Australian lager adverts in the UK have always shown an element of dry wit. This one is the old favourite “something for the ladies?” overloading of the ute (pick up truck) from Castlemaine XXXX. Enjoy:
Category Archives: fun stuff
the power of the media – e.coli and all that
So there I am, networking away after giving an evening presentation, when realisation of the time creeps up on me. I need to get moving. I’ve missed out on the sponsor’s excellent looking buffet, but plan to grab a sandwich at Paddington – it’s a long time since 12 and my hurried lunch.
Farewells said I head out into Kingsway and cross the street heading for Holborn Station and the Central Line. As I funnel into the stream of others squeezing into the entrance I take the free Evening Standard and shuffle through the turnstiles and down the escalator.
A westbound train is just pulling so I dive on, lean up against the partition and open my paper. The news is bad: Mutant e.coli sweeping Europe and the US. Deadly bugs passed on via salad items seem to be the cause and we have 7 victims over here in the UK now. Nasty stuff, and I feel for the folks in Hamburg, the epicentre of the outbreak the paper tells me, as it is somewhere I have visited many times on business and have always been warmly welcomed.
A change of train at Oxford Circus and I get a seat this time. I read more about the outbreak and its implications. All very unpleasant.
Paddington comes up and I make my way through the tunnel and up onto the concourse. I have 10 minutes before the train is due out, so head for the food concessions to find, you guessed it, row upon row of tired looking concoctions (well it is just after 9pm) all embellished with limp salad.
Even if the chance of any of it being likely to be carrying a nasty bug is infinitesimal, ThatConsultantBloke goes home to bed hungry, unable to face any of it, the power of the media having put him off thoroughly.
when TV adverts were fun – whitbread abdul the bulbul emir
This is just one of a series, but features a young Stephen Fry as Ivan, an equally young Blackadder colleague Tim McInnerny as the minstrel and Tony Cosmo as Abdul.
The words used in the song in the ad are obviously geared around the product, but use the tune and general theme of the original as written by Frank Crumit in 1941 (ish) using Percy French’s 1877 poem,
A number of references to the song and the ad call it Abdul la BulBul Emir (and have assorted spellings of Emir). This possibly comes from a mis-hearing of the proper title Abdullah BulBul Emir. I had alway known it as Abdul the BulBul Emir from having first heard some rather rude versions over the years prior to seeing the Whitbreadversion, but, anyway, here is the clip:
when TV adverts were fun – Carling Black Label on snooker
Another older clip and back with Carling Black Label. Here we have snooker world champions John Spencer and Terry Griffiths with top referee of the time Len Ganley and with the voice of the late “whispering” Ted Lowe. Spencer’s throw away “you ask him” at the end is a classic.
Filed under fun stuff
when TV adverts were fun – the Smash aliens
Going back a bit further than I have so far in this series, here is another classic piece of lateral thinking in the shape of the “Smash them all to bits” advert for Smash mashed potato featuring their wonderful metalic aliens.
Filed under fun stuff
when TV adverts were fun – an opinion, and a bonus advert
I hope that folks are enjoying my little weekly series providing a link tosome of the TV commercials that I think were great examples.
Whilst the implication is that they are not that good these days, I do enjoy some of the current crop. The long running Walkers Crisps series are usually pretty good, as are most of the Cleaner Close mini soaps (my favourite being the launderette one).
Many of the French car company adverts have style, but I do like to see some intelligence and wit, and a big favourite at the moment is the Cats with Thumbs one from Cravendale. Anyone who is owned by a cat will understand this one.
Anyway, I hope that there will long continue a tradition of decent advertising, especially as we have to put up with so much of it these days.
Filed under fun stuff
when TV adverts were fun – the Water in Majorca courtesy of Heinekin
With apologies to Pygmalion and My Fair Lady, Heinekin took a shot at how their beverage might just help this young Sloane Ranger (played by Sylvestra Le Touzel) with her steet cred. Bryan Pringle also stars as her tutor. Enjoy:
Filed under fun stuff
when tv commercials were fun – carling black label king arthur
Having written recently about Monty Python and Fawlty Towers as being series that I did not find funny I though that I would use some examples of TV commercials as things that did amuse me because of their style and wit. Last Monday I blogged a link to the Weetabix Robin Hood spoof and that has been well received, so I’ve had a trawl around YouTube and found a few more.
So here is another light hearted piece, this time from the Oblivion Boys series of ads for Carling Black Label, here featuring the Knights of The Round Table and the Arthurian Legend.
I have a few more up my sleeve, so over the next few weeks watch out each Monday for a new one.
Filed under fun stuff
if Swindon vanishes in a fireball….
It will be nothing to do with my lack of religious belief, nor my anti AV status, but rather a spontaneous combustion of barbeque lighting fluid in the atmosphere.
Despite being 75 to 100 feet from the nearest meat cremation ceremony, the stench of accelerant is so bad that I’ve given up on gardening and come indoors feeling somewhat ill. Goodness knows what their food will taste like with all those fumes around.
So, if you live locally and see the flash, or you hear of our fireball on the news later, you’ll know why.
Filed under fun stuff, random rants
Grafton game fair family day – 7th May – Help for Heroes
At Wilton Water, Wilton, nr Marlborough in support of Help for Heroes amongst other causes. Check their website here for details.
Filed under fun stuff, serious stuff
The Voice of the Bloke at the Back 