Wow. Just… wow. It’s not often that a television commercial changing its formula upsets me, but today shall be remembered as an exception. Louie the Fly, the insect star of gazillions of Mortein fly-spray commercials for over 50 years here in Australia, seems to have finally succumbed to the deadly aerosol he spent his life selling. Reports today have confirmed the death, with Mortein marketing man Chris Tedesco claiming the company has “…moved on in terms of the technological advancement of our products” (I assume that means they killed him?).
Having travelled to various places throughout the USA, Asia and Europe, I can say with reasonable confidence that Australian television ads are, well, not the worst, but in most cases, certainly millions of light-years away from being among the best. Recent years especially seem to have seen a big drop in quality; when was the last time we had anything as memorable as the old Vegemite ads, as terrifying as the Grim Reaper warning us of the danger of AIDS, or simply hilarious as “not happy Jan”? It seems the number of ads with next-to-no production value has skyrocketed, along with the loss of volume control (hello mute button) and, sadly, talent and wit.
With the success of the Aussie TV program The Gruen Transfer (a panel show dedicated to discussing advertising issues and dissecting the crap), and the US cable series Mad Men, I would argue that more than ever, people are interested in this craft that so many of us think we’re immune to. Every now and then, Mad Men allows Don Draper to step forward and show exactly why he’s the star of his show. Part of the genius behind this writing is that when real advertising techniques are used (as they often are), we’re allowed behind the image to see exactly why it works. It’s a fitting theme for a show with a backdrop of the manufactured society of the 1960s.
One stand-out moment in the first season featured a comparison between the advertising campaigns of two presidents; Kennedy and Nixon. Kennedy, in spite of all his political pow-wow, had gone with a catchy jingle that, while revealing nothing about his policies or plans, kept the viewer watching and prompted interest. Nixon, meanwhile, simply stared at a camera in his office and addressed the viewer; “I’d like to talk to you about taxes”. Hmm.
Sadly, it seems a lot of Aussie ad-makers could learn a lot from any given episode of Mad Men. Sure it’s fiction, but the idea of trying to understand the dynamics behind what makes a human do what it does certainly sounds intriguing, doesn’t it? A hell of a lot more interesting than a Harvey Norman commercial.
Farewell Louie, I always thought you were a stand-out amongst the boring majority of your peers. Your creator, Bryce Courtenay, and original voice, Ross ”Ted Bullpitt” Higgins, will surely miss you (as may Mortein). No doubt you’ll be replaced soon though, likely with an all-knowing and attractive mother who is concerned over the effects fly-spray may have on her 8 year old, while her husband of-course does something in the background that proves he is not very clever with truly hilarious results. Oh telly, you and your wacky ways.
This does of-course free up space for some of our newer ad creation, i.e. Rivers, that yoghurt ad where they fight over whether it’s “yoh-gert” or “yog-art”, and that new Channel Seven promo featuring one of the most lyrically sublime jingles of all time. Pay attention now: “are you, are you, are you, are you ready, get set, are you ready, get set, are you ready?”.
