Thursday 17 February 2011

Gone Fishin'

There has recently been an updated version of an old TV commercial running here in the UK. The old advert was one of those standout ads that stick in your mind and provide a cultural reference point for everyone who was around at the time. It has been parodied and lampooned by many comedians down the years, but they wouldn't have done that if the commercial hadn't already entered the public conciousness. Here is the original ad:



I must admit that I got goosebumps seeing this again after all these years - it was first aired back in 1983. Following the huge success of this ad, there were a number of sequels and even a real book published under the title "Fly Fishing by J.R.Hartley"! Life imitating art :)

The new version has been updated to reflect modern times - after all almost all the bookshops on the High Street have disappeared now. Have a look and then contrast and compare.



To me, it doesn't have the charm of the original ad, but then I'm just an old fuddy-duddy! lol What do you think?

7 comments:

Twisting the Spanner said...

Blimey O'Riley, I remember that old Yellow Pages ad! I'm getting waves of nostalgia after all these years!

Brit Boy said...

I'm glad that it revived some memories for you - it did the same with me too.

Anonymous said...

I remember the old add too. It was and is much better than the new version.

Mike Golch said...

now that was fun to watch.

Sheila @ A Postcard a Day said...

It feels like yesterday! :) I much prefer the earlier version but I'm probably now more of that generation.

Brit Boy said...

Thanks for the comments everyone. It seems that the view is that the older version was the better. I guess you can't duplicate an original ;)

SeƱorita said...

Oh, what a nice commercial... Yeah, I see what you mean. I liked the first commercial more than the second one. I think it is because I just felt bad for the older man walking all over town... Poor thing :(

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