The many faces of Nescafe a cute;

Let’s sit and talk a while, in the one world of Nescafé...

While reading the sentence above, I bet you that it was accompanied in your head by a melody.

The line comes from a jingle of a Nescafé campaign back in 1983 and seeing the commercials again brings back memories of a very romantic time with the country’s favorite coffee. Back then, Nescafé was associated with images of gondola rides in Venice and mornings in a gazebo overlooking the Eiffel Tower and one almost forgets how foreign the brand seemed back then.

The song, however, is unforgettable. Until now, that classic Nescafé  song, One World of Nescafe, is recalled nostalgically by friends, business partners and lovers alike over morning cups of coffee. The big surprise was that it was sung by Zsa Zsa Padilla, who was only 18 at that time. It launched her career and led to her venturing into TV hosting and acting. More importantly, it was the beginning of a beautiful relationship between the brand and Filipino musicians. It’s been 25 years and to this day Nescafé is one of those brands that have remained dedicated to one of our country’s greatest resources — Original Pilipino Music (OPM).

Five years after One World of Nescafé was released, Jose Mari Chan composed the jingle for Nescafé’s 50th anniversary, titled Nescafé’s 50 Golden Years. It was recorded by Eric Antonio of the all-male singing group The Tux. To provide a female angle, Mara Sequera, Bing Benin and Elaine Carriedo were chosen to be the three Nescafé ladies of 1988. They recorded their own version of One World of Nescafé, with each one singing different paragraphs of the song. The lyrics were slightly altered this time around, but it still ended with the classic line.

As time progressed, Nescafé became more and more local in flavor. In the mid-‘90s, True Faith took on the mantle as Nescafé artist, coming up with the first Nescafé song in Filipino. The song was Sumasarap Ang Gising and it gave the brand a more easygoing, modern and casual feel. In it, Medwin Marfil sings, “Ganito ang umaga, di ipagpapalit sa iba, basta’t ikaw ang kapiling, sumasarap ang gising,” a sentiment that fits perfectly with a Filipino morning. The music video, an MTV-Pilipinas award-winner by Robert Quebral, also showcased the best aspects of a Filipino morning — people getting together in a carinderia, reading the papers, arguing good-naturedly, playing games and being sweet. Because of Sumasarap Ang Gising, Nescafé hit closer to home and became the coffee not only couples, but the whole community could enjoy together.

In 2004, Nescafé launched its One Good Day Coming Up! campaign with Barbie Almalbis who, with her lovely voice, wide-eyed glee and awe-inspiring cuteness, was the perfect person to represent today’s mobile, optimistic youth.

The music video was the first project of one of today’s hottest directors, Adrian Calumpang, and was directed brilliantly. I mean, to put Barbie in pajamas acting all cute around an elevator? Genius. I know it’s very obvious by now that I’m Barbie’s biggest fan, but I don’t care. The whole campaign certainly added a new dimension to the brand and allowed Nescafé to reinvent itself with a look and feel that continues to this day.

The year after, Nescafé signed on a band that was fast on the rise yet not tried and tested: Bamboo. They were then they were only on the heels of their debut album. Their song Sunshine, a bright and upbeat track, was accompanied by an impressive one-shot Gondryesque commercial directed by Cholo Laurel. The commercial was released at the cusp of Bamboo’s rise to fame, and set up Nescafé’s reputation as a tastemaker and zeitgeist-spotter.

This was further solidified in 2006, when they commissioned the very young and hip band Hale to do its interpretation of One Moment One Nescafé. Considering that the band was composed mostly of kids in their early 20s people had never heard of before their self-titled debut album the year before, Hale seemed to comfortably fit among the array  of great artists to sing a Nescafé tune. A big help was the commercial, directed by Sid Maderazo and photographed by JA Tadena. The spot is actually considered by many as the band’s best music video — giving its members a casual, elegant and warm dimension that the fans were craving for. Even today it’s a big YouTube hit.

Nescafé’s most recent hit comes from Parokya ni Edgar, another bold move considering that the band is known mostly for its crazy antics and irreverent, kenkoy song parodies. Parokya’s image is a far cry from that of the artists who preceded them, but trust Nescafé to recognize talent, no matter what form it takes. It is this innate talent of Parokya to understand the idiosyncracies of youth that brought about the spirited jingle for Nescafé 3-in-1. For the commercial, Maderazo returns to show a more laid-back and relaxed side of the band with one of the most visually stunning spots of the year.

The brand’s relationship with music doesn’t end there. Nescafé has also done a reggae summer project with Artstrong, probably its sexiest commercial to date.  M.Y.M.P.’s Juris Fernandez and Chin Alcantara recorded their own version of One Moment, One Nescafé which went the radio station rounds. Nescafé also has its eye towards the future with Soundskool, an inter-school band competition that already has a reputation for discovering talent in its less than four years of existence.

Time passes. Trends come and go. Even Nescafé changes as the years go by. This year, it’s time to sit and reminisce a while as Parokya ni Edgar, Hale, Barbie and Zsa Zsa come back with a tune to celebrate Nescafé’s 70th anniversary. Who knows what great music the future will bring? But one thing’s for sure, as Nescafé and OPM will still be going hand in hand into the future, the music is will be as stimulating as a morning cup of coffee.