From the '80s: Cindy's TV Commercial

"When you're hungry ... Cindys is the place to be..."
"When you're hungry ... Cindys is the place to be..."
"Burger, French fries, fried chicken"

"Chicken barbecue, palabok, spaghetti"

"When you're hungry ... (When you're hungry) ... Cindys is the place to be..."


Those are the lyrics of  the catchy TV commercial jingle of Cindys Bakery and Restaurant. The jingle, which became popular in the '80s, still never fails to elicit the last-song syndrome. A visit to YouTube led me to a chance encounter with a video of the said jingle which can be played below.

Video Credit: YouTube / Cindy's Bakery and Restaurant

I first saw this TV commercial around 1987. At the start, there are two young men who appear to be stranded in an island. They were then visited by an animated pink crocodile. (Perhaps this crocodile inspired the creation of Barney the purple T. rex). The trio then dances and dines inside a Cindys branch.


A man and woman, presumably Adam and Eve, were tempted by an again-animated serpent to eat an apple.   While Adam holds the fruit, it changes into a burger. It is then revealed that Adam is accompanied by Eve and the serpent inside that Cindys branch.


Shots of Cindys' offerings then appear. A kid who wears a Dracula costume interrupts the scene and sings the line "chicken barbecue." The stranded young men, Adam, Eve, and the animated reptiles then appear together with the Cindys logo at the background. Kid Dracula is then shown. The last shot is that of a busy day at Cindys.


I was surprised that this restaurant has been around for a long time. Cindy's was established in 1971 by a group of businessmen who aimed at launching a restaurant that could bring "good food in a good place." The first branch was opened in Tarlac. It started to offer freshly baked bread, halo-halo and local favorites like pancit luglog.


The popularity of the Tarlac branch resulted in expansions in Olongapo City and Metro Manila. To target the youth market, Cindy's began to offer (as the lyrics of the jingle say) burgers, french fries, and spaghetti. In order to differentiate its menu from those of typical fastfood joints, Cindys runs three sections, namely, The Hamburger Section, The Express Meals and The Bakeshop. Cindys opened a store that was mainly a bakery, and secondarily a restaurant, in 1996. Today, Cindys currently has more than 40 stores all over the Philippines.