509. Procter & Gamble PMC's TIDE, "Tide Clean" Campaign, 1961

In 1961, TIDE embarked on a local campaign that was based on a formulaic P&G advertising strategy principle of re-setting the bar of laundry cleanliness, using “Tide Clean” as the new standard. This benefit is expressed in the selling line: “The cleanest clean is TIDE Clean”.

The campaign also featured a tried-and-tested “product demo”,  P& G copy jargon that visualizes the product superiority through a demonstration of its cleaning power—statically shown as a series of captioned inset pictures , so typical of their advertising in the 60s and 70s. 

A sub-text of “affordable cost” is embedded in the execution expressed thru an additional copy intended to reassure : “…and costs so little to use!”. P&G was often fond of cramming their advertising with many sub-messages and their agencies were challenged to think of ways to include these seamlessly in crafting the copy (think Mr. Clean’s “labadami, labango, labanayad’  Dari Crème’s “pinipili ng mapiling ina…at anak!).

To top it all—just to make sure the message is not lost on the mass market,  the TIDE Clean campaign, used all sorts of talents to represent a father, a mother, their kids, friends and a token grandparent, who appeared in their own individual colored print ad. 

Truly, this TIDE print campaign can be held up in a basic marketing class as a perfect example of P&G’s formula advertising, ticking all the boxes of how their product advertising should be done—this, from a company which “invented” brand management.

404. Is That Who I Think She Is? LULETTE MORAN for BON-AMI Polishing Cleaner, 1974

LULETTE MORAN FOR BON AMI CLEANSER, 1974 Print Ad

Not all eyes were on Maria Margarita Moran when she reigned as 1973 Miss Universe; TV viewers were also transfixed with the sight of the pert and pretty model of a new HALO Shampoo TV commercial, a Colgate-Palmolive product that aired just later in the year.

THE MORAN SISTERS, MARGIE & LULETTE

The model was LULETTE MORAN, the equally beautiful younger sister of Margie, who charmed us when she playfully transformed her hair—and her character-- using shampoo suds. “I’m a wabbit!” Lulette purred in the shower, with rabbit ears made from HALO foam, sticking out from her head. That shot of her would give her wide recognition, paving the way for more commercial projects and career opportunities. Unfortunately, no print of this TV ad exists.

MORAN, model of  HALO SHAMPOO

In this rare 1974 print ad, MORAN is the lovely endorser for BON AMI Polishing Cleaner,  an iconic cleaning brand manufactured back in the 1880s in Connecticut. In 1971, Bon Ami was purchased by the Faultless Starch Company, and found its way to the Philippines. BON AMI, was recommended for appliances, and kitchen cookware because it cleans without scratching.

Despite MORAN’s endorsement, BON AMI floundered because Ajax and Dutch Cleanser were unshakeable in their dominance.  With all her advertising exposure, it is the HALO Shampoo commercial that remains identified with her.

MORAN put her U.P. education to good use by joining Bancom, and later Jardine Davis. It was in one company social in Hong Kong that she met French-English Philip Monbiot, an Oxford graduate. She wed Monbiot and settled in Singapore, where her husband ran a cocoa trading business. They have 3 children Natalie, Charles and Edward, and are settled in  Kensington, London.

 SOURCES:

Bon Ami: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bon_Ami / Halo Shampoo photo: ebay.com

Woman’s Home Companion Magazine

Butch Francisco, Lulette Moran after her halo days. https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2002/09/05/174755/lulette-moran-after-her-145halo-days146

 

 

384. Before Peerless Products Mfg. Corp. had their Champion, there was GLOW, (1965)

Peerless Products Manufacturing Corp. began in 1963, when stakeholders  invested in a laundry detergent technology that led to the creation of its very first brand, GLOW—in 1965--which works with “micro-clean action”. The revolutionary powder detergent guarantees deep-down cleaning of stubborn dirt in clothes, penetrating dirty spots, as active suds take over. No more scrubbing pains—GLOW ads touted.

 That time, the detergent market was saturated with dominant powder brands Tide, and Breeze, and traditional bars Ajax and Wheel. New introductions like Daz and Fab, tried vainly to penetrate the market. Unfortunately, GLOW suffered the same fate, as it could not sustain the kind of push that the multinational companies like P&G PMC and PRC  put behind their brands.

 

It would take 14 years for Peerless to finally come up with a winning laundry brand aptly called Champion, launched in 1977. It would become the primary laundry care banner brand for the company,  paving the way for the launch of detergent powders in the 2000s, and the expansion to dishwashing liquid, fabric conditioners (Calla), and shampoo (Hana). Today, after more than 50 years, Peerless Products Mfg. Corp.  continues to recognize that Filipino consumers only deserve genuine product quality, a promise fulfilled by their products.

 SOURCES:

Peerless background info: https://www.linkedin.com/company/peerless-products-mfg.-corp.

Photos of Champion, Calla, Hana: FB Page.

375. Great New Laundry Soap Discovery! PMC's OSO, 1957

As one knows Philippine Manufacturing Company (PMC) started as early as 1908, under the name Manila Refining Co. It capitalized on the rich coconut industry of the country, to give us edible products like “Purico”, an early vegetable oil-based shortening. When Procter and Gamble acquired it in 1935, the company beefed up its coconut oil-based product portfolio to include laundry detergent bars, with the introduction of PERLA  in 1949.

The next decade saw PMC expanding its detergent line. In 1951, it came up with dirt-fighting “Luto”, and in  1957, it launched OSO.

OSO was heralded as “a great new soap discovery”, with a promise that it “washes better than any other soap”—a bold superlative claim, at that time. It was a product of a “new process” that made the soap purer and brighter. Thus, OSO had a 3-way advantage: longer-lasting suds, greater economy, and more fragrant clothes.

 Subsequent ads positioned it as “the whitest soap, for the whitest wash”. Even with this, OSO did not last the 50s decade.  After all, P&G already had 3 detergent bars at that time, and the differentiation was not delineated at that time. The best performer was PERLA, and consumers have also began discovering that it was also ideal for white clothes, as it was not only effective, but gentle. OSO was eased out towards the end of the 50s decade; LUTO would also be dropped. PMC decided put its marketing resources behind PERLA, a move that proved to be wise, as the iconic soap bar continue to exist to this day.

325. Brand Stories: DUTCH CLEANSER, 1905

OLD DUTCH CLEANSER..Chases Dirt! Makes Everything Spic ;n Span!

Would you believe that the original company that gave the world the cleansing product  known as OLD DUTCH CLEANSER was engaged in the slaughter of animals? Cudahy Packing Co. had a pumice mine in Meade County, Kansas and the white pumice powder was sourced  to clean up the floors of Chicaco slaughterhouses. This led Cudahy Packing Co. to explore the marketing and promotion of a white powder cleanser with the trademark  OLD DUTCH CLEANSER, first used in Sept 1906 and registered in 1905. 

DUTCH FOAMING CLEANSER, 1955

It was so named because Holland was reputed for the impeccably  clean habits of its citizens, a tradition of cleanliness that was visualized in the a picture of a Dutch Lady driving dust and dirt away with a stick. This led to the creation of its slogan OLD DUTCH CLEANSER—Chases Dirt, Makes Everything Spic ‘n Span. In early product packaging versions, the face of the Dutch Lady remained unseen, but subsequent improvements were later made—showing her with a younger, friendlier face.

DUTCH FOAMING CLEANSER, 1958

In its time, OLD DUTCH CLEANSER was considered  innovative, and the scouring power of the pumicite powder  greatly facilitated household cleaning. Pumicite powder was first mined in Kern County, California and was used by other products like Comet and Bon Ami. 

DUTCH CLEANSER, 1956 print ad

Beginning in 1923, pumicite for OLD DUTCH CLEANSER was sourced in an underground mine along Garlock Fault, in the remote Mojave desert, where it naturally occurred. It  produced 120,000 tons of cleansing powder, until its closure  in 1947. Cudahy sold OLD DUTCH CLEANSER to Purex on April 24, 1955.

BARBARA PEREZ FOR DUTCH CLEANSER, 1964

The product was already available in post-war Philippines and was advertised on print in the 1950s. It was sold under the brand name DUTCH FOAMING CLEANSER and came in a cylindrical cardboard packaging that also doubled as a dispenser.  It ads claim that “it does the work of all” –as DUTCH FOAMING CLEANSER cleans everything from tiles to walls and even plates!

DUTCH CLEANSER IN A NEW PLASTIC CANISTER, 1968

By the 1960s, the brand name was simplified to DUTCH CLEANSER, and had actress-mother Barbara Perez as endorser. In 1968.  DUTCH CLEANSER was relaunched in a new plastic canister with a tapering top., and by that time, it was “the largest selling cleanser in the Philippines”.

SOURCE:  DUTCHPH FB PAGE

DUTCH CLEANSER is still around, today and its product line includes bleach, classing cleanser, power cleanser with micro-scrubs, among others. In 1985, the household and consumer products business of Purex Industries, Inc. was acquired by Greyhound Corp. and was combined with Greyhound's Armour-Dial to form The Dial Corporation, which, in April 2004, was acquired by Henkel. In March 2, 2011, it was announced that Monheim and Henkel — which sells Vernel liquid detergent, Perwoll special detergent and Dutch Cleanser, among others — signed a licensing contract to manufacture DUTCH CLEANSER in the Philippines.

 SOURCES:

Purex Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purex_(laundry_detergent)

Old Dutch website: https://www.olddutch.ca/en/

Dutch[h FB page: https://www.facebook.com/dutchph

233. WHEN VAPE WAS A MOSQUITO KILLER, NOT AN ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE

FUMAKILLA VAPE, LAUNCH AD, 1966

Today, many young people in particular are into smoking electronic cigarettes or vaping. For some, it is a way to transition from traditional cigarettes to not smoking at all. But most use it to look cool and hip. How exactly does it work?

E-cigarettes heat nicotine extract flavorings to create a water vapor that one inhales. Nicotine is addictive, so whether you are vaping or smoking a traditional cigarette, the risk of harm is still there.

But do you know that as early as 1966, a product with the brand name VAPE, was introduced in the market? No, it was not an alternative smoke gadget,  but an “electronic mosquito destroyer!”

FUMAKILLA VAPE kills mosquitoes by emitting fragrant vapors. No mess…no smoke. All you need is a VAPE mat that you insert in a heating pad. When plugged, the VAPE mat is vaporized to exude invisible vapors that kill mosquitoes safely. The vapors are virtually harmless to animals and humans.

There are even 2 kinds of VAPE pads to choose from—the regular pad and a decorative version with a human bust that conceals the mat.  The gadget is manufactured by FUMAKILLA Limited, and was distributed by Tancho Corporation (of the stick pomade fame).

FUMAKILLA VAPE did not catch on, possibly because it was perceived as more expensive—it required electricity to run. Traditional katols (mosquito coils) however, were more practical as you can light them, and leave them—no electricity needed. Katols have also been used for decades, and are more available (you can buy them from sari-sari stores). Old habits die hard…and in the end, it was FUMAKILLA VAPE that died as the 60s decade came to a close.