Having recently used a couple of my Mad Man era campaigns, Hasselblad and The Irish Tourist Board, as examples to demonstrate the merits of giving consumers factual and interesting information about the products you are trying to get them to cough up their hard earned dollars for, today I shall take a contrary position and “modestly” demonstrate the benefits of brevity, humor and creativity!
As I have written in “Confessions of a Mad Man.” My first job in the US was at Benton & Bowles, NY. Where apart from learning the merits of the Three Martini lunch and making sure I got a poolside chalet at the Bel-Air Hotel whenever shooting TV spots in LA, I inherited the creative duties on two major accounts. Firstly, Charmin “Bathroom Tissues,” (Referring to them as “toilet rolls” would have got you fired on the spot.)
The star of the campaign was Mr. Whipple, advertising’s longest running TV character who spent the entire thirty years of the campaign imploring the hordes of little old ladies who frequented his supermarket to “Please ladies, do not squeeze the Charmin!” Whilst it was revealed that he himself was a closet squeezer of the product. Interestingly, Dick Wilson, who played Mr. Whipple more than 500 times, was a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War Two, and was a highly decorated Spitfire pilot during the Battle of Britain. Squeeze that you Messerschmidt’s!
My second big account was Heublein, one of the largest liquor companies in the US, with such brands as Smirnoff, Harvey’s Bristol Cream, Relska Vodka, Irish Mist, Jose Quervo and Club Cocktails. I was tasked with the launch of Byrrh, a French aperitif to the American consumer. I created a commercial that went on to win several awards, including my first CLIO. The premise was simple… An unassuming looking guy walks into a crowded bar and orders what sounds like a “beer on the rocks.” The bartender is confused and the crowd starts to laugh, until the customer points to a bottle of Byrrh on the shelf and has the bartender pour him one over ice and with a twist. The voice over exclaims… “Ha. The crowd. They laughed at Columbus. Be the first on your block to order “Byrrh on The Rocks.”
The actor who played the customer was Arny Freeman who became so recognizable that strangers would stop him on the street and shout “Byrrh on the rocks! You’re the guy!” A perfect demonstration that sometimes you get lucky and the product itself supplies the punchline.
