Thursday, April 7, 2005

When you're smiling

   McCain foods has a television commercial currently airing for their Fun Spuds Smiles which shows cute children running around, playing, laughing, and joyfully eating McCain processed food products. In the background, a classic song plays, first popularised by Louis Armstrong in 1929:

When you're smiling, when you're smiling
The whole world smiles with you
When you're laughing, when you're laughing
The sun comes shining through

   Also sung throughout the years by such notables as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Billie Holiday, it's a pleasing little ditty that perfectly reflects the emotion McCain wants you to feel while thinking about their products. Except...
   Being a Canadian of a certain age, I cannot hear that song without thinking of beer. As far back as I can remember, the song When You're Smiling was used in television commercials for Labatt Blue
. Many in the industry consider it to have been the single most successful advertising campaign in Canadian television history. So, when I see the commercial for McCain Smiles, I think of Labatt Blue. I can't help it. 
   Perhaps McCain thought that enough time had passed. It is possible they thought nobody would make the connection. Maybe whoever is in charge of their advertising is too darn young to remember. I just cannot bring myself to believe that they would have used that song if they knew the immediate associations it would produce in virtually any Canadian over the age of 35, or so.

Click here to hear Louis Armstrong perform When You're Smiling.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love the music...good ole Satch.....it could be an advertising ploy...you know don't worry what they are saying as long as they are saying something about you..knowing it would stir the memories and at the same time imprint their product also.  It's also a known fact in advertising that it takes a good 6-7 times of hearing/seeing an ad for it to click in someone's memory for association purposes.Sandi

Anonymous said...

From Lissa at www.stuffandjunk.com

"ok two things.

Why do I think Labatt's Blue when  hear 'when you're smiling'? Not Molson
Golden.

Second, what can I do to make it to your 'other journals' list.
Be kind.

Lissa"

Thanks for the comment Lissa. I'll see what I can do.

Anonymous said...

Maybe a Labatt Blue would help get the cardbaord taste of those McCain smiles out of your mouth. Those things taste kinda gross. :oP

<3 rachel