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.
Episode 5 and we’re taking a short hop further back to 1983.
It’s the graveyard that is early January, but the nation is being pepped up by the UK TV premiere of “Superman”, a super speedy 5 years after its cinematic release!
So, what super brands are riding on his, er, cape tails?
Colgate bring in Arthur Fowler, or is it an alien decoy? Philips turn something potentially wildly exciting into a more phlegmatic experience. Homepride bring us something that is less translatable to 2025 than anything else we’ve seen so far. Portland Holidays provide little intrigue beyond the colour of some swimwear. Kattomeat lead us on a big tangent on parenting theory. And Morrissey. Can Martin evaluate Holsten Pils in even a halfway objective fashion given one of its unfortunate 80s and 90s associations? KFC have a fine line in beige slapstick, and we finish with a Beefy finale from Shredded Wheat to give us a bit of oomph right at the end.
Contains the correct amount of swearing.
You can find the ad break in question here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlTM9CEcZKE
Many thanks to The Ashmole Day Collection for releasing this clip into the world.
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.