This morning’s blog is a re-run of one a did earlier about those memorable old commercials.
Remember the phrase, “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it”? I wonder that about a lot of things and more often now than I used to. One thing that puzzles me is why manufacturers or agencies change an advertisement that is working fine.
Sometimes after watching a flashy commercial complete with all the latest TV hijinks, I ask, “Now what were they advertising?” The delivery gets in the way of the product.
Does anybody remember Ipana toothpaste? This was most popular in the 1950s. A cute little Beaver named Bucky would assume the identity of an engineer, a space cadet, or something else and sing, “Brusha-brusha, brusha with the new Ipana...”.
Who could forget Dinah Shore singing, “See the USA in your Chevrolet...” Of course Dinah is no longer with us so there’s a good reason not to see that particular commercial any more.
Lawrence Welk introduced the new 1955 Dodge on his program. These beautiful cars came rolling off a big truck and indeed, they were pretty! I’d kind of like to have one today. I’ll bet it would be more costly than it was sixty years ago!
Alka Seltzer had some of the cutest and most unforgettable commercials. A little animated guy called Speedy (see how even his name means quick relief?) came out and convinced us that any stomach upset was only a “plop-plop, fizz, fizz oh what a relief it is” away.
Many years ago, before we had a television, Dad eagerly waited for Wednesday and the Wednesday Night Fights on radio. I didn’t care for boxing but I sure remember those commercials. One was for Hamms Beer. I am not a beer drinker and neither was Dad; nor do I recommend it but that company out of Minnesota had some mighty cute ads with memorable jingles. I liked the Hamms Bear and the way he beat an old log for a drum to the song, “From the land of sky-blue waters…” Is Hamms still around?
Another advertiser on Dad’s night of boxing was Gillette Blue Blades. Ingrained in my memory are these words: “To look sharp and to feel sharp too, get the razor that was meant for you…”
More recently, Taster’s Choice coffee had a really creative way of advertising. It was reminiscent of a soap opera; two people met and fell in love over a cup (or more) of Taster’s Choice. It was interesting to see their romance progress.
It seems to me that rhymes or songs, or something to connect with the average consumer is the best way to sell a product, but then, what do I know? I had a really good idea for a commercial once upon a time and mailed it in to a particular company. They politely thanked me but said they had their own group of paid writers to do their work. Well! Huh! Maybe they should get some new, fresh ideas or dust off those wonderful, memorable, catchy old ones!
While we are thinking about advertising and memorable clips, let me remind you of my YouTube Book Trailer for Grave Shift. Thanks to everyone who shared the link,viewed the video, and gave Darcy and Flora a try. Just click on https://www.youtube.com/embed/Vj5RvBQSaNc?rel=0″
Let’s see, what sort of jingle could I write to go with that?
http://pen-l.com/Mystery.html
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=blanche+day+manos
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