Paula’s back for Ajax Spray n’ Wipe
We all know the catchy jingle and the lovable housewife who solves all cleaning disasters with her trusty Ajax Spray n’ Wipe. Now in 2010, after a six year hiatus, Paula Duncan returns to our television screens in a brand new commercial for the brand, 22 years after the first iconic ad appeared in 1988.
Paula’s house inspection cleaning frenzies, in-law visits, holiday kitchen disasters and other sticky situations have always struck a chord with Australians.
“Even after all of these years, people still stop me on the street telling me how much they loved
theAjax Spray n’ Wipe ads. They were just so memorable and easy for peopleto relate to, which is what I loved about them too,” says Paula.
AgainAustralian homes will soon be humming the tune of the Ajax Spray n’Wipe jingle we all grew to love. Paula’s latest frantic cleaningepisode will air in a brand new television commercial later this monthand will be centred around the theme of her daughter’s wedding whichsuffers a last minute venue change.
“It’s so much fun beingback for the new campaign, feels like old times, and I think it’s greatthe character’s story continues on from where we left off. Slippingback into my familiar role has been a breeze.”
Fast,effective and versatile, Ajax Spray n’ Wipe is now available in anew-look range of fresh fragrances in Multipurpose, Bathroom and GlassSprays and Refills. So whether it’s a post-party kitchen or bathroom,or grubby windows you’re cleaning, Ajax Spray n’ Wipe has a solutionfor every surface.
George Patterson Y&R
James Procter – Executive Creative Director
Tim Arrowsmith – Creative Group Head
Dean Mortensen – Senior Art Director
Alex Hay – TV Producer
Flying Fish
Director – Adam Blaiklock
Executive Producer – Paul S Friedmann
Producer – Caroline David
Music
Arizona Productions
Nylon
Editing
Guillotine
Post Production
Cutting Edge
52 Comments
Next thing we know there’ll be 10% off coupons appearing on this site.
Shouldn’t the people responsible for this trash be named and shamed?
Every other ad on the blog names the art director, copywriter, director etc.
Why not this one? Surely they must be proud of their work?
Surely work like this should have ended in the 80s. For a large advertising agency to be still making ads like this in 2010 is a shame on the industry. This is beyond lazy advertising.
C’mon people, this is only posted so’s we can snigger at the overly-optimistic press release.
Of course it’s a rubbish ad. But just be thankful that you’re not the PR flunky who has to write stuff like:
“We all know the catchy jingle and the lovable housewife who solves all cleaning disasters with her trusty Ajax Spray n’ Wipe. Now in 2010, after a six year hiatus, Paula Duncan returns to our television screens in a brand new commercial for the brand”
This sort of shit should be ‘Spray and Wiped ‘ from our screens….is Rowan Dean still directing them?
Ok, I’m going to stand up and say I actually love this campaign. It’s the kind of ad that makes a product, not self-serving barnacles like the people above, famous.
It’s the reason you guys say:
“Oh crap, I just jizzed all over my desk at the cleverness of my blog post, pass the Spray n Wipe!”
Instead of
“Oh crap, I just jizzed all over my desk at the cleverness of my blog post, pass the bottle of cleaning detergent spray!”
If I’d written the original campaign I’d be sitting back smugly in a high-backed leather chair, smoking a fat-ass pipe and laughing at you all.
What is wrong with you bitter people?! These Spray + Wipe ads are a PR dream. You should be so lucky to create branding that connects with people for nearly 30 years!
‘Again Australian homes will soon be humming the tune of the Ajax Spray n’ Wipe jingle we all grew to love. ‘
WTF?
Those of us with long memories liked the tune when Ian Dury did it, and the lyrics were a lot better then too:
“Had a love affair with Nina
In the back of my Cortina
A seasoned up hyena
Could not have been more obscener
She took me to the cleaners
And other misdemeanors
But I got right up between her
Rum and her Ribena”
Hey 1.46, hope you’re comfy in your high backed leather chair, but here’s some news for you…..this work wasn’t very good 30 years ago and certainly isn’t very good now.
Come ON! These ads are classics!!
1:46, you obviously work at a crap agency doing retail ads and have probably never shot an ad over 100K in your life. That’s the only reason you’d be wishing you’d done either this crap or the original ad.
And I think you’re probably the only person who thinks ‘Spray and Wipe’ rather than cleaning detergent spray when you shoot your load over the shelf wobbler your agency’s biggest client bought this week.
3.43 read what you have written and if you don’t die of embarrassment, you should. You big wanker.
2:44 – since they’re bringing it back I’d beg to differ on how good it is.
3:43 – don’t consider becoming a private detective. You wish you worked where I work.
I never said that I wish I’d done it. I can just appreciate the job it’s done for the product. Come back with as much froth and bile as you like, but if you can’t appreciate this ad for what it is, then you’re a pretty piss poor judge of a piece of communication.
4.15. As a very wise man once said, ‘ Longevity is no guarantee of quality.’
5:15 – I couldn’t agree with you more. And I’d love to see the stats on how many times the agency who created this entered it into awards shows.
Also interesting to note no agency is mentioned in the story.
Wise words 4,15. If only everyone shared your wisdom.
Hey 3.43, I’m not 1.46 or 4.15 but I just wanted to say I pity you.
Assuming you actually do work in a creative department and aren’t just living in an anonymous online fantasy land, I also feel terribly sorry for the poor bastards you work with. Good news for them is, next round of redundancies, you’ll be flipping burgers… wanker.
They’re not great but I bet mums watch tv just waiting for them to come on as the press release intimated.
When I saw this post, I instantly remembered the jingle and remember enjoying the ads… and they probably stopped running these ads long before i even got into the ad game.
Guys, that says something.
I’ve worked in pretty much every agency in Sydney, and I’ve done some pretty good work over the years (so my mum thinks and the award tally indicates), but I would be fucking proud to have originated this campaign.
I would happily bet a hundred bucks that people on this blog who clearly don’t see its merits will never create a piece of communication as memorable, as loved and as effective as this has been.
You can take the piss all you like.
But its obvious no creatives have been able to do any better on the brand.
This ad worked its butt off back in the 80’s and collected a few awards.
I reckon there wouldn’t anything done today that would go the distance.
Would anyone care to nominate one.
5:15, in our business creating something as memorable as this that is framed successful enough by the client to bring back after all this time is as good as it gets. It is a piece of our pop culture icongraphy and that is more can be said for most of the stuff that we produce no matter how clever we think it is. It’s not the type of work I want to be doing, but that is more about my ego than it is about what is good advertising. And as much as it pains our wannabe filmmakers’ hearts, this is very, very good advertising.
And it is also the type of advertising that makes me want to get the fuck out of the industry – those two things aren’t mutually exclusive.
I still like it cos she sings.
Back in the 80s this may have been a good ad. And back then there were lots of ads just like it. But this is 2010. Things have moved on and improved, even in advertising.
If this is how we viewed everything else, we’d still be watching black and white TV and driving cars with no ABS. Why should advertising be any different?
Hey 7.31, 3.43 here. I think thou doth protest too much not to be somehow involved in this crap. Otherwise why would you get so upset? Calm down.
I do work in a creative dept and have multiple awards from D&AD and Cannes. Many of them in recent years, so I know what I’m talking about. Now get back to your shelf wobblers and ‘Spray and Wipe’ scripts.
10:55, back in the 80’s this was just a good, professional effort, and no more. The important principles of effective communication haven’t changed that much since this was done. Your metaphor is simply incorrect.
And although it was never the sort of ad that excited industry pundits or stole the show at the various award nights, I must acknowledge that it had that X factor – perhaps as much because of its annoyingly catchy adaptation of ‘Billericcay Dickie’ as the fast-cutting, wide-lens way it dealt with the time-honoured multi-situation vignette.
The net effect is that it lodged in the brain of the consumer and, as a consequence, built a brand. That’s a rare achievement, and if you ever have a similar success, you’ll understand how satisfying that is.
Disclaimer: I didn’t write the ad, but over a long career experienced the satisfaction that comes from having your work achieve the purpose for which advertising exists in the first place.
Which brings me to this business of various posters trying to establish their ‘credentials’ by telling us how many awards they’ve won. I won a lot too. But let’s try to keep some perspective: once upon-a-time, awards were a bonus for a job well done. Not an end – or an industry- in themselves.
I can see it now.
People all over Australia saying “HOLY SHIT LOVE, THE NEW SPRAY&WIPE COMMERCIALS ARE COMING BACK. WE BETTER GET A 70″ TV WITH 7.1 DOLBY SPEAKERS SO WE CAN SIT DOWN AND WATCH THAT SHIT! BY THE WAY CAN YA GET ME A PACKET OF SMOKES? I’M OUTTA WINNIE BLUES.”
Personally I think the ads do their job and are liked, but nowhere near as much as some here are making them out to be.
So it didn’t win any awards/wasn’t entered in any awards? Some of you guys seriously need to find new benchmarks. Perhaps something like “sales” would be a good place to start. Last time I checked that’s what a lot of your clients are looking for. But then, perhaps I’m just being simplistic.
3.43, you spend too much time studying the blog rather than writing all those award winning ads. Awards don’t teach you great advertising. Advertising Awards are for advertising wankers who cant win an award in a real arena. They are part of the back slapping rubbish that you clearly support. You’re not a composer, sculptor, nor are you a great novelist or outstanding script writer. If you were you wouldn’t log onto this blog and make comment. Get a life or go and write something that makes a difference – and yes I have three Cannes, several London Internationals, numerous AWARDs, Axis, Mobius and FACTS – and sadly I still see them as a wank….my mum likes them though. She uses them as door stops though.
I hate people that justify crap work as ‘it sold its socks off’.
And I hate people that justify ineffective work as ‘it won lots of awards’ – even the stuff that had a media schedule outside the CD’s kids scout magazine.
Why can’t we do both – like CPB, Mother & Wieden + Kennedy do?
There’s a challenge for ya’s.
It’s about time someone did a real ad again. None of this feel good nonsense with losers celebrating because they changed the temperature two degrees by drinking CRAP ice tea. Or people singing along to the latest pop song in their lame new Toyotas. Or those FUCKED balls bouncing down those BULLSHIT stairs. Or those WANKERS running around in yellow singing ‘La Fortuna’. Or that SILLY LITTLE TURD with that father who, by the way, is FAR too old to be his DAD, and their broadband BULLSHIT.
This is what we want. Hardcore jingles that get stuck in your head all day until the only thing that CAN STOP YOUR HEAD POUNDING with “So thank you, spray and wipe” da-da-da-dum is buying the rubbish so you can spend all day scrubbing specks off your SHITTER.
This is what people respond to – mindless, repetitive bullshit that just slams it’s message home. This is how you move units. Let me see MORE jingles, MORE throat gagging, MORE FUCKING UNITS.
Thank you, Spray n Whipe da-da-da-da-dum!
To all you die-hard wankers out there that are too young to know your arse from your elbow: THIS IS A REAL AD. It’s catchy, vaguely amusing and not too complicated. This is the type of thing that makes money. People REMEMBER this stuff from years ago. Will people remember Suggest-A-Box in 20 years? I fucking doubt it.
Don’t mess with the power of the jingle. You little pussies don’t know the half of it.
HEY 9:54 YOU forgot TO TAKE YOUR caps KEYS OFF. wanker.
3.56 says to 4.12 that 8.16’s got a good point, 5.20’s a fuckwit, 9.26 writes wobblers for a living and 2.11 is very wise indeed.
Life would be way easier here if everyone had names instead of numbers. I’ll start the ball rolling by calling myself Eugene.
Oh, and to the person who said that he/she wished people wouldn’t defend crap ads by trotting out the fact that they sold heaps of product… holy shit dude, do you have even the SLIGHTEST idea why we get paid by clients?
Hey shouter. What you have said makes VERY LITTLE SENSE. It is quite obvious I did not forget to take off caps lock because my message ranged from CAPS LOCK ON and caps lock off. THIS IS ON, this is off. You seem to have trouble understanding the meaning of CAPS LOCK.
Why don’t you say something constructive and reasonable instead of MAKING YOUR SELF look like a DUMB-ASS.
FUCKwit, ever heard of SHIFT KEY?
Thank fuck there are people out there who make sense. I was beginning to worry.
This is a bread and butter client that every agency needs. I worked at an agency that had a similar account and we churned a lot of this stuff out which made a lot of dosh for the company however we never PR’d the ads we made. Why the hell would we?
Client + agency = job for ad guy.
Award + ad guy = ego trip for ad guy
Award + ad guy with ego trip + Client = ad guy getting fired for being a bit of a dick.
Dear God.
The day we start caring enough about Spray & Wipe commercials to vehemently defend them in public, please wipe our puss-stained ignorance from the world of capitalism. And get me some smokes, I’m out of Winnie Blues.
Cheers God,
Jesus.
you are all a huge joke and making me laugh alot. your acting like a bunch of five year olds haha. keep it up. this kind of entertainment is classic yet pathetic that you get high and mighty over such a thing as a Ajax ad hahahaha
2:11 I believe your comment was done before. By 10:44.
Come back with some original comments.
Fuck off everyone.
is there a link to the ad anywhere?
People are such douche.
“This ad may have been good in the ’80’s but advertising has improved beyond then’ or whatever they said. You call the cadbury bubbly ad good? It’s shit. There are iconic ads that you remember forever, and i was only like 4 when the last Ajax ad came out and when i saw the new ad i immediately remembered the tune and one of the old ads, i was 4!!! That’s how good the advertising is. It is ICONIC. Like the gorilla playing te drums for cadbury, or like ‘don’t chop the dinosaur daddy!’ for the natural confectionary company. It is GREAT advertising, because people remember it. It’s not shit. Get over it. It’s like 30 seconds on tv god, i think you can stand 30 seconds a week. Sweet… 😀
Wow. I work for a client, and this is an interesting look into the circle jerk world of advertising and the opinions of some of the creative prima donna’s that dwell therein.
Most marketers I know don’t care about who wins awards, it nice but really not that important. I’ve seen award winning creatives create terrible ads – the George Lucas effect? Anyway, we have to be on constant alert for bullshit resulting from the self serving attitude of some creatives obsessed about winning said awards and being precious about creative.
As someone said before, the fact that Colgate are bringing it back is a good indication of the effectiveness of the creative – regardless of how cheese ball it is. And don’t assume they’re just putting it on because they’ve run out of ideas and “it worked before” – I bet Colgate have researched the crap out of this and found…believe it or not…that Paula Duncan resonates with women who buy their product and there’s a lot of equity in the jingle.
At the end of the day, you make ads so we can sell more shit. You don’t have to like it, we have bullshit to put up with too from our customers, so suck it up and get on with figuring out whats good for your clients rather than yourselves. Don’t like it? Feel like you’ve ‘sold out’? Drop out of the ‘rat race’ and make real art or something – that’s where the real money is.
The jingle has more than a bearing resembelance to ‘Billericay Dickie’ from Ian Dury’s 1978 album New Boots and Panties…royalties??
I worked on this ad.
We all had fun.
Thanks for listening.
I’m doing my film essay on this advertisment, but I was just wondering…
Why wasn’t the mother at the wedding?
I reakom it’s quite witty
Hello, is it possible in anyway to get a signed autograpgh from puala ? On a certificate kind of thing? Can anyone help?
I have watched this commercial many times and I think it is terrific, good on Paula for making it fun, interesting and wanting to buy the product. Everytime I look on the shelves that commercial comes to mind, and yet another spray and wipe just happens to appear in the basket.
Keep going, we have so much trash on tv, but this one is a winner.
Love this ad, well done guys, James Procter, Tim Arrowsmith, Dean Mortensen
Its a fuckin spray n wipe, its a fuckin spray n wipe …
i fucking love the ajax spray and wipe ad its amazing xxxx <3