Six Unforgettable Filipino Ads from Growing Up in the 90s and 00s

These made an impression on me, even before I knew I wanted to be a writer!

Aug 28, 2024

Screengrab from Family Portrait (an ad by McDonald’s Philippines)

What makes a great ad?

Human insight? Hard-hitting strategy? Shocking creativity?

Perhaps it’s all that.

But what makes an ad timeless and unforgettable? What ads will we remember in a year’s time? In five, ten, twenty years?

Case in point: my mom was born in the 60s, and sometimes she still randomly recalls commercial jingles from the 70s and 80s.

I was born in the 90s, and while I was rarely allowed to watch local TV besides the news (more about that here), there are local ads that made an impact on me. And when I was a junior copywriter, my Gen X Creative Director would have us watch and listen to YouTube playlists filled with retro TV and radio ads. Fun!

This week, I wanted to do a little list of some Filipino ads that I grew up with, that I find particularly impactful. These are memorable for me not just as a consumer, but as a kid watching TV or commuting. And as an advertising copywriter myself, I hope to one day create something as impactful as these ads.

1. Family Portrait by McDonald’s (Leo Burnett) (2003)

Oh man, this ad. This ad came out when I was eight years old. I was in Grade 2, I shouldn’t have been thinking so deeply about the passage of time or parents getting old or growing up and being an adult, gathering and eating as a family becoming more and more difficult…

The vignettes in this clip, plus the poignant soundtrack of Noel Cabangon’s Kanlungan? It was enough to upset me to the point where I would hide in our bedroom every time the ad came on. Haha! But wow, just wow. Shout out to the team behind this TVC, because it really did a number on me. And I still feel the emotions as intensely today.

As a writer, I love how the team maximized this legacy brand. They could show the passage of time, points in Philippine history that would be relatable to the viewers, and show how gathering around the table - whether it was the nuclear family at home, or the extended family at McDo - was a part of life. And it was so, so realistic that way. Beautiful. No notes.

2. Coke Beat Game (Ito ang Beat Sabay Sabay) (McCann) (2003)

Ask any Filipino 90s kid about this Coke ad and I guarantee they know and remember it.

When this commercial came out, everyone at school was learning to play the beat game like crazy! And I was eight when this came out, so it was around the same time that my schoolmates and I were playing other clap games like Nanay Tatay, Bahay Kubo, Bang, and Leron Leron Sinta. I was fascinated by the hand movements, but as a girlie with poor hand-eye coordination and a lot of shyness, it took me a while to learn it 🥲

Dissecting it now as an advertising copywriter, it’s amazing how disruptive and different it was - a hand-clapping game to sell a soft drink? Just two girls and a Coke bottle with them? No hardsell? But then the chant goes “Coke ko ‘to, Coke ko ‘to” (“This is my Coke”) and ah, you see right where the sell happens. Subtle yet with a punch. And the game and the chant got people saying the brand name over and over, in varying contexts. Wow! And it was very much tied in with how the brand still markets itself today - as an experience.

Now if only Coca-Cola was as skilled at reducing their pollution as they were at making memorable ads like these. 😬

3. First Day High by Rexona (Dyll) (2006)

Ah, 2006-2007. I remember feeling that Rexona was on a roll during this period. Besides this very catchy first-day-of-school anthem, I vaguely remember that they had these ads in Total Girl for a raffle draw whose prizes included a pink Honda Jazz and a Nokia 5300 (remember that phone that would slide up and down?). You can check out the Sistahfun ad with all those prizes here.

I was a tween, so I was already quite keen about how I wanted to identify: Brainy, maybe? Sosy was in purple, my favorite color, but we weren’t well-off, haha! And pretty much all my classmates and teachers wanted to perform some version of this during the icebreakers of the first week of school. Wild!

Looking at this ad now as a copywriter, I think it’s cool that they had these “cohorts”, that they chose a very hip band at the time (Kamikazee), and the impact of the product could be seen in the confident arms-up gestures. But yeah, it was mostly the earworm of it all, for me at least. And those cool raffle prizes. *sigh*

4. Pag-Ibig: Nestle PH 100 Years (Publicis Manila) (2011)

As you can probably tell, I’m a sucker for sentimental ads! I love how the passage of time here is told through motifs of what I’m familiar with: clothes I’d see in my grandma’s old photos, the big hair in my mom’s old photos, and the relatable and realistic family life scenes. And the way the story is told and the products are placed? *chef’s kiss*

With this and the McDo ad, though, I can say that the team had the “luxury” of working with a legacy brand. They could afford to tell the story in a soft-sell-ish way. Jollibee’s ads are similar. Hey, maybe one day I’ll get to work on a project like this, too, where the clients are confident in their legacy brands and can let creative storytelling shine.

5. Preso 2 by Boysen (2012)

I was surprised by how recent this ad is when I looked it up - I could’ve sworn it was from the mid-2000s! Yet, I can’t seem to track the ad agency that worked on it — do give a shoutout in the comments if you know the answer.

This ad is unforgettable to me because of three things;

The unusual metaphor for the paint’s longevity,
The easy-to-recall images: a man in jail, white paint
The double meaning of the song (it talks about waiting patiently, and also about the steadfastness of Boysen Paints).

The absurdity of it is something similar to what Gigil does nowadays, don’t you think?

I love how the team made something so fun for a product people don’t usually notice - paint! Even people not looking to buy or use paint anytime soon can recall Boysen, because of this ad! I was a college freshman when this came out, so paint was not on my radar. But this ad piqued my interest! And for those looking for the product benefits, they’re right in the ad too, and are mentioned directly at the end. Nice!

6. Olivia, will you marry me? by Empire East (HDI Adventures) (2014)

Creative Execution – HDI Adventures, Inc

OLIVIA, WILL YOU MARRY ME??? & She said YES!!! - Empire East Land Holdings, Inc.

(Images via HDI Adventures, Empire East Holdings)

The only non-TVC on this list, this billboard series came out when I was in college. I didn’t know I wanted to be in advertising yet, but boy was I intrigued by the “public proposal” and the eventual reveal that the brand was leveraging on the idea of making a home together as a couple. Smart! I know that some people would’ve found this disappointing, but I personally found it very insightful. It got a lot of buzz and speculation, and once it was revealed, there was all that publicity!

One day, I hope to be able to create something as impactful, unforgettable, and timeless as those ads. But I also know that it takes a lot more than just yearning and grit, or even insight and creativity plus years of experience. It takes a great team, it takes bravery on the part of the brand, and sometimes it takes a certain level of prestige (as was the case for Nestle and McDo).

Now before you all get riled up in the comments and ask: Where is Karen Po (McDonald’s), where is Sarsi Angat sa Iba (that was before I was born, guys), where is The Most Disturbing Dinner (Lucky Me) - I only chose the six ads that I personally find unforgettable, and only from when I was growing up 😅 It was hard to choose just six to feature.

But hey, let’s hear it from you: what are the most memorable ads you’ve seen or heard? Please, share them in the comments below!