The 90s was a decadent time, when sophisticated television adverts had moved past the era of the kid playing with the puppy and the static pack-shot at the end. It was almost perceived as vulgar to appear too needy in your TV ads. This led to a golden age of outrageous creativity. TV ads from this decade embedded themselves in the memory, representing the zeitgeist, inspiring commentary and accolades by the crate-load.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an age comparable to Hollywood of the 1970s, when movie directors were given unprecedented, unrestricted artistic freedom. The directors became superstars, the movies became legends. The biggest TV adverts of the \u201990s were made under similar conditions, everything was permitted, no idea was too bizarre, no budget too inflated.<\/p>\n
These adverts certainly won a lot of awards. But, did they sell a lot of products?<\/p>\n
Now that the advertising landscape has changed, with subscription channels stealing away the viewers from traditional commercial TV channels, this has resulted in a palpable change in the way adverts are made. The real marketing creativity, these days, can often be seen online – where engagement and effectiveness can be measured in clicks, likes, dwell-time and, ultimately, in sales.<\/p>\n
Will commentators, in 20 years\u2019 time, be writing in glowing terms about the life insurance and payday loan adverts that swell our TV ad-breaks today? Probably not.<\/p>\n
But, for now, let\u2019s step back to a decade when TV adverts were the gold standard of marketing. Bask in the reflected glory of a golden age.<\/p>\n