Musing On Past Popular Brands
My daily web surfing activity includes reading online articles and there was one on Business Inquirer about what happened to some favorite brands in the past that got me interested. The article discussed why do some popular brands did not last long while others stand the tests of time. There were countless brands all over the world that vanished into thin air just a few years after they were launched. However, there are many brands that went beyond expectations, survived changing times and served consumer needs as they emerged and sustained market leadership.
The article made mention of many brands of foods and drinks, personal hygiene and cosmetic products, men’s shoes and many other items that became popular when I was young. Most of you may have known and used some of them but I know that a few may have only heard their names but never got to know what really they were. I searched for some of items and posted the images of three (3) of them which I also wish to describe as follows:
A) Purico – a popular brand of shortening or lard for baking, frying and “ginisa” (sauteed) cooking, the cooking oil replaced the item in the present kitchens.
B) Cashmere Bouquet – a nice-scented talcum powder in a tin container, equivalent to compact face powder of today.
C) Bataan Matamis – a non-filter cigarette brand in 30-stick paper packs. My late father consumed at least two (2) packs a day in my growing years.
There are many more popular brands in the past that did not survive to be known by the generations after us. In the course of my search for the images that I used in this article, I saw a forum thread entitled Phil Ads Back Then which really amazed me. I was wondering how the forum member who posted the advertisements managed to keep copies of them. I guess he was in the advertising field before or is really a good keeper of memorabilia. Why don’t you click the link and have a trip down the memory lane?
These 3 brand names are likewise familiar to me as they remind me of my younger years in the province during the 50’s and early 60’s. I remember Argo was the favorite laundry soap with powder detergent still unheard then. Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola were already available during my time but my grandfather preferred Sarsaparilla with a fresh egg mixed therein. A bottle of Sarsaparilla was five centavos then. I was at Grade 2 when I used to buy Pepsi at ten centavos a bottle as it was the preference of cola drinkers. Tide was the first powder detergent that came into the market, followed much later by Breeze. That was the old days when a centavo could still buy a large pan de sal which today will cost two pesos not enough to satisfy a hungry stomach. These days, eight pieces of two-peso pan de sal with either fried egg or slices of cheese will be my satisfying breakfast.