Barking up the wrong (mango) tree

Ah, nothing like the sweet, colorful fruits of summer to bring cheer to any occasion. Family dinners and continental dinner buffets would not be complete without an entire cornucopia of watermelons, cantaloupes, papayas, avocados, pineapples, bananas and mangoes spread out to tantalize and whet the appetite.

In the United States and other countries in temperate climates, this tropical smorgasbord is an international hodgepodge of flavors: Pineapples from Hawaii, bananas from Haiti, watermelons and cantaloupes from Southern California, and avocados and mangoes from Mexico. Such a feast should be fostering amity and harmony among this multinational fruit basket. Instead, it has sown discord and has been a particular irritant for the Department of Trade and Industry and Malacanang.

The issue stems from the use of the term "Manila Mango" to designate a variety of the fruit currently being exported by Mexico to the US. "Somehow their (Mexican) mangoes are being passed off as Philippine mangoes," said Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye. The fear is that these Mexican exports would be eating into the market of Philippine-sourced mangoes also being sold in US markets, particularly on the West Coast. The leading minds in our trade agencies are already set to file a protest with the Mexican government and patent the term.

From a marketing point of view, this sounds to me like a case of sour-graping, or sour-mangoing, to be proper about it. In our own backyard gardens, many of us enjoy the lusciously-sweet variety known locally as "Indian mango." It’s a good thing the enlightened Indian government has not taken issue with it and not sought to prevent us from enjoying these delicious fruits. Ditto for Bangkok santol, the Formosa and Hawaiian pineapples, Mandarin oranges, and so on and so forth.

While we’re at it, why don’t we also patent the terms "Manila hemp" and "Manila envelope" or – as it is more popularly known elsewhere – "Manila folder"? Both of these are made out of abaca, primarily a Philippine product, but a significant export of both the Philippines and Ecuador. Our overzealousness to keep our own for our sovereign and exclusive use is admirable, but, I suspect, a bit misplaced.

The US has been importing tropical fruits, including mangoes, from South American countries for quite some time. It wasn’t until 2002 that the Philippines was allowed to export our carabao-variety mangoes to the US, which were labeled "Philippine Super Mango," to distinguish them from the "Manila mangoes" that were sourced from Mexico.

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has chimed in urging local mango growers to "patent the name ‘Manila Mango’ to prevent other countries from taking advantage of its popularity," says a news item in the May 30 edition of The Philippine Star. "The Manila name rightfully belongs to no other country but the Philippines," said IPO director general Adrian Cristobal Jr. I’m sure India, Thailand, Taiwan and the USA would be very interested to see how the IPO addresses that issue on our local scene.

In the current scenario, "Manila mango" has apparently become a term to designate a variety of mango available in the American continent. The California Rare Fruit Growers organization, which claims to be the largest amateur fruit-growing organization in the world, describes "Manila mango" as "Origin Mexico, a seedling race common in Veracruz state. A seedling strain from Hawaii. Philippine type. Tree dwarf, dense. Fruit small to 10+ oz., shaped long, flat, yellow, flavor sharp (www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/mango.html)." Another variety, the "Carabao mango" is described thus: "Origin Philippines. Philippine type. Fruit medium (10+oz.), elongated, kidney-shaped, light green blushed yellow. Seed very large, flesh stringy, acid, juicy."

A fitting marketing analogy would be the story of the Betamax and the VHS. The Betamax brand by Sony was introduced to the consumer market ahead of the VHS and, clearly had superior technology and features. But Sony kept the Betamax to itself, choosing not to share its technology with others. JVC, on the other hand, licensed other manufacturers to use the technology for their appliances. In the end, the proliferation of the VHS players, and the consequent demand and popularity of the VHS format, dealt the fatal blow to the consumer market for the Betamax.

We’ve all tasted the succulent mangoes that the bounty of our summer harvests brings to our tables. I have also tasted mangoes from Mexico being sold in Southern California markets. Spoonful by spoonful, there is simply no comparison: Our mangoes are the best in the world and no label nor branding will bring these Mexican varieties even close to our mangoes. We don’t have to start a diplomatic row over labels; all we need to do is take advantage of the market that has been opened up for us by these Mexican "Manila mangoes" and wrest the market from them.

Frankly, these official mutterings of our trade agencies sound to me like the grumbling of someone who has lost a race and is resorting to a technicality to try to gain points. If the marketing czars of products like Kleenex, Colgate, IBM and Xerox were as myopic as our trade leaders are, they’d be mulling over filing suit against everyone who calls any photocopier a "Xerox" machine or any individual who asks you to "hand me that Kleenex, please."

I do understand how important brands are in the business of marketing. But in this case, "Manila mango" may already be less a brand and more of a category. Which means that there is an opportunity to introduce our mangoes as a superior brand. Trying to secure the franchise of "Manila mango" may be like trying to do the same to "Hawaiian pineapple." Our hardworking people at the DTI and the IPO may want to take time to study the nuances of what makes a brand, and what the history of mango may be in the US market. Clearly, there is nothing to be gained by escalating this issue into an international one.

Our country has already lost out on global opportunities to market what could have been world-class products. Inventions like the sing-along system (now the karaoke) and natural products like the ylang-ylang flower (the extract of which, has been turned into a perfume and patented by a French company) are representative of the rich resources and creativity that does not get the proper attention or support from government until more enterprising marketers from other countries start making big profits from it. By then, it is too late.

Maybe it is time we started griping less and started selling our country and our products more. There is more to this mango issue than just the quality of our fruits, I understand – there are export quotas, trade balance and other gobbledygook that determine the agreements between countries. I would like to see our government take a more aggressive marketing stance in what is, essentially, a marketing issue, instead of whining about unfair treatment or about patents. We have to wean ourselves from preferential treatment and get on board the wild and woolly world of marketing where the true spirit of competition is unleashed. To do otherwise would be tantamount to barking up the wrong (mango) tree.

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The Creative Guild of the Philippines (CGP), an association of creative heads of advertising agencies in the country, will host the highly anticipated Creative Summit tomorrow, June 7, at the Main Ballroom of the New World Hotel from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.. The event is in celebration of the guild’s 20th year. The theme of the one-day meet, dubbed the abridged version of the Ad Congress, is "Kalat Mulat Angat." It serves as a battle cry that challenges local ad firms to raise the quality of their commercials to international standards. It aims for a 20/20 vision to hit the top spot and to dominate international advertising competitions. So far, the country has yet to win the highest awards in such illustrious contests as the Cannes Lion and Clio awards.

Bing Beltran, CGP president, said: "Some jaded people think that expecting the Philippines to win an international advertising award is like expecting the next pope to be a woman. Sure, winning recognition that will make the world take notice of our creative brilliance is pretty tough, but not impossible. Besides, this nation is bursting with creative talent, waiting to be unleashed. It’s just a matter of timing, motivation, and inspiration."

The guild has lined up international and local advertising luminaries and award winners to speak on various aspects of creativity. The list includes Emily Abrera, chairwoman emeritus, McCann Erickson Phils.; Yoly Ong, group chair and executive creative director, Campaigns & Grey; Ompong Remigio, creative director, Campaigns & Grey; Melvin Mangada, managing partner and ECD, TBWA/SMP; David Ferrer, CD, BBDO; Prasoos Joshi, regional ECD, McCann Erickson Asia Pacific; Mon Jimenez, Joint-CEO, JimenezBasic; Ham Singh, regional publisher, Adoi Magazine; Paul Prince, Sweet Shop Production, New Zealand; Johnson Tan, ProColor PTE, Singapore; and Peachy Pacquing, ECD, Grey Worldwide, Malaysia. For reservations, call Ms. Vanne Tomada at 813 4397 or 7577891.

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You may e-mail bongo@vasia.com for comments, questions or suggestions.