointly with the mother
company to develop localized marketing promotions, and to introduce the
Philippines to the concept of distribution, proven successful in many countries. But by 1987, the subsidiary became
wholly 100% Japanese owned. That put an end to the magnificent run of TANCHO
TIQUE, and the image of a TANCHO Man—a winner, without a bad hair day every day!
TANCHO TIQUE
products today are sold in giant retail store chains like SM, Cosmos Bazar,
Watson’s, and are also available via
online orders. Perhaps, with the return of pompadours, flat top, crew cut, bouffant hairstyle among men these days, TANCHO TIQUE will rise again.
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