PEPSI COLA in the
Philippines has been around for over 70 years, and in the mid-1960s, launched
its own orange soda brand, MIRINDA.
Meant to compete against the more established Royal Tru-Orange, MIRINDA was
launched with its own campaign and promotional support, starting with the “More
Fun” print series in 1966.
Its early TV ads were canned commercials from the U.S.,
notably the “Orange Avalanche” , which featured thousands of oranges magically
appearing, dropping and bouncing
everywhere---to dramatize the “natural orangy-ness” of the soda.
WATCH MIRINDA'S 'SUNSHINE DRINK' TVC HERE:
(c/o Jojo Bailon, Voice on the 3rd)
It was only in 1978 that the brand had a local campaign hit
with the “SUNSHINE DRINK” campaign,
which reinforced the product’s 100% natural orange taste. This was visualized
by“slicing” a MIRINDA bottle and squeezing that half of the bottle on an orange
squeezer—as if it were a real orange. The voice-over announcer goes: “If you can slice it like an orange, squeeze it like
an orange, then you’ll discover the 100% natural orange taste of MIRINDA”.
Conceived and produced by J.Walter Thompson Phils., MIRINDA’s “SUNSHINE DRINK” campaign
endured through the early 1980s.
Canada Dry Beverages, which was founded in 1923 by P.D.
Saylor and Associates, reached the country in the 1950s when the Canada Dry
Bottling Co.of the Philippines was put
up in Parañaque, Rizal, by authority of the Canada International Corp. New
York, U.S.A.
One of its short-lived products that was launched here was HI-SPOT Lemon Soda, a bubbly, sparkling
lemon-y soft drink introduced in 1965. Hi-Spot was overshadowed by more popular
Canada Dry products like Uva, Tru-Fruit Orange, Kola Champagne, so production
was discontinued.
The 7-UP“Where There’s Action” campaign was launched in 1965, by J. Walter Thompson, bannering the message that the drink has a “taste
that’s fresh and frisky….with a quick-quenching action to make thirst quit!”
The print ads featured young, active groups engaged in all kinds of fun, sporty
and leisurely activities.
LISTEN TO 7-UP'S 1965
'WHERE THERE'S ACTION' JINGLE:
In 1966, the U.S. campaign was adapted in the Philippines
using local talents , but keeping the global design template including the
typeface, copy, and visual vignettes. The Philippine version however, emphasize
more on the bright, exhilarating feeling that comes with the refreshment that 7-UP brings in these action-packed
social events.
7-UP PHILIPPINES, 'SKATING', PRINT, 1966
7-UP PHILIPPINES, 'JERKING', PRINT, 1966
7-UP PHILIPPINES, 'DRUMMING', PRINT, 1966
7-UP PHILIPPINES, 'TUG-OF-WAR', PRINT, 1966
“Where There’s Action” campaign was used until 1967, and the
last few ads made use of American models possibly also provided for by the U.S.
mother agency. The 7-UP campaign was
later replaced by the world-fampus “UnCOLA” campaign that became a blockbuster
success for many years.
Canada Dry Beverages has a long history that started in
1904 with the production off the 1st ginger ale drink concocted by
Ontario native Jonh J. McLoughlin. After his death in 1914, his brother Samuel
took over the company but then sold it to P.. Saylor and Associates which put
up CANADA DRY Ginger Ale Inc.
The business grew exponentially, and by the 1930s, CANADA
DRY was available worldwide. From the 1950s onward, the company ventured into
soft drinks and mixers, which proved also successful. CANADA DRY Beverages
reached the country in the 1950s when the Canada Dry Bottling Co.of the Philippines was put up in Parañaque,
Rizal, by authority of the CANADA DRY International Corp. New York, U.S.A.
UVA, 1962 AD
In 1959, CANADA DRY began pipelining their soda beverage
bottled products through local sari-sari stores—Kola Champagne, Root Beer, True
FruitOrange, Strawberry and UVA—a grape-flavored
softdrink. Royal had attempted to popularize grape sodas before, and so did other
provincial brands—to lukewarm reception. But UVA changed all that—elevating grape soda closer to the level of
orange-flavored softdrinks.
UVA, Refreshes in a Wink! 1960
By 1960, UVA
had independent ads, whichhailed its
merits as a “lively,sparklingand refreshing drink”. “Refreshes in a wink!” was
the thematic campaign line, used that year. Indeed, UVA enjoyed quite a measure of popularity and success in the
Philippines in the 1960 decade.
UVA, Lively! Sparkling! 1960
Soon after, in 1964 CANADA DRY was ought by Norton Simon
took an interest in the company and it was merged with its other holdings, the
McCall Corporation and Hunt Foods, to form Norton Simon Inc. The subsequent
change of ownership and the politically charged 70s decade caused the closure
of the CANADA DRY business in the country—and along with it, the end of UVA. Currently, the brand name UVA is being used by a Puerto Rican
soda company that manufactures the grape-flavored softdrink touted as the
island’s favorite.
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.
PEPSI-COLA's’ answer to the huge global success of its
rival’s “COKE Adds Life!” campaign was the “Taste the PEPSI Way---and HAVE A
PEPSI DAY” thematic campaign.
It harkens back to the PEPSI GENERATION that was conceived
by advertising man and marketer Allan Pottasch (b.1927-d. 2007) who was first to
observe the youthful, carefree and
optimistic culture emerging from the post-World War II baby boom. He thus
coined a term to describe these up-and-coming power consumers: the PEPSI
GENERATION, with a campaign launched in 1963
Over the next decades, advertising was focused on this Pepsi
generation—and HAVE A PEPSI DAY was a continuing effort to engage these baby
boomers to include Pepsi in their life. Launched in the U.S. in 1976, the
campaign was rolled out in the Philippines the next year, using the
internationally-famous jingle, but using local talents and situations.
Launched in the U.S. in 1976, the campaign was rolled out
in the Philippines the next year, using the internationally-famous jingle, but
using local talents and situations.
LISTEN TO THE "HAVE A PEPSI DAY" JINGLE HERE:
The challenge for Ace-Compton Advertising Inc., the Makati
ad agency tasked with localizing the campaign. The choice of “daily events”
thus became critical—it should be within the realm of a Filipino’s social experience, that can be heighten by the presence of PEPSI—leading
to a “brand new moment” that will leave you “alive and feeling free”.
Hence, such situations as a tennis match, a trip to the
zoo, a kalesa ride—becomes a celebration with PEPSI.
The campaign also had Celebrity versions, featuring top
celebrities of the day like superstar
Nora Aunor, and her love team partner Tirso Cruz III. The Aunor TVC commercial
had her defining her own PEPSI DAY---a
free day without a film shooting, just bumming around, a day all to herself,
with just a bottle of PEPSI for a refreshing change.
HAVE A PEPSI DAY
was a popular campaign, but “Coke Adds Life” was hard to beat. The jingle was
more catchy, and the commercials featured the younger teen set that were cuter,
funnier, more spontaneous in their ways. In the MTV years, Coke commercials
were hipper, and more “with the times”.It didn’t help that in 1977, the PEPSI
COLA account was moved from Ace-Compton to J. Walter Thompson, major news
that reverberated throughout the whole Philippine ad industry. Coke regained its dominance, and the PEPSI DAYS were no more.
The new Cosmos Bottling Corp. came to be in 1945, rebuilt
by Henry Gao Hong- Wong, that was originally founded as Maila Aerated water Co.
back in 1918 by his father Wong Ning.
Unfortunately, the Guangdong migrant would pass away in prison during
World War II.
Cosmos sarsaparilla was the company’s flagship product,
which took the market by storm. To complement the root beer flavor, it also
came up with Cream Soda, Lime, Lemon, Mulberry, Grape, Pineapple and Orange
variants. By the 60s, only Sarsaparilla and Orange were the most viable of the
Cosmos bottle beverage products.
Cosmos Orange was just a mere tag on mainstream “Sarsi” (short
for sarsaparilla) advertising, casually mentioned as “Also available in Orange
Flavor”, in the late 60s.
In 1972, Cosmos reformulated its orange beverage, and
improved on its orange flavor, dimensionalized as “Katas-California” (juice from California oranges). The company
decided to rebrand it as it was also awkward to call it Sarsi Orange. Thus
Orange Cosmos became SUNTA.
It was relaunched on the strength of its
“Katas-California” taste, and sold at 15 centavos (up by 5 centavos in 1969),
but the execution looked more like a fruit juice ad than a soft drink lifestyle
commercial.
LISTEN TO THE SUNTA
"I WUNTA SUNTA" JINGLE HERE:
The next year, a new SUNTA advertising campaign burst on
TV screens featuring a catchy slogan, “We wunta SUNTA”, that certainly
helped in creating brand awareness for the new reformulated product. It also
gave the brand a new, distinct identity—pushed by a light, lilty jingle sung by
Fides Cuyugan-Asencio and composed by the prodigious Jose Mari Chan.
SUNTA made use
of the precocious child star Niño Muhlach, who lent his cuteness to the brand
by way of TV commercial appearances.
SUNTA
enjoyed a short-lived boom as a price range soda brand, but by the early
70, the Philippine economy was floundering and the peso lost its buying power.
From 10 centavos in 1969, its price increased to 25 centavos by 1975. But SUNTA stayed on, until the business
floundered after Henry Wong’s death. RFM acquired the company in 1989.
SOURCE: 'Strictly Commercial", Jose Mari Chan "The Jingles Collection"CD.
Pepsi Cola’s fruit-flavored soda—MIRINDA—was launched in
the mid 1960s in the Philippines and soon became a major player in the local
softdrink market.
Originally produced in Spain in 1959, MIRINDA came in
distinctive swirl bottles with a a bubbly green “M” emblazoned in front.
The
name MIRINDA was said to have been derived from the pidgin language, Esperanto,
which means, “wonderful”.
MIRINDA orange was the first flavor introduced, aimed at
Royal Tru-Orange, then the market leader in the category. There were also
cheaper price brands of orange sodas like Avenue and Ideal, but nothing beats
the fizz and fruiter, orangier flavors of MIRINDA and Royal.
Supported fully with the massive marketing resources of Pepsico,
MIRINDA made waves as it was positioned as a fun-flavored, thirst-quenching
drink for teens and young adults.
The
product was pushed full-color lifestyle ad series, that captured the interest of
the ‘60s Now Generation.
Though available in limited areas, MIRINDA was soon
giving a Royal Tru-Orange a run for its money. The “More Fun” campaign lasted
from 1966-61, and was replaced by “M-M-M-Mirinda” with the introduction of a short-lived
flavor variant, MIRINDA Grape. This campaign ran until 1968.
MIRINDA 'BADMINTON' PRINT AD, 1966
MIRINDA 'BOWLING' PRINT AD,1966
MIRINDA TV advertising in the late 1960ss included the
U.S. produced “Orange Avalanche” campaign that was used and aired in the
Philippines.
MIRINDA ' FISHING' PRINT AD, 1966
MIRINDA 'SWING' PRINT AD,1966
In 1976, a head-on collision with market leader Royal Tru-Orange
became national news when MIRINDA dared come out with an ad that claimed that
nearly half of Royal Tru-Orange drinkers preferred the taste of MIRINDA in a
blind taste test.
MIRINDA ORANGE, AND WITH NEW GRAPE FLAVOR, 1967
In a time when
comparative advertising wasn’t allowed (the mere mention of a competitor’s name
in an ad was subject to strict regulation), MIRINDA’s move was considered
unethical, and the claim insufficiently backed. The MIRINDA ad was banned, but
Pepsico retaliated with a nationwide taste challenge to determine which tasted
better— “Let your taste decide!”, was MIRINDA’s battlecry.
MIRINDA ORANGE & GRAPE THERMOMETER, 1967 STORE PREMIUM
MIRINDA now represents the majority of Mirinda sales
worldwide following a major repositioning of the brand towards that flavor in
the early 1990s. It is still being sold in the Philippines in PET bottles and
cans, though not as briskly as before with the advent of similar juice drinks,
twisters, flavored tea and powdered orange drinks. Recently, a MIRINDA Fun Mix
powder drink was introduced in 2018.
ARMI KUUSELA, as photographed for a Camay ad, "the soap of beautiful women"
As the Miss Universe 2018 contest heads for its climax
this Dec. 17, we look back at the extraordinary life and times of the first
Miss Universe crowned 66 years ago in 1952—Armi Helena Kuusela of Muhos,
Finland.
Born to parents Arrne Kuusela and Martha Elisabeth Kyro on 20 Aug.
1934, Armi grew up in a household of 5 girls (a sister died young) and a boy.
She attended local schools and was into gymnastics; she had planned on going to
the University of Helsinki Gymnastics Institute.
But fate intervened when, at 17, she won the title of
Miss Finland in May 1952---and the right to represent her country to the first
ever Miss Universe Pageant in Long, Beach, California.
From a field of 30 world
beauties, the 5’5”, 108 pound teen had the distinction of being crowned as the
first Miss Universe on 28 June 1952, turning her into an instant international celebrity. She
was feted back home in Finland with a biographical movie entitled Maailman kaunein tyttö (“The
World's Most Beautiful Girl”) where she played herself.
The tour package that came along with her prizes included a
trip to the Philippines in February 1953, where she would meet young
businessman Virgilio Hilario in Baguio. They would fall madly in love and after
saying “yes” to Gil’s proposal, Armi decided not to continue with her reign to
marry him in Tokyo, on 4 May 1953.
WATCH ARMI KUUSELA OF FINLAND'S
CROWNING MOMENT HERE:
After a short honeymoon in the U.S. , Hawaii and Europe, the
Hilarios settled in Manila where Armi was besieged with showbiz offers,
interviews, invitations to countless socials, and lucrative endorsement deals.
WATCH ARMI KUUSELA IN "NOW & FOREVER" HERE:
The first
thing that the Hilarios accepted to do was a movie offer that resulted in the
film based on their love story, ”Now and Forever”, produced by Deegar Cinema, directed by Rolando del Mar. The movie quickly introduced her to and adoring nation who took to Armi's beauty and charm, claiming her their own.
ARMI KUUSELA AS CAMAY GIRL, 1953
Armi was also signed up to endorse many prestigious
products that includedCAMAY Beauty
Soap,“the soap of beautiful women”. She was the only foreign beauty who
appeared alongside early Camay girls like Gloria Romero, Rosita Noble, Charito
Solis, Norma Blancaflor and Nida Blanca.
ARMI KUUSELA HILARIO IN A COKE AD, 1953,Credit: Jeune Brave
Aside from CAMAY, she did advertisements for COCA-COLA, and the launch of her ad was timed with the release of her movie in 1953 and the 16th anniversary of Coke in the Philippines.
ARMI & CHILD, IN A DARIGOLD MILK PRINT AD, 1958
The Finnish beauty also had a long-running campaign for DARIGOLD MILK. By this time, her children had
started coming along,so she was the
perfect brand endorser for this wholesome milk brand. The Hilarios would have
five children: Arne, Anna-Lisa, Jose/Jussi, Eva-Maria and Miguel/Mikko. The
children were featured in the DARIGOLD ads. The last advertisement where Armi
and her children were featured was for a SCOTT’S EMULSION Cold Liver Oil print
ad, in the early 1970s.
ARMI KUUSELA-WILLIAMS today, by Tomi Hinkkanen
Sadly husband Virgilio died ofheart attack on 7 Sep. 1975. Armi carried on,
buoyed by the love of her children. In 1978, she met American diplomat Albert
Williams, who was posted in Spain at that time.
The two fell in love, and Armi
moved to Barcelona to start a new life with him. From Spain, Williams was
assigned to exotic Turkey, until he retired with wife Armi in an exclusive
enclave in La Jolla, California.
Armi settled into a simple, quiet life of a
retired socialite, and kept busy with her charity works and philanthropies. In
2012, Armi Kuusela was awarded by a grateful nation with the Order of the White
Rose of Finland, with the rank of Knight.
Armi Kuusela may have left th Philippines, but for many Filipinos
who grew up in the 1950s, she would always be regarded as an adopted daughter
of the country, worthy of also being called as a Philippine Miss Universe.
Canadian pharmacist John J. McLaughlin of Ontario is credited
with giving the world the first ‘Pale Ginger Ale’ in 1904, a product of his
carbonated water plant he founded in Toronto in 1890. He perfected a lighter version
that became CANADA DRY Ginger Ale—the
“dry” refers to its not-so-sweety taste as in “dry” wine. The drink was a hit, especially in the U.S.,
that he set up a manufacturing plant in Manhattan, New York.
Canada Dry Ginger Ale and Beverage bottle
Upon McLaughlin's death in 1914,his brother, Samuel took over but later sold
the business to .P. D. Saylor and Associates in 1923, which then set up CANADA
DRY Ginger Ale, Inc.
The business grew exponentially, and by the 1930s, CANADA DRY was available worldwide. From
the 1950s onward, the company ventured into soft drinks and mixers, which
proved also successful.
CANADA DRY
Beverages reached the country in the 1950s when the Canada Dry Bottling Co. of the Philippines was put up in Parañaque,
Rizal, by authority of the CANADA DRY
International Corp. New York, U.S.A.
The CANADA DRY
bottles all featured the map of Canada on a shield, topped by a crown, in reference
to the drink’s appointment to the Viceregal Household of the Governor General
of Canada in 1907.
UVA, the grape-flavored drink, was the most popular Canada Dry beverage introduced in 1960.
Its mid 50s product line include CANADA DRY Ginger Ale, Spur Cola, Hi-Spot Lemon Soda, Dry Water. In
the 1960s,its quality flavored beverage line was introduced bannered by Uva (Grape),
Strawberry, Tru-Fruit Orange (later, Real Orange), Kola Champagne and Root Beer
(Sarsaparilla).
CANADA DRY REAL ORANGE & STRAWBERRY, print ads, 1961
CANADA DRY
beverages had its own following in the country, and the fruity flavors were
heavily advertised in magazines, via both full color and black and white print
ads. Many of the print ads carried charming illustrations done locally.
CANADA DRY KOLA CHAMPAGNE & ROOT BEER, 1962 Ads.
Norton Simon Inc. bought CANADA DRY in 1964, which, after a few years, decided to close the
Philippine operations. It was later sold to Dr. Pepper, but when Forstmann
Little & Co. bought the latter, CANADA
DRY was acquired by Del Monte Foods. CANADA
DRY is owned by Dr.Pepper Snapple Group today.
