11 Famous Aussie TV Commercials
I was sitting around waiting for a car service in Sydney last week when I started thinking about some of the most memorable Australian TV commercials of all time. These are a few that came to mind…
Aeroplane Jelly (1956)
The original famous Australian TV commercial, the image of the cute little girl swinging while singing "I like Aeroplane Jelly, Aeroplane Jelly for Me" would be seared into the brains of most Aussies.
Vegemite (1954)
The ultimate Australian spread, Vegemite’s rise to fame was helped by the famous 1954 ad with two marching twin girls singing, "We’re happy little Vegemites as bright as bright can be." And aren’t we all?
Mortein Fly Spray (1962)
If there’s one cartoon character all Aussies can associate with advertising, it’s Mortein’s Louie the Fly. He came straight from rubbish tip to you, and he’s still spreading disease with the greatest of ease even today.
Cottees Cordial Ad (1983)
"My dad picks the fruit that goes to Cottees!" is another ad jingle most Australians grew up with. Even better was when Kieran Tanner, the young boy who sang the original song, showed up all grown up on Big Brother several years later!
Decore Shampoo (1986)
Go on, admit it — you’ve sung like a superstar in your shower, giving it everything you’ve got and letting the bathroom acoustics do their work. Makes sense, then, that Decore would advertise their shampoo with a bunch of Aussies doing exactly that — only this time for all of Australia to see!
Uncle Toby’s Instant Porridge (1990)
A buck-toothed Scottish child staring into the camera spouting "That’s no how you make porridge!" wasn’t the most conventional approach to advertising, but it certainly stuck out in our minds.
Qantas (1998)
The original big budget ad, Qantas launched their "I Still Call Australia Home" campaign in the lead-up to the 2000 Sydney Olympics with Aussie icon Peter Allen’s famous 1980 song being sung by the Australian National Boys and Girls choirs in breathtaking locations.
Yellow Pages
How do you spell Goggomobil? Ask any Australian and they’ll probably begin telling you "G, O, G, G, O" before breaking into uncontrollable laughter. Years later, the Yellow Pages also launched a campaign where a business owner, annoyed her secretary had missed out on the Yellow Pages ad, shouts "Not happy, Jan!" They sure know how to launch a catchphrase.
Lube Mobile
The car service Melbourne , Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth and surrounding areas mobile mechanics have had many memorable and catchy ads over the years, but the one that stands out the most is the one that ends with the distinctly Aussie, mulleted child singing the company’s digits 13 13 32 — or "firteen fifteen firty-two"!
Moccona (1997)
When I say "Really", you say? Shropshire?! It sounds strange, but that’s exactly what millions of Aussies would do after the success of the Moccona Exotics coffee ad, where a flirty Australian woman mistakes a dark-skinned, proper British man with a slightly camp accent for a burly African-American.
NSW Drink Driving (1998)
If ever a TV commercial sent chills up the spine of those watching it, it was this one. When a drunk father comes home late at night after hitting a pedestrian, his daughter wanders into the loungeroom. He screams, "Go to bed, Jessica!", and the little girl’s reaction is pure fright.
Carlton Draught (2005)
The battle of the beer ads has brought some pearlers over the years, but none have been as impressive and downright epic as Carlton Draught’s "Big Ad". Depicting two armies in maroon and yellow clothing marching towards each other in a giant field, the lyrics "It’s a big ad, very big ad" and "This ad better sell some bloody beer!" to the tune of ‘O Fortuna’ is funny enough, but when the aerial view shows one army in the shape of a body and the other forming the shape of a beer entering the mouth, it’s genius is truly revealed.
