After 40 years of The Campaign Palace are these really their All-Time Best Ads? You decide…
July 13 2012, 8:05 am | | 25 Comments
Up until the big Palace farewell bash in Melbourne TODAY Friday 13th July CB will be showcasing the very best ads created by The Campaign Palace from 1972 – 2012. To kick things off here’s some of our favourites…. but there’s a lot more we’ll be uploading over the next few days, with your help. Feel free to suggest others you feel are worthy of their All-Time Best.
‘Up There Cazaly’
‘Alligators’
‘Fussy’
‘Look, I’m wearing No Knickers’
‘How many grapes?‘
‘Ballerinas’
‘Sic em Rex’
‘Aircraft Carrier’
‘One day you’re gonna get caught with your pants down’
Woman’s Day
‘How to kill a baby’
Heron Island
‘Just a drop in the ocean’
Wrangler
‘Hari Krishna’
‘This is mould. This is Exit Mould’
‘Horse Play’
‘Stops gas fast’
‘Olympics’
‘The legend of Gatorade’
‘Separation’
25 Comments
I can’t choose – the TV selection is like carbon-dating my childhood sitting in front of the box! However, if you put a gun to my head I reckon the Martin Sheen VO, and the treatment on the Dunlop ad was pretty special for the time.
Be very happy to have just one of them on my reel – but for me, Computer Socks dead heats with Harpers Cat Chow.
I’m pretty new to the industry so feel free to slag me off, but I don’t see what’s good about any of these ads? Can someone explain?
Don’t forget the Ansett Airlines campaigns press and television.
how bout this one from the melbourne office?
http://www.dougbyrnes.com.au/flv/De-Gas.htm
Wrangler ‘Hari Krishna’.
I remember the first time I saw this poster in the disposal store in Paddington. A classic piece of communication.
Dear Cultural Cringe,
Don’t worry about it son. You had to be there to understand. Kind of like the 60’s.
Just trust us – it was good – really good.
And yes Phil, the Ansett DPS’s with the big white cross used to promote direct flights were genius.
Hi there Cultural Cringe,
People will argue this, but very few of the older ones on this list stand up today.
We still think they’re good for two reasons. One is that they WERE good for their time. Secondly, we’re nostalgic and they remind us of when we were younger, skinnier and had more hair.
Reality is today if you showed any of this older stuff to a creative director they’d probably laugh in your face. Feel free to argue with me, but if you actually work in the industry today, and I mean work, not sit in a big office somewhere, you’ll agree.
The westpac stuff is still bloody good, Quit’s only five minutes old, and still gobsmacking but these two make “Heron Island” look like a lame student pun. A nice pun, but laudable? Hardly.
Some is still great, but some, by today’s standards is just absolutely awful.
A Hari Krishna wearing a wrangler shirt…ooooh so naughty. Please.
@Cultural Cringe.
You need to look at the basic idea and separate things like technique and production values. These were breakthrough ideas at the time and had never been seen before. No cop out fancy CG post work here mate. All shot through the camera. What you see is what you get. Stuntmen in alligator suits…a real aircraft carrier…the car really did land on the deck of the caririer…yes that really was Martin Sheen doing the voice over etc etc. Could they run now? Maybe. Computer socks, meat and livestock, Dunlop tyres, Antz Pantz would still have people talking even today.
These are classic commercials.
Is this how you feel about classic movies as well?
Don’t forget Lionel’s Ansett press ad: “if the hostess was out of uniform would you know which airline you’re flying with?”
If you know anything about aircraft, you know that the Dunlop Aircraft Carrier spot is basically an ad for Dunlop being shit tyres.
Harrier jets were unique, because they took off and landed vertically, like a helicopter.
So by saying that the US Navy fitted Dunlop on their harrier jets, you’re basically saying that they put Dunlop on the one plane that didn’t put any stress at all on the tyres.
Sounds geeky I know, but the whole spot was one huge lie.
Good TVC or not, I was sold on the Computer Socks and I still own the only pair that I ever bought. They still don’t fall down (unlike every other pair of socks on the market) but they’re getting worn at the heel. I can no longer find a replacement pair so I can only think it’s a case of the product being so good that it was taken off the market.
Any that Mick and Ian did were good. Funny, talked about, taken off air. Brilliant. But they couldn’t have done them without Ron, Rocky and the rest of the crew. Westpac Olympics (Fist paid ad spot in Olympics ever I think). Their Cleo Magazine ones were always taken off air – brilliant. MLA Dancing Butchers, great.
We need more ads who’s briefs aren’t blatantly obvious. We need more teams like Mick and Ian, Rocky and Moose, Peter and Michael, etc etc etc.
AND more clients who aren’t scared to do a good ad – with a great idea, and not get scared that it might stand out and be talked about….isn’t that what all advertisers want? To be noticed, talked about, maybe even taken off air?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9EaiOHNdA8
Found this in an old mag. I assume it’s from the Palace. User generated content circa 1977.
http://i47.tinypic.com/rk7odc.jpg
All golden stuff. And not a jingle to be heard!
Woman’s Day – ‘How to kill a baby’ – Visually shocking clever…for women and a good long copy.
Exit Mould. Pure gold.
Up there Cazaly and One Day You’re gonna get caught are jingles if i’ve ever heard em. And bloody great they are too.
Seriously Cultural Cringe get out of this business NOW! If you can’t recognize these brilliant ideas you should stick to waiting on tables.
Wot about commercial of the year for RSL 1990, its aged well. The list keeps on going . And when Adnews asked peers to judge the best ads over the past 25 years , half of them basically came from Palace Melbourne circa 88-92 ! Sorta knocks out that pre 1985 argument(as grounbreaking as it was) It also increased over 400per cent in that time. Chronologically , there were two stages to the Palace. And at both stages , it was the best place in the world to work . Now lets move on.’
I always loved the Carte D’Or ad with Manuel from Faulty Towers.
Still can’t forget the name.
How ’bout Hall’s Carpets?
Fawlty Towers, 11:50. It’s worth getting the name right.
Dear Aviation Nerd
You clearly haven’t done your homework – 90% the Harrier Jet landed conventionally on the aircraft carrier.
And they did wear Dunlop tyres.
The spot was based on an absolute truth.
And a fucken great spot it was.
So go and do some more reading up on jets.