Nostalgia Sunday: Adverts
Adverts. I'm not sure any of us really like them. Nowadays if we're watching a show and the adverts come on, we all immediately reach for our phones and scroll aimlessly through social media until the programme comes back on. But did you know you couldn't do this in the noughties? We had to sit through the adverts and watch them, unless we had to get up and do something, like make a cup of tea or get something to eat. We couldn't pause the show so we could avoid the adverts and then skip straight through them. That option just wasn't available.
So, as I had no other option but to sit through these adverts, I have found five of the most memorable adverts from the noughties (admittedly from the latter half of the noughties but, let's face it, I'm not going to remember an advert from when I was under the age of five). From the collage above, you might already be able to guess what they are. If not, let me tell you more...
PG Tips - "It's the taste" (featuring Johnny Vegas ('Al') and the monkey)
We can all remember Johnny Vegas being in the PG Tips adverts with the monkey. This is one of their adverts that I think I can remember the best out of all of them. You see the two of them sat at their kitchen table with empty mugs. They then get up and the song 'The Stripper (David Rose and Orchestra)' plays as they dance around the kitchen. The water is put into the kettle and Johnny (Al) goes into his cupboards to get the teabags, all of which are filled with boxes of PG Tips. The monkey is seen milking a cow into milk jugs (something I don't think anyone ever thought they would see - whoever came up with that idea should have been given a pay rise and promotion). The tea is made and they are finally able to sit down and relax. I think this advert will possibly go down in history as one of the greatest adverts of all time. I also didn't realise this but this advert is apparently a copy of a Morecombe and Wise sketch, who were/are one of the greatest British comedy duos of all time. If you are interested in re-watching (or watching for this first time) this advert, you can do so here.
Compare the Market - 'Compare the Meerkat' (introduction of Aleksandr Orlov)
We all know and love the Compare the Meerkat (Market) adverts and this advert was the introduction to them, which are still going strong to this day. In this advert we see Aleksandr looking on the Compare the Meerkat website (not a real website btw), where he can compare meerkats. He then goes over to two boards, one for Compare the Meerkat and one for Compare the Market (a car insurance comparison site). Since then, we have been introduced to, said good-bye to, and been reintroduced to baby Oleg (we have two of the baby Oleg toys and they are so adorable), along with Sergei and the latest addition, Ayana. If you want to watch this advert, you can do so here.
Cadbury - 'Gorilla'
I can just about remember this advert and it is possibly the first advert I can remember watching. We start off by seeing a zoomed-in image of the gorilla's face. Phil Collin's song 'In the Air Tonight' is playing in the background. Then, once the song gets to the drum bit, the gorilla starts playing the drums. The advert then cuts to an image of a Cadbury's chocolate bar. You wouldn't really guess this was a Cadbury's advert at first (unless the purple wall behind the gorilla counts), until the very end of the advert. Nevertheless, this is an iconic noughties advert, which you can watch here.
Specsavers - 'elderly couple on rollercoaster'
This has to be one of my favourite adverts EVER. We see an elderly couple sit down, presumably on a bench, to get away from the crowds. They both start eating cheese sandwiches, at which point the safety harness things (I have no idea what they're called) come down. The rollercoaster starts moving and the couple is left going on loop-the-loops and being upside down until at the end they are splashed with water. The advert ends with an image of the couple walking away, with the elderly gentleman saying "what sort of cheese was that?!". I'm pretty sure everyone remembers this advert, but if you don't (or just want a little reminder), you can watch it here.
Cadbury - 'Eyebrow Dance'
This advert, along with the Specsavers one, is probably my most memorable advert of the noughties. We see two children, a boy and a girl, sat in front of a camera on a set. An adult is with them, and when he walks away the music starts playing. The children start moving their eyebrows in time to the music, which is probably one of the freakiest yet interesting things that I have ever seen on TV. They turn their heads in time with the music, while still moving their eyebrows, to follow where the cameras are. The girl then gets a balloon that has already been blown up but not tied and starts stretching the end of the balloon before it cuts to an image of a Cadbury's chocolate bar. It is safe to say that this advert was bloody weird, but still one of the best the noughties had to offer. You can watch it here.
So there are my most memorable adverts of the noughties. But what are yours? Leave them in the comments below as I am really intrigued. And if there are any other topics you would like me to cover in nostalgia Sunday, please let me know that also.
Love Beth xx