±±¾©Èü³µpk10

Here’s a first. An ad appearing in Adwatch which you will never see

on the box again because it has already been banned.

But the recent Tango ad, by HHCL & Partners, has certainly made an

impression with its original viewers, entering Adwatch at number eight

with 58% recall.

It features James who is seen relaxing and drinking cola. The voiceover

says James ’dislikes the untamed aggression of Orange Tango,’ but warns

him, ’we know where you live’. A gang of ginger-haired baldies wearing

golfing jumpers burst into his room and torment him by repeating

everything he says through orange megaphones. After a day of this

torture, James drinks the Tango. Viewers are told to call the number on

James’ forehead to receive a megaphone.

The Independent Television Commission (ITC) demanded the ad be pulled

just ten days after it launched, amid concerns that it would encourage

copycat bullying in schools.

Richard Huntington, account planner at HHCL, says: ’We have a global

ambition to make Tango the national fizzy drink. We decided we could

achieve this by forcing people to drink it, so we developed the

’Tangoism’ strategy, which discriminates against non-Tango drinkers. We

saw repeating everything someone says as an extremely annoying way of

gaining retribution on non-drinkers. The bullying issue hadn’t crossed

our minds.’

Huntingdon adds: ’We feel disappointed at the ITC’s decision. It has

always been Tango’s intention to create surprising ads that stand out

and challenge people’s perceptions of the way advertising works.’

He argues that the use of hotline numbers and merchandise offers allows

a richer involvement with viewers, and confirmed that 50,000 megaphones

have been redeemed.

Huntington says: ’We are outspent by Coca-Cola by 8%, so Tango’s

advertising has to be eight times more effective. We try to do new

things and we’re constantly pushing, but ultimately we can’t go too far

without the ITC’s say-so.’ Tango cut a new ad after the ban showing

actor James Cordon relaxing after the shoot.

To see the Tango ad visit www.marketing.haynet.com.