Denis: Iconic adverts we can’t forget

Mar 9 2010 by Denis Kilcommons

Rumbelows, the TV people, used an old music hall song in the 1980s for “Don’t pay any more, Mrs Moore”, Coca Cola were going to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony with the help of the New Seekers in 1971 and all parents knew that a finger of fudge was just enough to give your kids a treat in the 1980s (this last one was written by Mike D’Abo of the Manfreds, by the way).

“All the dirt, all the grit, Hoover gets it every bit,” almost became a marching song as people stamped their feet, but then Kev came up with another weird one. Who remembers: “They asked me how I knew, it was Esso Blue, I of course replied, with lower grades one buys, smoke gets in your eyes.”

Two or three people then burst into: “You’ll wonder where the yellow went, when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent.”

Oh yes, we were having a real wild time.

This was first used in America from 1948 onwards when Pepsodent claimed to contain special ingredients IMP and Irium. IMP was never explained and Irium was complete fiction.

They don’t make adverts like that anymore.

And then we were back to the Shake and Vac jingle. “It must be over 25 years ago,” said Kev, and do you know, he was right.

The “Do the shake and vac and get the freshness back,” ad ran from 1980 to 1989. It was written by Liverpool musician Dave Roylance who co-wrote the themes music for Brookside and was performed by a very attractive young actress called Jenny Logan, who has had a successful career in television and the theatre.

The ad was so successful that every time it was shown, sales for the product quadrupled. No wonder we remembered it.