My Most Immortal Ad: Lynsey Atkin on Tango's St George
In the run up to this year’s Immortal Awards deadline, our jurors have been taking it in turns to select the ads and campaigns that have stood the test of time in their minds, revealing the reasons why they’ve stayed with them through the years as their Most Immortal Ads.
Lynsey Atkin, incoming chief creative officer of McCann London, revels in the idiocy of blind patriotism in a mid-90s 'tour de force' that could run today and still work.
The entry system for The Immortal Awards’ 2024 competition is now open. As always, entry is free for Little Black Book members and more information on how you can enter - and start your path to creative immortality - can be found at the bottom of the article.
Tango - St George
I know it’s not a niche choice. But given the ask was for an IMMORTAL ad: a) it probably shouldn’t be something only a handful of chin-scratchers have heard of and b) I’m trying to be less contrary just for the sake of it.
God, it’s brilliant. It is a tour de force of storied escalation, which let’s face is still a useful structure in ads today. From grey man in grey suit in grey cubicle to topless bloke in silk shorts in purple boxing ring on the White Cliffs of Dover with HARRIER JETS FLYING OVERHEAD in ninety seconds flat. It’s a masterclass in something huge unfolding so effortlessly it exudes the kind of swagger only the very best of advertising can carry.
It’s also very, very lol. The writing, of course - the best bit being that it wasn’t even a proper complaint, it was just “I didn’t enjoy it as much as your other flavours” which is a mild slight, a mere observation, that provoked the ludicrous response - but fundamentally the core conceit. In a world where corporate communications increasingly treat our others and our neighbours with an inclusive respect and reverence, a joke about a French exchange student getting a bit above his station will never, ever not be funny. Ever.
It is a cultural reference for the ages, told in a way that’s knowing enough to poke fun at the idiocy and pomp that is blind patriotism. It is such an incredibly fine line, and it walks it faultlessly. Having spent the last five years leading a creative agency for a British cultural institution in the midst of growing culture wars, I cannot tell you how hard that is to get right. You could run this now and it would work.
And if you don’t agree, fight me. I’ll be on the cliffs after lunch.
The Immortal Awards entry system is now open and entries into competition will be accepted until September 5th 2024. All entries must be made for a commissioning client, and must have first aired, broadcast, displayed, launched or published between September 1st 2023 and August 31st 2024.
Every member of LBB is entitled to up to five entries. The full list of rules, including eligibility dates, can be found here.
If you’d like to enter the Immortal Awards but you’re not yet a member of LBB, sign up here today.
If you have any questions about The Immortal Awards or need any help with your entries, please contact awards directors Paul Monan (paulm@lbbonline.com) and Emma Wilkie (emma@lbbonline.com)
Thanks to our wonderful Immortal Awards partners
