When I was
growing up, I looked forward to seeing some of the fun TV adverts almost as
much as watching the programmes. The 70s yielded a host of great classics –
remember the little metal aliens laughing, “then they smash them all to bits
(Cadbury Smash) or the Cresta bear declaring, “It’s frothy man”. Even the
middle-aged man in his pyjamas crooning, “R Whites lemonade” became something
to look forward to.
As the
years progressed, we waited with baited breath to see the next instalment of
the Gold Blend Saga, or looked forward to the latest escapade of dodgy spy
(Rowan Atkinson, prototype Johnny English) equipped with Barclaycard. Celebrity
appearances in adverts were not as common as today, but when they did appear it
tended to be in more of an acting capacity. Remember Joan Collins and Leonard
Rossiter in the Cinzano ads?
However, I
feel that TV ads have become more dreary over the years, with ‘celebrity’ faces
and voices the norm, extolling the virtues of products that they probably would
never dream of using themselves. Some of the worst of these adverts have been
aimed at vulnerable people, struggling financially for example, who may believe
the product/service they are seeing must be fine as it is apparently endorsed
by a famous face. Do top earning celebs really take out ‘payday loans’ or
exchange their ‘gold for cash’?
Apart from
anything else, a famous person reading from a script is painfully dull and TV
adverts no longer capture my imagination. I miss the old catchy jingles and
slogans that inspired us to join in. Remember ‘Lipsmackin'thirstquenchin'acetastin'
etc Pepsi or “Murray Mints, Murray Mints, the too good to hurry mints’?
What I’m
currently finding particularly irritating is the trend to repeat the same ad
two or three times during the course of one commercial break. Does this make me
more interested in a product? No. Does it make me want to buy the product? No.
In fact, it makes me fed-up of it and I switch off mentally – classic
put-the-kettle-on-time.
So come on
all you producers of television commercials. If you seriously want to sell a
product, put the money into making ads that are fun and interesting, rather
than paying a ‘celeb’ to read from a script. Current TV ads on the whole just aren’t
working for me. In fact, you may notice I have not mentioned any specific
recent ads. Why? I can’t remember them!
What do you
think? comments@shoppersjoy.co.uk
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