Mang Bert Timbol’s Beautiful Life

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and in this case the eye belongs to Norberto Timbol, and he has beheld a good share of beauty.

For 34 years, Mang Bert has been an integral part of giving the country the archetype of what is beautiful, having sat in almost all beauty contests since 1968, including the one that gave us the "pinakamagandang babae sa balat ng lupa", the Philippines’ first Miss Universe, Gloria Diaz.

Timbol’s involvement in beauty searches was primarily as representative of the Philippine Refining Company (PRC, now Unilever Philippines).

"I wore many hats at PRC," he shares with STARweek. "I was invited to join the company in 1961 to head the development of the research department. In 1968, PRC wanted to sponsor Binibining Pilipinas. I became a member of the executive committee together with Ms. Stella Marquez Araneta and the late Atty. Nicolas Santiago."

As part of that committee, Mang Bert saw to it that the integrity and standards of quality of the search for our representative to the Miss Universe pageant were above reproach. Beauty, as Mang Bert defines it, is "a combination of the physical, emotional maturity and spirituality of a person".

"One thing: I never socialized with the beauties," he emphasizes. "I kept my distance. Yes, I mingle in the socials. Who doesn’t want to be surrounded by beautiful women? But there are certain rules and ethics–I can’t break the trust that the company gave me."

So seriously did he take the responsibility that it took its toll. There were times when he sat in several contests in one year. Aside from Binibining Pilipinas, there was Mutya ng Pilipinas, Miss Asia Pacific, Super Models, Face of the Year, and Teen Philippines. He once even told Stella Marquez, "The biggest problem that I have now is I’ve lost the joy and excitement of seeing a beautiful woman…" He gave up his seat as a pageant juror in 2002.

But the beautiful things in his life haven’t stopped coming. In truth, for 75 years, Norberto Timbol has been surrounded with beauty.

Growing up in the family farm in Tarlac, the second to the youngest of five children of Raymundo and Rosario Timbol, the simplicity of life was his first realization of splendor and beauty. Mang Bert grew up with the farm tenants in the province. "Compassion, humility and generosity were the early virtues that were introduced to me and were carried on later in my life," he says.

Formative years were spent at the Sto. Cristo Elementary School. He was in the 5th grade when World War II broke out. When the Americans came, students were all accelerated then fast tracked to high school. After the war, their family remained on the farm and everyday he walked to school with the children of their tenants, five kilometers each way. He graduated from the Tarlac High School.

His mother and his sisters were all alumni of the Philippine Normal School in Manila, and that was where he earned his BS Education degree major in school administration. Briefly, he was an assistant principal at the Isabelo Delos Reyes Elementary School in Tondo.

But his desire to go abroad, even join the army, found him applying for a Fullbright scholarship. Mang Bert was accepted at the Northwestern University but as fate would have it, Fullbright Exchange Professor Walter Farrel Zyde, who also happened to be vice president of the University of Colorado, saw him holding a brochure of his school and asked if he would be interested to go to Colorado. His ‘yes’ found him spending four years in Colorado.

In 1961, while he was teaching psychology at the University of the Philippines, the invitation to join PRC came.

"At that time, you don’t apply for a job in PRC, you get invited," he relates. "The PRC advertising manager, Hendrick Nijk, asked me to visit them on January 10, 1961. The president then was William R. Galbraith. On the same day, I had my medical. The physician even said ‘he’s okay except for the slight broken rib on the left side.’ The next thing I knew they were asking me ‘when do you start?’"

He resigned from the university and on February 15, 1961 started working at PRC. His main responsibility was to set up and develop the market research department of PRC and he was given five years to train people and then decide what to do with the department.

On his first day, he was sent to represent PRC at the Phililippine Radio Broadcasting Company Association, where he met stalwarts in the industry such as Bob Stewart, the Ng Brothers, Garcia Brothers, Henry Canoy, Atty. Fred Montilla, Fred Elizalde and Gabby Arceo.

In April, he was sent to India then London to study the research and media departments of the companies there, the start of company travels "that broadened my horizons". He was the only non-white and the first Filipino to be sent to Lever Bros. in New York to study the activation for the new toothpaste, Close-up.

Exactly five years later, he became the 12th senior manager of PRC. There were only three Filipinos at that time holding senior positions in the company. He held many other managerial positions in the ensuing years, moving from advertising to marketing with ease and competence.

In the 60’s, Mang Bert easily stood out in a crowd. He often wore cowboy outfits which were a result of summers spent in the mountains of Colorado when he was pursuing his graduate and post graduate studies in psychology and research at the University of Colorado in the late 1950s.

In fact, PRC president Alun Griffiths often called his attention about his unusual costumes. But he had a quick retort, "I do believe, Mr. Griffiths, that I was hired not for my sartorial elegance."

His Colorado experience was obviously a significant stage in his life. "There were only a handful of Filipinos there, one of them was Quentin Doromal who became president of Siliman University. To earn during the summer, I would go up to the mountain ranch and go out with the wranglers. I also tended the stables as well as waited on tables. The customers were very generous especially when they learned that I’m from the Philippines and am pursuing a doctorate. I got plenty of tips," he recalls with a smile.

Mang Bert is quick to point out that Filipinos then stood out because of the ability to speak English, so much so that he felt like he was one of the boys. It also helped that he had a photographic memory; he did advance reading of the textbooks while he was out herding cows, and this enabled him to be at the top of his class.

He was also quite a dancer during square dance evenings, and he was a hit with the old ladies who otherwise would have been wallflowers, since the young ones opted to partner with ladies of their own age.

"While I was in Colorado, studying was fun," he recalls. "I had to work to sustain myself in school. Working in the U.S. was a regular part of life; I didn’t look at it as a chore. I never looked for things to complain about, so work or whatever it was came easy."

Between 1968 to 1970, he was shuttling between Manila and Indonesia as adviser in charge of the organizing and setting up of the media and marketing research services department.

He also went all over the country as PRC sponsored events like the Tour of the Philippines and the Tour of Luzon. "The travel gave me a well-rounded outlook in life. I got to immerse myself with people and their idiosyncrasies. Each region has its share of funny incidents," he muses.

Beyond that, Mang Bert was surrounded by the most dynamic men and women whose level of creativity and intelligence he learned from and sought to match. When he eventually earned their respect, the honorific "Mang" was added to his name.

In 1986, Mang Bert founded Media Arts Systems and Services Company, Inc. or simply MASSCOM, an agency exclusively servicing the media needs of Unilever Philippines.

Mang bert sums up 26 years in Unilever and 20 years in MASSCOM, "Having a beautiful life, I think, is living the way it is given to you as God wills it. You feel it, you do not demand. Neither do I demand from circumstances or from people. I never put a price–in terms of money–on anything that I do."

The innumerable beauty pageants, the seemingly endless bicycle tours, the grand television productions and memorable jingles were all products of the department he was commissioned to develop. Mang Bert started many trends in the advertising industry that earned him the tag, "Father of Media Advertising."

Mang Bert is the embodiment of the formula "psychology plus research makes a good media man".

"We were selling consumer products, it was important to cater your product to the habits, likes and dislikes and even the culture of your market," he says. Some of the memorable, trendsetting campaigns that he launched were:

For Sunsilk shampoo, research showed that Filipino women consider their hair as their crowning glory, and they go to certain lengths to take care of their hair. Thus all the commercials showed shiny, soft, long, black hair. The concept is still being used today.

"Songs and jingles are very much a part of the campaigns of PRC/ Unilever. This is due to the fact that Filipinos love music/ singing," Mang Bert says. Music marketing was first used for the detergent Breeze, with Ruben Tagalog singing a kundiman about paglalaba. Lux shampoo had Side A singing with the memorable tandem of Richard and Lucy Gomez. Some of Close-Up’s songs even topped local music charts.

For Superwheel, research showed that Filipinos do not like using detergents because they cannot rub it on the dirty portion of the clothes. That led to the tagline "Konting Kuskos Ayos!"

Also for Superwheel, Mang Bert started the advertising spoof trend, parodying Cleopatra with Elizabeth Ramsey’s memorable line, "Magapatuka na lang ako sa ahas…" and Samson and Delilah with the late Apeng Daldal and the heavy set mestiza Dr. Perez Prado as Delilah.

Mang Bert was sent to New York for test marketing of the new Close-Up toothpaste. The Close-Up Zone was introduced where a couple’s mouth and nose were so close together to form the personal zone. The concept is still being used today.

Rounding out the beauty in his life beautiful is his family. "My wife Teresita doesn’t have a jealous bone in her body," he says. "I never gave her any reason to be. Since the day we met in college she has been my friend, partner, confidant."

Their relationship of almost 50 years is based on two rules: 1) Never allow hard feelings to go to bed with you and 2) Never talk about money be it plenty, little or none at all.

The latter guides his professional life as well–Mang Bert never complained about his salary. And he never worried whether he was rich or poor. "Money is a privilege given by God," he believes. "If you don’t share it or use it, money has no value at all." His personal foundation has sent many sons and daughters of their tenants, helpers and drivers to school.

As MAng Bert celebrates seven life beautiful years he can indeed look back on many beautiful and satisfying aspects, from a successful professional legacy to many enriching friendships and meaningful encounters. But he considers his family the crowning glory of his life: his wife teresita, his three children Lorrie, Elaine and Raymund, and seven grandchildren.

"I just want to be remembered as the father of my children," he says with obvious pride. "Because if I am alone who am I? Whether my children did badly or well they represent a kaleidoscope of achievements, of philosophy, of failures and successes. Whatever they are is a reflection of me."