Comedian PUGO, as WINNER Refrigerator celebrity endorser, Print Ad, 1978
Philippine Appliance Corp. (PHILACOR) had its humble
beginnings in 1963, when an enterprising
engineering graduate of the University of the Philippines, Dante Santos, began assembling
basic home appliances, together with artner Hilarion Henares. He had also gone to the University of Washington to take
advanced studies in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering.
In March 1965, PHILACOR plant was inaugurated in Parañaque
and by the 70s, became the leading manufacturer of freezers and refrigerators
in the Philippines with around 1,500 employees. Its line of refrigerators under
the brand name WINNER turned out to be one of the biggest best-sellers.
It is no wonder that PHILACOR became one of the more
active advertisers during this period. One of the celebrities employed to push
WINNER Refrigerators was the veteran comedian PUGO (Mariano Contreras in real
life, b. 12 Jul. 1910. 12 Dec. 1978). He started as a bod-a-bil comic,
achieving fame in the 1930s thru the 1950s, as the other half of the Pugo and Togo
comedy tandem.
From the stage, PUGO went into movies, landing leading
roles in Sorry Na Lang (1947), Edong Mapangarap (1950), Kambal Tuko,
Sundalong Kanin (1952) and Nukso ng Nukso (1960) . He found greater
fame with the advent of TV, in sitcoms like Tang Tarang-tang (1966)
which became Si Tatang Kasi in 1970. His other hit TV shows in
the 1970s were Wanted: Boarders and My Son, My Son.
Due to his popularity, PUGO was sought by a few clients to
endorse their products, including San Miguel Beer in 1967. This WINNER Refrigerator
print ad, which featured PUGO in 1978, was the last of his appearances. As the
Dean of Philippine Comedy died later in the same year, at age 68.
As to PHILACOR, it woukd be beset with serious problems
in the new millennium, including union woes, unsettled debts, huge losses
traced to failure to sell its old plant and over-production. This led to a
break-up of its operations in June 2000.
SOURCES:
Pugo, Wikipedia.com
Philippine Appliance Corporation is inaugurated today,
March 1965,
Phil. Daily Inquirer, Philacor closes shop for 3 months,
settles P1B IOUs, break up operations, June 8 2000
In 2002, the PILAK Awards were instituted by the Association
of Accredited Advertising Agencies of the Philippines (4 A’s) to determine
the top 25 ads from the last 50 years, the golden age of Philippine
advertising. Hundred of ads were screened by the country’s top creative agency heads,
until only 100 were left. From these, the 25 cream of the crop were chosen--“patalastas
na walang kupas”---to be honored with the Pilipino Advertising Klasiks
or PILAK Awards.
One of the PILAK Awardees was a fairly new ad from
a SPRITE TV campaign conceived by the powerhouse creatives of McCann-Erickson
Phils. The “Magpakatotoo Ka” (Be
True To Yourself) TV ad series was an instant hit, with its brand of youthful
humor—so comical, yet true, slick editing, stylish look, and fast-paced storytelling—not
to mentioned the over-the top acting. The “Magpakatotoo Ka” pool includes the
famous Piolo & Toni (“I Love You, Piolo!) version, Ryan Agoncillo “Elevator”
version (“Are you in heat?”); Music Teacher; and Basketball “Kaka”
Girl, among others.
WATCH SPRITE "Japorms" TVC HERE:, uploaded by Duvine Gil Reyes
But it was the “Japorms” version that earned the
judges’ nod as a PILAK winner—about a stylish youngster who thinks of himself as
hip and cool when he stepped out in the sun, dressed in jeans, shades, and a
very thick hoodie. He quickly suffers a heat stroke, fainting in front of a gaggle
of girls who offered him cool relief with a bottle of SPRITE. “Obey your
thirst” the ad says, “magpakatotoo ka”. Well, for awhile he did. He
surrenders to the refreshment of SPRITE—then quickly switches back to
his “feeling hip, cool” mode, like
nothing happened. The SPRITE “Japorms” TV also won a Gold Araw Award at
the 1999 Philippine Advertising Congress Awards Night in Cebu.
One of the most popular shopping attractions in the late
70s thru the early 1990s is the Annual Toys and Gifts Fair, a Christmas trade
exhibition by the Philippine Center for International Trade and Exhibit (PHILCITE).
The very first Toys and Gifts Fair was organized in 1976, and proved to be
a hit for shoppers, opening as early as November, and ending past January. The area was even decorated
for the holidays; in 1986, the front of Philcite featured a giant Japanese lighted robot display.
In the 1990s under Fred Elizalde, the fair evolved into
an amusement park later named Star City. The former PhilCite building upon was
pulled down in the late 1990s to make way for the park's indoor rides. On October
2, 2019, a huge blaze caused widespread damage to Star City; it reopened in
2022.
One cheese brand with a long history in the Philippines—65
years in 2023—started out as CHE-VITAL Pasteurized Cheese made by New
Zealand Creamery Inc. It was actually a company that was established in
1958 as a joint venture of the New Zealand Dairy Board. The arrangement
was that the local company would provide the technology to manufacture the dairy
products but this deal fell through.
CHE-VITAL. Golden rich, deliciously nourishing, 1967
A later partnership with Golden State of California
in the 1960s (part of the American conglomerate, Foremost Dairy Group) resulted
in a company called Golden State Phils., which was tasked with marketing
and distribution of Golden State products. This partnership was
eventually cancelled, and the local company founder decided to send his managers
to Australia and NZ for training to learn the modern way of dairy product
manufacturing.
CHE-VITAL CREAMERY BUTTER, Prind ad, 1967
With the new-found expertise, the company was set to
relaunch under a new name. As it was taking too long for the Securities and
Exchange Commission to approved the name, the founder revived the first company
name-New Zealand Creamery, and so from 1962 onward, it had kept that
name.
A CHE-VITAL CHRISTMAS, Print Ad 1978
The company’s best-known and best selling product turned
out to be their CHE-VITAL cheese products, led by CHE-VITAL Pasteurized Cheese
in 1962. One of the first cheese food brands in the market, CHE-VITAL was
made from Australian dairy ingredients and packed in blocks.CHE-VITAL became a favorite for making
sandwiches, canapes, desserts and pastries. By 1978, the cheese line came to include CHE-VITAL
BLUE (Cheddar, packed in circular tin cans), CHE-VITAL Cheese Balls, CHE-VITAL
Ham or Pimiento, and QBB Cheddar. There was also CHE-VITAL Fresh Butter,
introduced in 1967.
CURRENT PRODUCT LINE, Source: New Zealand Creamery FB Page
Today, New Zealand Creamery continues to be productive as
ever, still makinglongtime favorite CHE-VITAL: CHE-VITAL Pasteurized
Process Cheese Food, CHE-VITAL Quickmelt, CHE-VITAL Cheddar, CHE-VITAL Fresh
Creamery Butter. Still going strong is its QBB Cheddar. Another powerhouse brand
includes QUES-O Cheesefood, QUES-O Supermelt, QUES-O Cheesy Spread, and
O-K Processed Filled Cheese Spread, a price brand. The company also makes
the premium Queensland Butter in Cans, Queensland Pure Creamery
Butter, Golden Crown Butter Compound, and Dairy Magic Margarine, used
for cooking and baking. Indeed, with New Zealand Creamery cheese and
dairy brands still around—the good life is yours to enjoy, on and on!
JOLLIBEE "LOLA" TVC, PILAK Awardee 2002, by BASIC ADVERTISING
In 2002, when the Association of Accredited Advertising
Agencies of the Philippines (4 A’s) convened to vote the 25 Best TV ads over
the past 50 years, one of two Jollibee ads to make it to the list of
“patalastas na walang kupas” was the heartwarming “Lola” TVC . The plot
involved two grandkids, conniving to treat their “Lola”—who they realized was
“lagi na lang ikaw ang taya”-- to a Jollibee lunch paid for by their savings.
Touched by the act of her grateful ‘apos’, Lola sheds a
few tears, leading the elder grandchild to ask “Lola, napuwing ka?”. The
charming ad won its way to the hearts of viewers—and the creative jury—to a
well-deserved win at the PILAK Awards Night held on 31 August 2002.
WATCH THE PILAK AWARD-WINNING JOLLIBEE "LOLA" TVC HERE:
The Jollibee“Lola” ad was significant due to the rare
appearance of NATY CRAME-ROGERS (b.1922/d. 2021) who portrayed the role of the
doting grandmother.
A booming victory for San Miguel Beer--Ad of the Month for Feb. 1989!
In 1988, McCann Erickson produced an Ad of the Month
winner for SAN MIGUEL PALE PILSEN , a summer commercial that drew raves for
its merry mix of popular talents, scenic beach shots, colorful production
design, festival vibe, catchy
jingle---and a new San Miguel “Si-Boom Girl”. The high-profile SMB commercial featured
the APO Hiking Society alongside San Miguel mainstay, Bert “Tawa” Marcelo who
follows the “Si-Boom Girl” as she gambols on the beach. Followed by a coterie of admirers, the ad
jingle borrowed the tune of an Eartha Kitt song-- C’est si Bon--reworked and Tagalized
into “Si-Boom”.
WATCH SMB "SI-BOOM" TVC 90s HERE
uploaded by vibesey, 30 April 2016
The TV ad became an instant sensation, what with the Ati-atihan
inspired arrangement, perfectly sung by
Jim Paredes, Boboy Garovillo and Danny Javier, as googly-eyed Bert Marcelo ogled on. But it was the debut
appearance of a sultry babe in white swimsuit that left the most impression on the
male audience—Rachel Lobangco, she with the signature pout and thick brows. For that appearance,
she was hailed as “Star Discovery of the Year 1989” by the Creative Guild of
the Philippines in their next awards night.
To top it all, SMB’s “Si-Boom” was voted by the Creative Guild
jury as the best TVC for the month of February 1989, thus qualifying for the Ad
of the Year Finals held at Hotel Nikko Manila Garden the next year.
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.
.JPG)
