I hereby declare the AdSlag project of Methods Of Modern Love open!
AdSlag will be a regular feature of the blog, combining both my love of retro culture and cynicism towards modern pap that counts as advertising these days. So expect to see lots of lovely heart warming ads from yesteryear, plus contemporary tripe that will make your blood boil. If you’re a modern ad man reading this then learn from the quality on show. If you’re a modern ad man reading this, scoffing your Pret A Manger panini, dropping crumbs over your company issue iPad, going “Well, could you do better?”, well, yes. I could.
To begin is this fun, super catchy offering from Wimpy in 1987.
What I love about this advert is it is so unashamedly nerdy, combining 1980’s cheese, with a certain nostalgic 1950’s feel, almost synonymous with classic fast food (see American Graffitti ). The pleasant barber shop type song a perfect complement to Wimpy’s red and white stripe uniform of the time.
The slogan “Come On Over” is also sweetly inviting, demonstrating just the right amount of friendliness, perhaps influencing the modern “Come Around To Our Place” Pizza Hut slogan of 2011. Without that aggravatingly chummy and uncertain “Max Your Chat - Pizza Hut” approach that is.
These days you are as likely to see an advert for Wimpy on UK TV, as you are to find a person eating in Wimpy. Yet here is a slice of 80’s advertising that will really raise a smile.
:)
ReplyDelete