San Marino Corned Tuna takes home Gold at Marketing Excellence Awards 2025
San Marino Corned Tuna has achieved another milestone by bagging the Gold Award for Excellence in Marketing to a Specific Audience at the 2025 Marketing Excellence Awards (MEA) Philippines. The recognition highlights the brand’s impactful campaign that resonated strongly with Filipino consumers, living up to its promise of “siksik, sarap, sulit.”
The MEA is a respected platform that honors marketing campaigns across the region for their creativity, effectiveness, and cultural relevance. Winning Gold places San Marino Corned Tuna alongside the country’s most influential brands in terms of consumer engagement and marketing success.
The Love You Deserve
At the heart of this achievement is San Marino’s campaign, “The Love You Deserve,” fronted by celebrity couple Sarah Geronimo and Matteo Guidicelli. Their authentic partnership and heartfelt delivery added sincerity to the message: just as in love, people should never settle for less, especially with the food they serve at home.
The campaign message, “Sa love, ‘di puwede ang kulang… Ang deserve mo, San Marino Corned Tuna. Siksik. Sarap. At Sulit,” struck a powerful chord. It connected emotional sincerity with the product’s qualities, reminding Filipinos that mealtimes can be acts of love when food is both delicious and valuable.
Each can of San Marino Corned Tuna is packed with flavorful tuna and less oil, bringing the “siksik, sarap, sulit” promise to life. It has become a trusted choice in Filipino households, balancing taste, quality, and affordability.
Bernice Ilacad-Jalgalado, VP for Marketing at CDO Foodsphere Inc., shared, “Winning Gold at MEA 2025 reflects the loyalty of the consumers we serve and our promise of ‘siksik, sarap, sulit’ in every can.”
The recognition also celebrates the teamwork between CDO Foodsphere and its agency partners—NuWorks Interactive Labs, Inc. (lead agency, digital, PR strategy), InCircle (PR execution), and UM Philippines (media agency). Together, they created a campaign that was not only strategic but also heartfelt.
Now celebrating its 50th year, CDO continues to grow from its humble beginnings in a home kitchen to being one of the country’s most trusted food manufacturers. With San Marino Corned Tuna, the company remains dedicated to offering meals that Filipinos can rely on, bringing the taste of home to every dining table.
