367. Creative Guild’s TV Ad of the Month, Aug. 1987: DEL MONTE SPAGHETTI SAUCE “Godfather”

The Creative Guild of the Philippines, an association of creative personnel working in the advertising industry, was just 3 years old when the 1987 Creative Guild Ad of the Year Awards night at the refurbished Metropolitan Theater was staged. One of the frontrunners for the Ad of the Year was DEL MONTE SPAGHETTI SAUCE’s “Godfather”, a much-talked about TV ad produced by McCann Erickson for Del Monte Phils.

WATCH THE DEL MONTE SPAGHETTI SAUCE 'Godfather" TVC HERE:

To drive home the “Italian-ness” of the product, the agency made use of the iconic Don Vito Corleone, a fictional character in Mario Puzo’s “The Godfather”, ably essayed in the 1972 film by Marlon Brando. McCann caster Amy Salona found a talent in the person of Enrique “Ricky” Rivero, an occasional stage actor, who, when fully-made up, became Brando’s doppelganger—right down to his raspy voice.

TV viewers took notice of this well-produced, imported looking commercial, what wit its authentic production design,  moody lighting, the supporting characters, and most especially, the uncanny duplication of the “Godfather’s” look and the cast's superb acting. It was no wonder then that the Del Monte commercial was chosen as the TV ad of the month for August 1987,  by a jury consisting of agency art directors, creative directors, copywriters and producers.

In the grand awards night, however, Nestle’s MILO “Gymnast”, headlined by SEA games gold medalist Bea Lucero,  edged out the DEL MONTE’s “Godfather”, for the plum TV Ad of the Year prize. But Enrique Rivera’s portrayal of  the “Godfather” was so unforgettable that he was  honored as one of the 10 Best Commercial Models of the Year. He was cited for his ‘effective portrayal of a distinctive character in the most natural and realistic manner, through skillful acting that captures the drama between product and consumer'.

DEL MONTE'’s “Godfather” would win more technical awards at the next Philippine Advertising Congress, but the best  was yet to come. In 1990,  the same Del Monte brand will win top honors at the  Creative Guild TV Ad of the Year for the commercial “Novices”, the most prized award for the evening. For McCann Erickson, the feeling was just—magnifico!

SOURCES:

Creative Guild Ad of the Year 1988 program

Youtube: 1986 Del Monte Spaghetti Sauce TVC, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_s1c2CNLws

366. Creative Guild’s 1990 TV Ad of the Year: DEL MONTE SPAGHETTI SAUCE, “Novices” TVC 45

The 1990 Ad of the year reeks of foreign (specifically Italian) flavor, but was actually a locally-written, locally-produced effort full of recognizably Pinoy values and pushing a product that is an apparent bestseller among Filipino housewives.

“Novices” was a 45-sec. TV ad created by McCann-Erickson for Del Monte Philippines’ unadulterated spaghetti sauce, touted as having the most authentic Italian flavor because of its generous serving of herbs and spices.

“Del Monte had been a McCann client “forever”, recalls president Emily Abrera, who was both writer and creative directors for the ad. “When I joined the agency 17 years ago, they were already here.”McCann had already launched the product a couple of years earlier with a hugely successful spoof entitled “Godfather” featuring a Vito Corleone/Marlon Brando deadringer an won raves for the ad’s production values,

“Clients wanted something just as good,”Abrera says, “and the idea was still to do something sort of Italian,” to again underscore the product’s authentic flavor.”

 A commercial full of nuns was not the first storyboard approved for productions; the original idea was to stage a raucous family gathering in the true Italian tradition.

“My father is Italian”, Abrera asserts,”so there was certainly a lot of noise in my family!”. Everybody thought that the nuns would be more unusual, however, and then account manager Rosanna Henares went as far as consulting real-life sisters about the idea.

 WATCH DEL MONTE SPAGHETTI SAUCE "Novice" TVC Here:

Uploaded by Kape WithCream

The images were ideal; the convent  setting, with its cast of hard-working, industrious residents, stressed the points of ready-made product that tasted as heavenly as the traditionally-prepared favorite. (“Two hours, mother!”, one of the novices exclaims), and the Mother Superior, sublimely played by stage actress Benita Steiger (the production had to wait until Steiger returned from a London vacation), was the epitome of domestic authority whipping up meals with divine mandate. “Remember, it’s a Christian country,: Abrera says of the Philippines, ‘and nuns are always taught never to take credit.”

 As the possibility of offending the religious sensibilities of viewers, Abrera changed the final line from”Praise the lord”, to “Praise Him”, which Steiger delivers with upturned, knowing eyes in response to the novice’s compliment,  “Praise you Mother.” 

BENITA STEIGGER, with Repertory Phils. Actors

The end copy, “Preferred by mother” is the ideal double-entendre endorsement  from both the domestic and religious sectors. “There was definitely a chuckle factor, but we didn’t want to make fun of anybody,”Abrera says. It was certainly more charm than humor.

The ad was shot in 3 days in te arched ruins of an abandoned Manila bank building that looked appropriately solemn with proper lighting and set design. Once again, casting proved critical. “We wanted young girls who looked absolutely virginal,” Abrera says, “and this was one of those cases where, if you didn’t have the right faces, the ad wouldn’t work, even if you had a good idea.”

The youngest talent was 12 years old, and the carefree lasses were not above lifting their heavy cheesecloth costumes between takes to air their sweating legs. Smoke, camera filters, Joey Luna’s ethereal; production design on a low budget, and Butch Perez’s inspired direction contributed to the making of a polished, truly different commercial with an underlying Filipino sensibility.

“Oh, but we have a lot of common with the Italians, don’t you think?”, Abrera asks, Enoighto proper; Del Monte Spaghetti Sauce to the top of its market.

CREDITS:

AGENCY: McCann-Erickson    /    ADVERTISER: Del Monte Philippines

PRODUCT: Del Monte Spaghetti Sauce

CREATIVE DIRECTOR/ COPYWRITER: Emily Abrera

ART DIRECTOR; Ding Villamor   /   PRODUCER: Baby Enriquez

DIRECTOR: Butch Perez

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Rody Lacap  /   EDITOR: Billy de Leon

PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Joey Luna

PRODUCTION HOUSE: Electromedia

 REFERENCES:

Article lifted from: PERFECT 10: A Decade of Creativity in Philippine Advertising, edited by Butch Uy, p.54

Photo of Benita Steiger: FB page of J. Virata.

DEL MONTE SAUCE NOVICE 45s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfujgpORNCA, uploaded by kapewithcream

365. MORE AMUSING BRAND NAMES YOU WON’T BELIEVE WERE USED IN THE PHILIPPINES. Part III

Another set of the strangest, most hilarious and unusual barnd names of products that were available in the Philippines from the 50s and 60s. 

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LUTO (1951). Brand Name for: Laundry soap

Philippine Manufacturing Company (PMC), founded in 1908, forayed into vegetable shortening production in 1917, and launched Purico to great success in 1919. It was made from palm oil, and sold in solid blocks, packed in cartons. When Procter & Gamble U.S.A. purchased PMC in 1935, the product portfolio expanded  to include detergents. In 1951,  the laundry soap LUTO came into the market. It had a rather strange name—LUTO—or “cook”. It also came in white blocks, which reminded people of Purico. Actually LUTO was derived from the process of making soaps, in which coconut or palm oil with lye is cooked to form a detergent soap, that is then molded into bars.  Thus, “Mag LUTO na tayo!” doesn’t just mean,”let’s cook”, but also let’s do the laundry!”, at least in the early 50s!

MONG ALING (1934). Brand Name for: Remedy for anemia

This medicine intended for a serious disease has such a musical-sounding name, that it’s hard to believe it can bring relief to anemic women and mothers with disorders associated with pregnancy and their menses. Even the ingredients do not give a clue as why it was named MONG ALING. To make it more difficult to decipher, the word and numbers “Silang Lab.  No. 8368”, are appended to the brand name. One can just imagine if someone wrote a jingle for MONG ALING. It will probably go “Mong-aling-aling-ding-dong!”

ODORODO (1956) / ODORONO (1961): Brand Names for: Deodorant

Brand names may sometimes sound alike, but these two midcentury anti-perspirant products have uncannily similarity and only a letter separates them: ODORODO and ODORONO.

The older one, ODORODO,  is a palindrome—it reads the same way when read backwards. Such literary devices were used to increase memorability of the brand name, but unfortunately Odorodo, even with its catchy name and unique Action-Proof formula, did not catch on. But at least, the euphemistic “B.O.” (for body odor) as headlined in this 1956 ad,  is still in our vocabulary today.  On the other hand, ODORONO is a cream deodorant which came out in 1961. In today’s stringent trademark rules, imitating the distinctive, perceptual features of a leader brand, such as its brand name is a violation. 

OJOKOL (1950s). Brand Name for: Eye Remedy Solution

Say that again? Say this brand name wrong, and it will sound like a slang for self-erotic gratification. Time was when medicine brands had Spanish  names, a way of branding still in practice in the 1920s—when OJOKOL  was formulated by Botica Boie. The eye solution was meant to give cool relief to sore, irritated eyes (OJO means “eye” in Spanish, pronounced as “oho”), and as for the suffix, it’s one of those add-ons used by chemicals like alcohol,  glycol, ethanol. So next time you say OJOKOL, make sure  you pronounced it the way Spaniards do—not with the hard “j” we are accustomed to.

PALIKERO (1930s). Brand Name for: Pomade. 

Playboys and dandies would surely go for this pomade brand called  “PALIKERO”, that was produced in the mid 1930s. And it even had the audacity to use  on its paper label (unauthorized, for sure)  the picture of a  Hollywood icon who was known for his “palikero” roles on screen—Rudolph Valentino. Whether this pomade lived up to its name is a big question mark, as nobody seems to know this brand, or what happened to it. 

SOURCE: By the Author. Originally appeared on esquiremag.ph under the title: Funniest Filipino Brand Names in the 20th Century - Esquire , https://www.esquiremag.ph/culture/lifestyle/old-brands-philippines-a2289-20190211-lfrm4

364. Sporty Fashion for Your Feet: SPARTAN FOOTWEAR, Print Ads 1960s

SPARTAN COMMANDER, THE MOST GUWAPO OF THEM ALL! 1963.

 

One of the most iconic athletic footwear brand from the 1960s-70s  is SPARTAN. It was so popular that the brand “Spartan” briefly became a generic name to refer to rubber shoes. SPARTAN was the rubber shoes of choice of many basketball teams and sports leagues, with many styles to choose from.

SPARTAN CHIRSTMAS AD, 1964

For example, there was the ‘Commander’ style, touted as “the most guwapo of them all”, with its colorful ankle patch and blue and red stripes. There was also a SPARTAN Speed Star, made for hardcourt action and agility. It eventually venture dinto other footwear like children and ladies’ shoes and sandals.

SPARTAN was made by KP Rubber Corporation located along Francisco St., in Caloocan City, but not much is known about the company. It folded up I the 1970s. The SPARTAN name is being used today as a brand for rain boots, and also by Reebok, for its line of all-terrain rubber shoes.

SOURCES:

Spartan Speed Star Ad: Pinterest.ph via Eduardo de Leon

363. Brand Stories: ASTRING-O-SOL Mouthwash, Print Ads 1929-1980

ASTRING-O-SOL, "JEANNE YOUNG", 1968 Print Ad

Mouth rinses were not unknown among ancient Chinese, Greeks, Romans and Egyptians. One early mouth was human urine (Romans imported bottled Portuguese urine!), which contains ammonia, believed to disinfect mouth and whiten teeth. Other ptions include the use of tortoise blood, salt-alum-vinegar mis, and pure, cold water to ward of tartar and plaque.

ASTRING O SOL, "MORNING MOUTH", 1929 Print Ads

In 1865 that English surgeon Joseph Lister used an antiseptic to sterilize hs operating room. Inspired by this, Dr. Joseph Lawrence, one of the founders of Johnson & Johnson, developed a mouthwash for cleaning mouths and sterilizing wounds in 18979, naming it Listerine, in honor of Dr. Lister.  Listerine became the first prescription mouthwash in 1914  to be sold over the counter in the United States.

ASTRING O SOL, "MORNING MOUTH", 1929 Print Ad

Not to be outdone, the American pharmaceutical manufacturing giant,  Frederick Stearns & Company (est. 1887, Detroit Michigan) , created ASTRING-O-SOL, the concentrated antiseptic that became part of their dental care line.

ASTRING O SOL COMIC STRIP AD, "ARMANDO" 1956

ASTRING O SOL COMIC STRIP AD, "MYRNA", 1957

ASTRING O SOL COMIC STRIP AD, "LYDIA", 1957

ASTRING-O-SOL contained Myrrh oil (which helps relieve mouth sores and gum inflammation), oil of wintegreesn (which provides germ protection as well as cooling effect), and Zinc chloride (for  pleasant-tasting sensation, hence the “Breath Sweetener” descriptor). Zinc can also limit tartar build up.

ASTRING O SOL "Caressing Sweet", 1960 Strip Ad

The powerful Astringent, Antiseptic and Prophylactic Mouth Wash, which needed t be diluted with water,  was internationally sold by the 1920s, and competed successfully against Listerine. ASTRING-O-SOL’s earliest campaign “Morning Mouth”, gained much popularity among consumers, appearing for the first time on Philippine publications in 1929.

ASTRING O SOL, "Against Bad Breath:, 1969 Color Print Ad

Today, ASTRING-O-SOL  is a registered trademark of the GlaxoSmithKline group of companies, under its GSK Consumer Healthcare Division. With its own manufacturing facility in Cainta, Rizal. GSK continues to bring dental health products and over-the-counter medicines to millions of Filipinos. Other than ASTRING-O-SOL, the company alsmo makes Sensodyne, Aquafresh, Calpol and Dequadin. Advertising is handled locally by Campaigns & Grey. 

ASTRING O SOL, 1980 Print

SOURCES:

Mouthwash, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouthwash

GSK Product Portfolio: https://www.gsk.com/media/2508/gsk-consumer-healthcare-brands-portfolio.pdf

 Astring-O-Sol | National Museum of American History: https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1218695

362. MORE AMUSING BRAND NAMES YOU WON'T BELIEVE WERE USED IN THE PHILIPPINES, Part II

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.

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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” alone  conjures 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 local  term for any skin conditions. “-Atum” was a suffix that was  commonly used in pharmaceutical products  like “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 and  maladies 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 a  cosmetic product guaranteed to make you “lovely to look at” be named JAGGING JAGGING. It is nonsensical, unfeminine and the sound is far from mellifluous. But  Chun Huat Pomade Factory, the manufacturer, did just that, making it hard to believe that Jagging Jagging  is 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 is  KULSO-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 lists  opium 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)

361. Before the Movie, there was the Pomade: : BLACK PANTHER, 1940s-50 Ads

BLACK PANTHER , 1957 Print Ad

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.