The last great pun
October 18 2005, 1:51 pm | | 7 Comments
So when was the last great headline pun in advertising? One that may
even have won…an award?
Starters for ten;
“Out of the flying plane and into the foyer”
“Now is the winter of our discount tents”
“Flys pray”
Any advance on those?
7 Comments
My art director says the last pun to win really big was from London….Irritating Eyes TV.
Open the 1997 Axis annual which I keep by my desk for moments like these, turn to a page at random and…” More indiscrimate slaughtering of Wales”.It was a simpler, gentler time.
What about Big Ad?Oh, sorry, that’s not a pun. It’s a proposition for an ad.
Paronomasia is a much more interesting term for puns. And it’s really hard to pun with.
Now in my opinion, you can’t beat “The Punmeister” himself, Simon Collins:”Survive The Crash” for Volvo.”One day Hugh’s gonna get caught” for Holeproof.”In Bed with My Doona” for The Bulletin.How about this one from Ron Collins, (no relation):”If you’ve got a hover mower, weed on” for Qualcast.And Jon Iles wasn’t bad either:”Fill ‘er up, sun” for Toyota.Other puns of note through the ages:”Porky and Best” for Wall’s sausages (CDP, 1977).”Heineken. Refreshes the pirates other beers cannot reach” (CDP, 1978). and “Heineken. Refreshes the bars other beers cannot reach” (Lowe Howard-Spink Marschalk, 1986).”Britain’s favourite old flame” for Swan Vestas (DDB London, 1986).A favourite of punsters everywhere was the brilliant Araldite poster campaign created by FCO London in 1983.After the original “It also sticks handles to teapots” poster was put up, the puns flowed in the following executions on the same poster site: “The suspense continues”, followed by “The tension mounts” and finally “How did we pull it off?”. Younger creatives should check out D&AD 1983 and 1984.But surely the greatest (and most powerful) pun in advertising was penned by Andrew Rutherford in 1979. It was single-handedly blamed for sweeping Maggie Thatcher to power:”Labor isn’t working”
One from The Economist campaign that was painted on the top of London buses:”Hello to our readers in high office” And who could forget the Club 18-30 double entendre puns from Saatchi London in 1997:”One swallow doesn’t make a summer””Something deep inside her said she’d come again””Holiday forecast: Damp, followed by wet patches””How long are you going for?”and to promote their resort in Turkey..”Gobble gobble”
Eyes TV…wasn’t that Dave Droga?