Lost in time

Every now again, there is a brilliant ad which rises above advertising mediocrity. The particular one I am referring to in this case is Foxtel’s‘whistle’ or ‘lost in time’ ad. As someone in the industry, it is a breath of fresh air to watch a great, feel-good ad like this one.

So why is it so good?
Because it says everything without saying anything
It is epic – it tells a story over time
It is simple – minimal effects, no bells and whistles (apart from in the
literal sense)
It uses icons of each era that trigger with every possible level of their target market – from comb-overs to flares to mullets.
It has a great soundtrack and no other sound to over-emphasise the message
It is subtle – it doesn’t sell; there are no cliches or other standard advertising vernacular
It includes TV as an important part of Australia’s growth over the last 50 years ( TV, whether we like it or not, does play a huge part in our lives) – it plays on our memories and emotions to get the message across
It speaks to consumers on a human level – utilising a family’s idiosyncratic traits which is something we can all relate to

I think it is fair to say that a good ad can be measured by how many times you can watch it before you get sick of it (this type of measurement is not written in any text books, but I think it’s certainly true). I have seen this ad a lot, and am still not sick of it. I think you can also measure a good ad by whether people recite parts of it in every day life. I hear people imitating the ‘whistle’ all the time, receiving an informed snigger in return.

The only criticism of the ad that I have is that it is so emotive and cinematic in nature, that placing a cap-card on the end with ‘Foxtel HD’ plastered all over it is a bit of a let down. It celebrates something so close to home and so entrenched in our lives, and finishes with something commercial. But I guess it is advertising, after all.