62 posts tagged “advert”

Now that I’ve figured out how to watch these on the RTL site, I am very much looking forward to this week’s instalment of Alarm für Cobra 11: die Autobahnpolizei.

I stumbled across this TVC by accident. It was Norwich Union renaming itself Aviva late last year, and features Bruce Willis, Elle Macpherson, Alice Cooper and Ringo Starr. The idea was that each of these celebrities changed their name before they became famous.
   I am not sure if the first two qualify: the first was born Walter Bruce Willis and from what I can tell, was just known as Bruce. I’ve a few friends in the same boat, where their families called them by their middle names. Elle Macpherson might have been Eleanor Gow, but Elle is a reasonable shortening of Eleanor, and Macpherson was her stepfather’s surname.
   Alice Cooper was indeed Vincent Furnier and Ringo Starr was Richard Starkey.
   I imagine Elton John, Cliff Richard and Michael Caine weren’t available.

A pity that John Hillerman is still putting on his English accent and Magnum, PI Higgins persona in this 1989 TVC. I expected to hear his original Texan drawl.

Carrying on from a post that Jaklumen made on his blog, I went to look for the Lucy Lawless-headed Greenpeace campaign to reduce emissions. This is Lucy Lawless as Lucy Lawless, and her accent has changed a great deal since I saw her in the Shark in the Park episode ‘Double or Quits’. It has Americanized slightly, which is no surprise since she is married to an American and has a home in LA.

This series of Alarm für Cobra 11 seems to have Semir and Ben going undercover more. Last week’s 200th episode took them on to water and off-road, rather than on the Autobahn, while here’s next week’s preview:

As long as I can have my car chases and eye-popping Euro stunts, I really don’t mind …

You just have to admire some ad creatives. There are some ads that aren’t particularly relevant which come in through the networks, but this one on Lucire’s website is very entertaining:

There’s a thread on Facebook on a New Zealand group, on the topic of advertising that we still quote. I volunteered this list:

Schweppes: ‘Alone Again, Naturally’; and Doris (drag queen)
2ZM (Wellington): ‘Fun, fun, fun in the big city’ (1978)
Territorial Part-Time Soldiers: done to the theme of ‘Born to Be Wild’
L. V. Martin & Son: Alan Martin
Ches & Dale (in colour!)
John Walker selling Fresh-up: ‘It’s got to be good for you’
Suzanne Prentice: ‘It’s cheaper, cheaper, cheaper at Wardell’s’
Leyland Princess 2: ‘It’s a triumph’
TV2: ‘Bringing the world to you / On 2’
Lands for Bags (of course)
AA Mutual: ‘Double-A-M-U-T-U-A-L / We’ll make sure you’re OK’
Sports and Recreation: ‘Try it now, do it more, things you’ve never done before’
Swim safety PSA with that guy from MASH
Fire safety PSA with Dick van Dyke (obviously made in the US and reused here)
And the karate ladies from Cut Price Stores (the real discounters)—‘Grocery prices must come down!’

And can add that ‘Bushell’s instant coffee puts the life in you.’ I still have a few of the above on video cassette, but, sadly, I cannot find them on YouTube.
   Any other Kiwis want to volunteer some memories?

This spot from the late 1950s is very charming. And even when the economy wasn’t that fab, Italian people have stilo.

Un pub pour la Fiat 500 en Italie, des années 50.

There was quite a bit of buzz with the Ford Puma TVC in 1997, which used visual effects to bring Steve McQueen back to life, driving the newer car. The original footage and music are from Bullitt, and a body double was used in some shots, with McQueen’s face mapped on to him. I read some of the YouTube comments and they were quite critical, saying McQueen would never have driven this car, but I beg to differ. Plus, it was done with the permission of Steve McQueen’s children.

   The director even got asked, ‘What was it like to work with him?’ by people who did not realize that, by that time, Steve McQueen had been dead for some 16 years.
   I was very surprised to see Ford used a similar idea when selling the 2005 Mustang a few years ago. Maybe it’s because I knew of the Puma ad for such a long time that this newer one seems less clever. Make a track in your field and dead people will begin emerging. And take your car.

I know Qantas has made more of these but I still love the 1999 version of its TVC. The arrangement is the best of the lot, in my opinion, never mind the butchering of some of Peter Allen’s lyrics (I might not be an Aussie, but I always thought it was ‘From New York to Rio and old London town,’ not Rome).

Conclusion: Australians have some of the best patriotic songs in the world.