Every Australian growing up will fondly remember the catchy jingles on TV – including Areoplane Jelly, Lube Mobile and Banana Boat.
And two friends have compiled a nostalgic list of what they believe to be the ultimate ‘power rankings’ of Australia’s most iconic jingles of all time.
Bruno Bouchet teamed up with advertising copywriter Michael Beveridge to rank 19 unforgettable ads from from ‘God Tier’ to the ‘Cat Vomit Tier’, leaving out classics such as Happy Little Vegemite and Australian Bananas.
So how many do you remember?
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Bruno Bouchet teamed up with advertising copywriter Michael Beveridge to rank 19 unforgettable ads from from ‘God Tier’ to the ‘Cat Vomit Tier’
God Tier
In the ‘God Tier’, the duo crowned Reading Writing Hotline: ‘One-three-double-o-six-triple-five-o-six’, Cottees – ‘My Dad picks the fruit to make the cordial’, Carpet Call: ‘The experts in the trade’ and Lube Mobile: ‘That’s 13 30 32’.
‘In the God Tier, there are $5,000 ads you’d remember for the rest of your life,’ Micheal, who’s a former Big Brother contestant, said.
Bruno said: ‘Watching all these jingles back, we did the right thing. These are perfect,’ to which Michael added: ‘These are the most beautiful encapsulation of the Australian advertising industry in the 80s, 90s, and to today.’
Judging on simplicity, talent and music writing, Michael said Lube Mobile is perhaps one of the most ‘fantastic ads’ of all time.
The pair said customers could rely on Carpet Call because they were ‘trustworthy’ according to their jingle: ‘The experts in the trade’.
Bruno described Cottees ad as ‘wholesome’ as Michael said: ‘This plays to my childhood… I had a diluted childhood like you would cordial.’
‘I like the way “cordial” speeds up so you kind of building up to it, “that makes the cordial, that I like best”, it comes back to me, I like it best, me,’ Bruno said.
The pair said Reading Writing Hotline was in the God Tier because they created the ‘best jingle Australia’s ever heard’.
‘One-three-double-o-six-triple-five-o-six, that is so fun to say… how fun was it when you hit the O, all your troubles go away?’ Bruno said, to which Michael said: ‘It was a very joyous ad.’
Royalty Tier
In the ‘Royalty Tier’, the pair featured Rheem: ‘Install a Rheem’, Doors Plus: ‘Doors Plus no fuss’, Pizza Hut: ‘Four-eight-one-double-one-double-one, Pizza Hut delivery’ and Crown.
‘There’s some real bangers here,’ Bruno said.
The duo said their favourite was Crown because of its catchy jingle: ‘There is nothing like a Crown, for picking things up and put them down’.
‘Everyone remembers the fork lift ad. It’s fantastic, no one knows the second verse but you don’t need it with a banger like that,’ Michael said.
Michael said the Rheem jingle was very memorable because it ‘instructed’ homeowners on how to ‘install a Rheem’.
‘It’s a call to action as a jingle,’ he said.
Speaking about the Doors Plus ad, Michael said the jingle was all about the ‘cadence rhythm and build’ because everyone could sing ‘Doors Plus no fuss’.
The duo crowned Reading Writing Hotline, Cottees and, Carpet Call and Lube Mobile in the God Tier, while they featured Rheem, Doors Plus, Pizza Hut and Crown in the Royalty Tier
Adam Sandler Tier (take it or leave it)
In the centre of the rankings, the pair controversially put Chicken Tonight: ‘I feel like Chicken Tonight’, Birds Eye Fish Fingers: ‘I’ll see sing you a song, a song of the sea’, Toyota: ‘Oh what a feeling’ and Roses: ‘Thank you very much’.
‘Now I think people are going to get the s***s that Chicken Tonight was a mid-range,’ Bruno said, as Michael asked: ‘Well when was the last time you had Chicken Tonight?’
Bruno said he raised many suspicions about the Birds Eye Fish Finger ad.
‘The one thing I’ll say is very suss is that there’s this old captain and he’s got a crew full of kids, right, I just feel that nowadays, it’s “sorry, is he responsible for these kids? Has he kidnapped them? Are the parents aware they’re on board?’ Bruno said.
Bruno said he decided to put Roses in the middle of the tier because Cadbury’s Favourites Boxed Chocolates were better.
While the pair agreed Toyota’s ad was memorable, Bruno said the ‘Oh what a feeling’ reference had ‘no direct link to a car’ as it ‘meant nothing’.
Pleb Tier
In the second last tier, titled ‘Pleb’, the pair picked Mortein: ‘More smart, more safe Mortein’, Decoré: ‘De de de Decoré’ and one of the most iconic jingles – Areoplane Jelly: ‘I like Areoplane Jelly’.
‘These three are all pretty memorable, some people would say “oh Louie the fly that’s one of the best ads of all time”, or Decoré, or even Aeroplane Jelly,’ Bruno said.
Michael quickly interjected: ‘Nah Areoplane Jelly is s***. If you’ve heard the original version, you put a remix on that, that is the next horror theme from the next Paranormal Activity. It hasn’t aged well.’
Bruno asked: ‘Decoré, how did this go from being a recognisable shampoo brand to just flatly out of business?’, to which Michael responded: ‘All they had was a jingle’.
Speaking about Mortein, Michael said: ‘Louie the fly, it’s one of the greats, but it’s more based around character than jingle. If the character didn’t exist, the jingle would be s***.’
Bruno weighed in: ‘Here’s my issue as well – every ad, Louie the fly dies, I just felt bad for him like I spent 29 seconds of the ad falling in love with his rough kind of Italian gangsta attitude – and then he dies, and here I am genuflecting.’
In the centre of the rankings, the pair controversially put Chicken Tonight, Birds Eye, Toyota and Roses, while in the ‘Pleb Tier’, the pair picked Mortein, Decoré and Areoplane Jelly
Lastly, the ‘Would Rather Eat a Bucket of Cat Vomit Tier’ included Meadow Lea, Banana Boat, Qantas and Motor Finance Wizard
Would Rather Eat a Bucket of Cat Vomit Tier
Lastly, the ‘Would Rather Eat a Bucket of Cat Vomit Tier’ included Meadow Lea: ‘You ought to be congratulated’, Banana Boat: ‘Banana Boat – for sun protection’, Qantas: ‘I still call Australia home’ and Motor Finance Wizard: ‘Motor Finance Wizard says yes’.
Reportedly known as Australia’s most expensive TV commercials, with an estimated budget of more than $10 million, the pair said they named Qantas in the ‘Cat Vomit Tier’ because they believed there are better jingles that cost just $5,000 to make.
‘Qantas, it’s a memorable ad but it’s not a jingle… They spent a billion dollars on 1,000 kids singing for an ad to fly Qantas when it was literally the only airline at the time,’ Michael said.
Bruno explained: ‘Meadow Lea – I have a huge problem with it. The vibe with “You ought to be congratulated” is pretty much husbands telling their wives like “that was good [sandwich], you ought to be congratulated”, not for me.’
Michael admitted the classic Banana Boat ad was a ‘great jingle’, but insisted the advertisers just copied the Muppet’s character called Mahna Mahna.