I never change channel during the commercial breaks. I actually like watching the ads. Always have done. Even as a kid I actually liked watching them and would sing along to the occasional jingle. Much as I hate to give a snippet of credence to moral guardians, children do imitate what they see on TV, though rarely in the psychotic violent way they would have you believe. When I was little, if anything made me laugh I would try to copy it. A crazy walk, an annoying jingle or a silly voice, if it was funny I would emulate it. The commercial breaks of my youth had all three. Here are five ads I used to reenact, much to the annoyance of those around me.
Kia-Ora-I’ll Be Your Dog
A classic commercial from 1982, the catchy jingle from Swedish reggae group Caramba is as infectious as the animation. This ad, one of the last remnants of a less enlightened era, imprinted itself on our consciousness and was one of my personal favourite references used in Spaced. The relaxed strut and skip was easy to imitate but barking in rhythm as loud as you can was way more fun. Ask anyone of my generation about Kia-Ora and they won’t think about the drink, they’ll think about the ad. Then maybe start barking.
Trebor Softmints-Mr. Soft
I recently discovered that this ad creeped a lot of people out. I honestly don’t know why as I think it’s great. I loved to mimic Mr. Soft’s walk around the schoolyard and it did elicit more laughs than beatings. I have since added the original Cockney Rebel song Mr. Soft to my regular music rotation yet the downside of being an adult is that damned social awareness which inhibits us from doing a silly walk in public.
Tango-You’ll Know
Not a musical advert, but still funny. The wobbly guy waves his arms as he waddles over towards the poor unsuspecting soul and delivers the most hilarious faceslap ever committed to TV. They removed this commercial from circulation because several children copied it and suffered from perforated eardrums as a result. I don’t care. It’s still fun to copy, especially the awesome movements of the fat orange dude and the Geordie accent of the commentator.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSO-N7t91yQ
Lyle’s Golden Syrup-Stick It
Much like Kia-Ora, I strutted around the house, pissing people off with this ad. Though instead of barking I shouted out only every other word like “SPOON” and “TIN” at random. An independent observer might recommend counselling. Ah ’twas a simpler time, the early 90’s.
Colgate Blue Minty Gel-Baggy Trousers
This is a great ad. Brilliant choice of song and features one of the many famous Madness walks. Nobody seems to parody songs for advertising anymore, at least not nearly with the same effort. Baggy Trousers isn’t the first thing that comes to your head for advertising dental products but here it works. I imitated the walk done in this ad but considering Madness were on the radio often enough it was slightly more acceptable. I still do this walk along with everyone else on a night out whenever Madness is played, only I’m the only one thinking of toothpaste.
