It has taken almost a month, an appearance on Channel 7, help from The Daily Telegraph’s Jonathon Moran and more than a thousand votes cast to get to this point — the big reveal of Australia’s greatest-ever advert.
The finalist voting was closer than we anticipated, as well. The winning spot took almost a third of the votes, while the Antz Pantz, “Sic ‘Em Rex” took 16.2 per cent to come second. Third place went to PBL Cricket’s “C’Mon Aussie Come On”.
The front runner from our initial rounds of voting, AAMI’s “Rhonda and Kent” fell by the wayside when it came down to the final 10, taking home 12.6 per cent of the votes.
But, without any further ado, you, the Australian public have voted “Not Happy, Jan!” as your greatest Aussie ad ever!
Moran told us that this ad was so iconic and important because it had taken on a life of its own. Regularly, you’ll hear people saying “Not happy, Jan!” perhaps without any idea that the saying was originally designed to entice people to advertise their business in the Yellow Pages. How times have changed.
But, the point stands. This ad is great for the same reasons that today’s best ads work — they’re memorable and effective. Produced by Clemenger BBDO Melbourne in 2000, actress Deborah Kennedy’s iconic line was ad-libbed on the day of shooting.
But that lack of preparedness did nothing to hamper its success. According to an Australasian Business Intelligence article published in 2003 titled “Very Happy, Jan” the campaign was hugely successful at building the Yellow Pages brand among consumers and potential new advertisers.
In fact, the campaign caught the eyes and ears of Aussies so much that it was co-opted for a 2004 political campaign opposing the re-election of Prime Minister John Howard. That campaign, unlike the original Yellow Pages spot, was unsuccessful, of course.
So, were the general public right? Is “Not Happy, Jan!” Australia’s greatest-ever advert? Tell us why or why not below!
