Shake n' Vac
Shake 'n' Vac is a powdered carpet freshener. The powder is shaken onto the carpet before hoovering. It is currently marketed and sold in the United Kingdom by S. C. Johnson & Son.[1] The product becoming well known due to its famous TV commericial during the 1980's. With the advert being voted as the most popular TV advert in Britain.[2]
The product, still available as of Today, is primarily remembered for its iconic Dancing Woman TV advert shown until 1989. There has been some controversy over when the advert was first aired. The 100 Greatest TV Adverts programme stated that the ad was first broadcast in 1979, however it was the actual product that went on sale on 1979, with the actual advert not being aired until 1980 due to the 1979 ITV Strike.[3]
History of the product and advert
First going on air in 1980. The advert featured the english actor Jenny Logan[4] .With her dancing around a typical British living room in high heels, shaking the powder onto the carpet and hoovering it up, while singing a musical jingle. The main lyric is "do the Shake 'n' Vac, and put the freshness back".
The jingle was in a 1950s rock and roll retro style. This style was very popular in the 1970s and 1980s in the UK.
In 2000, the advert polled 18th place in the Channel 4 The 100 Greatest TV Adverts programme [5]
Long after the commerican ended, Jenny Logan also appeared on This Morning in 2004 as a guest to talk about the well-remembered advert.[6]
Controversy
The controversy may be due to a possible staggered launch of the product throughout the UK, which was common practice with new products at the time. Different ITV regions may have received the advert at different times; the advert was first transmitted in the Yorkshire Television region in 1980.
As seen above, the claim that the advert was originally broadcast in 1979 has been disputed. Whilst there appears to be evidence on the Web that points to 1980, others believe that the ad first appeared somewhat later. According to the book Box of Delights (ISBN 0333518128), it first appeared in 1985, and this is backed up by the earliest print reference to Shake 'n' Vac being a 1982 newspaper advert. However, it is argued that Ms Logan's clothing and hairstyle and the decor of the room featured in the ad would appear to point towards the ad being filmed in 1979/1980.
References
- ^ "S.C Johnson, Shake 'N' vac". SC johnson. Retrieved 2008-03-23.
- ^ Matthew Moore (2006-06-26). "Daily Telegraph, Shake n'Vac named most popular TV jingle". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-03-23.
- ^ "centuryads, launch of the shake' n ' vac advert". centuryads.blogspot.com. 2007-10-4. pp. one. Retrieved 2008-03-23.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "The internet movie database, Jenny Logan's acting career". Internet movie database. Retrieved 2008-03-23.
- ^ "The 100 Greatest TV adverts". DVDfever. Retrieved 2008-03-23.
- ^ "The internet movie database, "This morning" 23rd June 2004". Internet movie database. Retrieved 2008-03-23.