Each episode, Them’s The Breaks takes a random 80s UK TV ad break and see what the ads are trying to do through the lens of modern brand and marketing theory, whether they succeed, what they tell us about the 1980s, and, most importantly, whether, intentionally or otherwise, they can make us laugh. It also looks at the programme the ad breaks feature within and ask, have they targeted this right?
Join your hosts, marketing insights professional Martin, and Jon, a journalist with a career spanning a series of national newspapers, as they look at what was being hawked in the 80s, and how.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Each episode, Them’s The Breaks takes a random 80s UK TV ad break and see what the ads are trying to do through the lens of modern brand and marketing theory, whether they succeed, what they tell us about the 1980s, and, most importantly, whether, intentionally or otherwise, they can make us laugh. It also looks at the programme the ad breaks feature within and ask, have they targeted this right?
Join your hosts, marketing insights professional Martin, and Jon, a journalist with a career spanning a series of national newspapers, as they look at what was being hawked in the 80s, and how.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Our first episode is a rip-roaring ride to the epicentre of the 80s: it’s 1985 and we’ve just been interrupted in our viewing of another classic from the Reg Grundy stable. But what an interlude it is. R Whites display the same ambivalence towards lemonade drinking that Trainspotting did towards heroin; Exchange & Mart issue a stark warning of the perils of using ropier, local listings papers; Castlemaine XXXX whisk us back to Australia in the 50s. Or the 80s, we couldn’t tell. BT invest a large-scale budget to display small-scale mindedness, and we wrap up with a half-arsed ad for a half-arsed product that provoked a half-arsed parliamentary debate.
Contains judicious use of swearing.
You can find the ad break in question here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqQ8eGUaf58
Many thanks to the VHS Video Vault for the posting this clip!
If you remember any of these ads and want to comment on them, or the show in general, you can find us here:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61568524318900
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.